Tory MP Natalie Elphicke defects to Labour

Tory MP Natalie Elphicke has announced her defection to Labour in a statement released moments before Rishi Sunak stood up for Prime Minister’s Questions.

Ms Elphicke said she had left the party because the country needs to “move on from the broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government”.

In a statement, the MP for Dover said she was angry that Boris Johnson had been “ousted” by the Conservatives and that, under Mr Sunak, the Tories had become a “byword for incompetence and division”.

A spokesman for Labour said Ms Elphicke would be stepping down at the election and that Mike Tapp, the already-selected candidate in Dover, would still stand for the party.

Ms Elphicke sat just behind Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs as the Labour leader faced Mr Sunak.

The defection means the Conservative majority in the House of Commons is now down to 38. In 2019, Mr Johnson won with a majority of 80.

It comes just over a week after Dan Poulter also left the Conservatives to join Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

Ms Elphicke was elected MP for Dover in 2019, having taken over the seat from her then-husband, Charles, who was facing sexual harassment charges. The couple have two children.

She supported Penny Mordaunt in the Conservative leadership election of 2022, in which Liz Truss emerged as the eventual victor to replace Mr Johnson.

Her statement said: “Today I announce that I have decided to join the Labour Party and that I will sit in Parliament as a Labour MP.”

“When I was elected in 2019, the Conservative Party occupied the centre ground of British politics. The party was about building the future and making the most of the opportunities that lay ahead for our country.

“Since then, many things have changed. The elected Prime Minister was ousted in a coup led by the unelected Rishi Sunak.

“Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division. The centre ground has been abandoned and key pledges of the 2019 manifesto have been ditched.”

The MP for Dover added: “It’s time for change. Time for a Labour Government led by Keir Starmer. The General Election cannot come soon enough.”

But Ms Elphicke has not always been such a strong supporter of Labour’s agenda.

In 2022, she wrote on X: “If Labour’s only policy is to rely on the French, then they are not serious about stopping small boats, tackling criminality, protecting people from the smuggling gangs or saving lives in the Channel.”

Andrea Jenkyns, Tory MP for Morley and Outwood, questioned why Ms Elphicke had decided to join “the lefty Labour lot” in a post on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Momentum, a Left-wing campaign group, said Sir Keir’s willingness to welcome Ms Elphicke into Labour showed he had moved the party too far to the Right.

He said: “Natalie Elphicke has consistently demonised refugees and aid groups. She voted against Labour proposals to outlaw fire and rehire, while supporting a wide array of destructive and damaging Tory legislation.

“She should have no place in a Labour Party committed to progressive values and working-class people. Sadly, Keir Starmer is taking Labour away from its core values, aping a failed Tory Party instead of offering a real alternative to it.

“More than ever, Britain wants change - but is being offered a two-party consensus instead,” he added.

Ms Elphicke said she had decided to join Labour because of its pro-housing policies.

“The Labour Party has changed out of all recognition,” she said.

“Since 2019, it has moved on from Jeremy Corbyn and now, under Keir Starmer, occupies the centre ground of British politics. It has accepted Brexit and its economic policies and defence policies are responsible and can be trusted.

“Most significantly for me, the modern Labour Party looks to the future – to building a Britain of hope, optimism, opportunity and fairness. A Britain everyone can be part of.

“I have carefully considered this decision. The change has been dramatic and cannot be ignored. For me key deciding factors have been housing and the safety and security of our borders.

“From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure. Lives are being lost in the English Channel while small boat arrivals are once again at record levels.

“It’s clear they have failed to keep our borders secure and cannot be trusted.”

Renters and leaseholders ‘betrayed’

Ms Elphicke also hit out at Mr Sunak’s handling of the housing crisis and said renters had been “betrayed” by the Government failing to deliver on its manifesto pledges.

“On housing, Rishi Sunak’s Government is now failing to build the homes we need. Last year saw the largest fall of new housing starts in England in a single year since the credit crunch.

“The manifesto committed to 300,000 homes next year – but only around half that number are now set to be built. Renters and leaseholders have been betrayed as manifesto pledges to end no fault evictions and abolish ground rents have not been delivered as promised.

“The last couple of years have also seen a huge rise in homelessness, in temporary accommodation and rough sleeping - with record numbers of children now in temporary accommodation, without a secure roof over their head.

“Meanwhile Labour plan to build the homes we need, help young people onto the housing ladder and care about the vulnerable and homeless. That’s why I’m honoured to have been asked to work with Keir and the team to help deliver the homes we need.”

She concluded: “We need to move on from the broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government. Britain needs a Government that will build a future of hope, optimism, opportunity and fairness.

“A Britain everyone can be part of, that will make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead. That’s why it’s time for change. Time for a Labour Government led by Keir Starmer. The General Election cannot come soon enough.”

In the time since the announcement, figures across the political spectrum have commented on the defection.

Councillor Oliver Richardson, the Conservative member for the Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe ward on Dover District Council, said: “I think that Natalie’s let us down and she’s a complete turncoat.”

While Councillor Gordon Cowan, chairman of the council and Labour member for the St Radigunds ward, said: “It was her choice, she decided to cross the floor, that was her decision.

“From Labour’s point of view, we battle on.”

Mr Cowan said he would concentrate on backing Mike Tapp, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Dover and Deal.

He added: “It’s always a good sign that people want to join Labour and the party and Natalie Elphicke is no different than a normal person in the street who wants to join Labour.”

The blow to the Tories comes just days after a disastrous set of local election results last Thursday.

The Conservatives lost almost 500 seats, with Labour picking up nearly 200. They also lost a by-election in Blackpool South, as well as the West Midlands mayoralty, which Labour just managed to snatch.

Their victory in Tees Valley, won by mayor Ben Houchen, was the only bright spot on an otherwise gloomy night.