Labour defends welcoming rightwing Tory MP Natalie Elphicke into party – UK politics live
Dover MP hit out at ‘broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government’ as she defected to Labour moments before PMQs
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Ms Elphicke has defected hitting out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government”.
The Dover MP astonishingly crossed the floor in the Commons just moments before Prime Minister’s Questions.
She said in a statement: “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.”
The move has been hit at from all sides, with MPs slamming Sir Keir Starmer for welcoming the right wing politician with open arms and Tory members branding the decision “idiotic”.
Despite ferocious criticism, Labour has defended Ms Elphicke and said it is “happy” to have the Tory MP on board.
In a new humiliating blow for Rishi, Ms Elphickle joins Dr Dan Poulter and Christian Wakeford in joining the opposition.
The walk-out was took place during the first face off since last week’s local election results, where Sir Keir Starmer hit out at the Conservatives for losing nearly 500 council seats in last week’s elections.
Keir Starmer slams Rishi for election losses
The opposition leader has joked that Rishi Sunak is already preparing to lose the next election.
The Labour leader suggested the prime minister was prepping for opposition, when he would ask the questions
“He is getting ahead of himself asking me questions”, he joked at PMQs
Keir Starmer slams ‘Tory amnesty for asylum seekers’
Sir Keir Starmer has attacked Rishi Sunak for offering amnesty to asylum seekers, saying tens of thousands of small boat migrants would spend their entire lives in British hotels at the taxpayer’s expense, Archie Mitchell reports.
“The prime minister’s grand plan would take over 300 years to remove them all,” the Labour leader said.
“It is absurd to call it anything other than an amnesty by the Tory Party, isn’t it?” he added.
Mr Sunak said small boat crossings had fallen by a third since he became prime minister, despite the numbers this year being at record highs.
Statement from new Labour MP Natalie Elphicke
Natalie Elphicke, who has defected from the Conservative Party to Labour, has released a statement on her decision to cross the floor.
She 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.
"Meanwhile the Labour Party has changed out of all recognition. 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.”
Natalie Elphicke said the Tories have ‘abandoned’ their manifesto
In a statement Natalie Elphicke said that when she was elected in 2019, the Conservative Party “occupied the centre ground of British politics”, Kate Devlin reports.
Now, she said, “the centre ground has been abandoned and key pledges of the 2019 manifesto have been ditched”. She also praised a “changed” Labour Party.
“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”.
She also said she had “carefully considered” her decision and that “from small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure.”
‘How many times do the public need to reject him?’ Starmer jibe at Sunak
Sir Keir Starmer has asked how many times the public and Tory MPs need to reject Rishi Sunak before he takes the hint.
The Labour leader said he has been on the receiving end of some of the biggest by-election swings in history.
Sir Keir also pointed to the loss of 1,500 Tory councillors, half of the Conservative party’s mayor’s and Mr Sunak’s leadership election loss to Liz Truss, who the Labour leader called “a lettuce”.
“How many more times do the public and his own MPs need to reject him before he takes the hint?” Sir Keir said.
Mr Sunak accused Sir Keir of being “cocky” in the run up to the general election.
SNP urges PM to end arm sales to Israel
SNP leader Stephen Flynn picks up the issue troubling many MPs - calling for an end to arms sales to Israel, David Maddox reports.
He congratulated new SNP Scottish First Minister Johnson Swinney, suggesting: “Our opponents should be careful what they wish for.”
Turning to Israel, he added: “As we await the imminent Israeli incursion into Rafah with 1.6 million children, it has been reported the US has paused an arms shipment. The UK will follow suit won’t it?”
Rishi Sunak rejects call to suspend arm sales to Israel
Rishi Sunak has rejected calls to suspend arm sales to Israel, Kate Devlin reports.
The prime minister said that the UK operated “one of the most robust” licensing operations anywhere in the world.
And after the most recent assessment of Israel’s commitment to international law the situation is “unchanged”, he told MPs.
In full: Starmer welcomes Elphickle to Labour
Sir Keir Starmer has warmly welcomed former Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke to the Labour benches.
Opening PMQs, the Labour leader said: “Can I also warmly welcome the new Labour MP for Dover (Natalie Elphicke) to these benches?
“If one week a Tory MP who is also a doctor says the prime minister can’t be trusted with the NHS and joins Labour, and the next week the Tory MP for Dover on the front line of the small boats crisis says the Prime Minister cannot be trusted with our borders, and joins Labour.
“What is the point of this failed Government staggering on?”
Sunak replied: “Can I join him in welcoming his newest MP for Blackpool, and I say he looks a lot happier than the member sitting there last week.
“Let me also join with him in congratulating all new and paying tribute to all former councillors, PCCs and mayors across the country. I hope his new ones do him as proud as I am of all of mine.
“Great leaders like Andy Street who leave behind a strong legacy of more homes, more jobs, and more investment, in sharp contrast to the legacy left by the last Labour government, which was a letter joking that there was no money left.”
PMQs analysis: Rishi Sunak is out of attack lines
Rishi Sunak always has a smile on his face in PMQs but he has been forced to reach for old well worn attack lines to respond to Keir Starmer, David Maddox reports.
The claims that the Tories is “the only party of the motorists” and attacks on Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan all fell flat last week.
In reality he will struggle to explain the exodus of Tory MPs crossing the floor to Labour or the exit door with dozens announcing they will stand down at the next election.
Rishi calls Starmer a ‘virtue-signalling lawyer from north London'
Starmer said the PM now had Labour representation at all of “the many places he calls home” after last week’s local elections.
Sir Keir said in PMQs: “The public keep telling (Mr Sunak), the voters tell him it’s not good enough, instead of listening he keeps telling them everything’s fine, if only they realise his greatness. He just doesn’t get it.
“But at least after Thursday night he can go to the many places that he calls home and enjoy the fruits of his success. In Southampton or Downing Street, he’s got great Labour councils. At his mansion in Richmond he can enjoy a brand new Labour mayor of North Yorkshire. At his pad in Kensington he can celebrate a historic third term for the Mayor of London.
“Now that he too could enjoy the benefits of this changed Labour Party, is he really still in such a hurry to get back to California?”
To which Mr Sunak replied: “I was, of course, surprised to see (Sir Keir) in North Yorkshire but probably not as surprised as he was when he realised he couldn’t take the Tube there.
“I can tell him that the people of North Yorkshire believe in hard work, secure borders, lower taxes and straight-talking common sense, they’re not going to get any of that from a virtue-signalling lawyer from north London.”
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