- Written by Chris Mason
- political editor
Another Conservative MP gave up on the Conservative party and joined Labor.
Employee turnover does not occur very often.
At least not in peacetime.
However, just days after former Conservative minister Dan Poulter switched to Labor, Natalie Elphick also switched to Labor.
No wonder, before Prime Minister’s Questions began, there was chatter that Sir Keir Starmer wanted to talk about small boat crossings of the Channel.
Natalie Elphike is the Member of Parliament for Dover.
For tribal Westminster, the defection is a dizzying experience.
They can be a morale booster for newly arrived parties, but they can be debilitating for parties whose members have left the party, especially if they are from the ruling party to the main opposition party.
why? They very clearly embody what the Opposition is trying to do on a much wider scale, seducing people who have recently supported the Conservative Party to switch to Labour.
And the party political statements of defecting MPs could cause further damage given their former political strongholds.
“The elected Prime Minister was ousted in a coup led by the unsuccessful Rishi Sunak, under whom the Conservative Party became synonymous with incompetence and division.
“Centrality has been abandoned and the key promises of the 2019 manifesto have been jettisoned. Meanwhile, Labor has turned from the ground up.”
This is the kind of story you wouldn’t be surprised to hear from a career Labor MP.
But these are the words of someone who until just hours ago was a Conservative MP.
Labor will reportedly retain its existing candidates of Mr Dover and Mr Deal in the general election, with Natalie Elphike resigning.
But Keir Starmer will be delighted to see pictures welcoming Natalie Elphicke to his side of the Commons.
And let’s hope to see them shake hands, say kind words, and smile broadly for the cameras soon.
It was a very fleeting moment sitting here in the press gallery with Keir Starmer gloating about his latest new MP.
There were voices of bewilderment and confusion from many Conservative seats.
The news had just been announced at midday, and many Tory MPs were worried that their former colleague, now sitting across from them and directly behind Sir Keir, would be on camera as Sir Keir spoke. I didn’t know it was being shown.
When the Prime Minister finds out he has lost another MP, the information of Conservative Party leaders will not be used.
The person said the news “will come as a surprise to her constituents, who are on the front lines of the illegal immigration issue.”
It added that Natalie Elphike’s social media feed was a “repository of weaknesses in the Labor Party”, the party in which she currently serves as an MP.
