Labour values trashed by Natalie Elphicke's horror defection from Tories

Too right-wing for the Tories? Join Labour.

That was the message sent out by Sir Keir Starmer last week when one of the most staunch Tory MPs took their seat directly behind the Labour Leader in the House of Commons, before gleefully shaking his hand.

It was a handshake that sealed Starmer’s fate as a Labour leader with no principles, a man without values.

Now, the right-winger who has been welcomed into the heart of the Labour Party is someone most people in Scotland won’t care much about. And why should they, her name is Natalie Elphicke and she represents Dover. But her values matter.

A Boris Johnson fanatic who actively campaigned for Liz Truss to be Prime Minister. Yikes. She doesn’t believe the Rwanda plan to be harsh enough, forcefully campaigned against workers’ rights and voted for cuts to public services at every turn.

She has also been banned from Parliament for trying to influence a judge. A judge who was presiding over her husband’s sexual assault trial. Once he was convicted and sent to prison, Elphicke argued that he was a victim of being “charming, wealthy, charismatic and successful — attractive, and attracted to, women.”

To be blunt, her values are an absolute horror show. Too right-wing for the Tory Party, she now sits at the very heart of the Labour Party, shaking hands with Starmer, a man without values.

Shortly after she crossed the floor, Labour’s press team reportedly failed to confirm that they would refuse Nigel Farage a party membership, while a senior figure turned up on the TV to say they’d take Jacob Rees-Mogg if he fancied it.

Meantime, as we all watched on wondering how any of this represents the change away from the Tories that the public so badly want, change of a more positive note was happening back home in Scotland - John Swinney was being sworn in as our First Minister.

With close to three decades of elected service under his belt and having won every election he has ever contested; John’s values have never been in question. He is a serious man for these serious times. A man of principle whose values will drive his government’s priorities.

Using the limited powers at Holyrood’s disposal John has outlined his vision to end child poverty, grow the economy, create jobs and help with the cost-of-living crisis. And, with Kate Forbes and Mairi McAllan alongside him, he has his top team on the park.

But don’t get me wrong, we all know this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Our party has a lot of work to do to recover the full trust of those folk who may be wavering over where their vote belongs right now. Any SNP politician who argues otherwise hasn’t been paying attention.

But the reality of politics on these isles is that the SNP are always being written-off, especially at Westminster elections. And when we are written-off we are at our best. Because nobody else can, or will, do what we do. And that is to be utterly unashamed about standing up for Scotland and arguing that our country is capable of delivering the change we all want to see.

Our own house is back in order, and we can get back to the business of focusing solely on the public, and their priorities.

I told the current Prime Minister last week that our political opponents should be careful what they wish for. I did so because I know the values that drive John Swinney. Such things matter to the public, as others will soon find out.

RAFAH TRAGEDY

The confidence that Israel has to threaten a full-scale attack on Rafah stems from the silence of her allies for months. That, of course, includes both the UK Government and their direct opponents in the Labour Party. Their decision to nod along as Palestinians are subjected to collective punishment for the actions of a terrorist group will never be forgotten.

Westminster parties may not regard themselves as complicit in the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, but history will judge them differently.

35,000 civilians are already dead and 1.4 million Palestinians are now crammed into Rafah, watching and waiting for a deadly bombardment to begin. The horrors of this conflict stand on the edge of an escalation that is unimaginable.

Right now, the best way to increase diplomatic pressure for peace is to end arms sales to Israel. In the last week, even Israel’s strongest ally the United States has begun to do just that.

We all remember that for months, Westminster parties dithered over calling for an immediate ceasefire and now they are doing the same on ending arms sales to Israel.

Helping to stop the attack in Rafah means stopping arms sales to Israel now.

NORTHERN LIGHTS

The Northern Lights weren’t the only unusual thing in the skies last week. If you looked a little more closely you would have seen Labour candidates being parachuted in to stand in Scottish seats at the general election.

First it was the Councillor from Canterbury who is going to be walking 500 miles to stand in Angus. Then it was the London-based candidate acting like a king of the road by taking the trek to Kirkaldy, a bit like the London Councillor going cap in hand to be a candidate in Caithness. I’m sure the locals won’t be shy in proclaiming their views.

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