Natalie Elphicke: Tory MP defects to Labour with attack on Rishi Sunak
MP Natalie Elphicke has left the Tory party due to the broken promises made by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his party during the election.
Natalie Elphicke, a member of parliament for the Conservative Party, has switched sides and joined the Labour Party. Her reason for doing so is due to her belief that the Conservatives are known for being ineffective and causing disunity.
As PMQs was commencing, the Member of Parliament representing Dover publicly declared her reasons for deciding to take a particular stance. She emphasized that her decision was influenced by issues surrounding housing and border protection.
She blamed Rishi Sunak for not keeping his word and neglecting important commitments.
Rishi Sunak has switched to the Labour party for the second time in less than two weeks. Another Tory, Dan Poulter, has also resigned and joined the Labour party.
According to the BBC, the upcoming general election will see Labour keeping their current candidate in Dover and Deal while Ms Elphicke will be stepping down.
The electoral district that used to be known as Dover has been replaced due to changes in boundaries. In the last election, Mrs. Elphicke won this district by a majority of 12,278 votes.
Prime Minister's Questions started with Mrs. Elphicke dramatically walking over to sit behind Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour party, in the Commons.
Numerous individuals on the Conservative side were surprised and bewildered.
The announcement was made only at noon, and many Conservative Members of Parliament were not aware that their previous colleague was now seated in front of them. He was sitting directly behind Sir Keir and appeared in the camera shot when he spoke, rather than sitting on their side.
When the Labour party invited a new member, Sir Keir had a warm greeting for her. He directed a question to Mr Sunak regarding the current government, asking what purpose it served when there were obvious problems at hand, such as the small boats crisis at Dover. He cited a Tory MP who had joined the Labour party and stated that the prime minister could not be trusted with the nation's borders.
Dover serves as the destination for a multitude of individuals who traverse the Channel via small vessels.
Mrs. Elphicke stated that the government led by Mr. Sunak is not fulfilling its duty in maintaining the safety and security of our borders. She emphasized on the loss of lives in the Channel and the unprecedented rise of small boat arrivals.
According to a spokesperson for the Conservative Party, those living in Dover and Deal will feel let down as they have experienced the repercussions of illegal immigration.
Previously, they had a member of parliament who aligned with the party dedicated to addressing this problem directly. However, they now have a member of parliament who belongs to a party that has obstructed our efforts to combat unlawful immigration on 139 separate occasions.
Starmer is questioning the Prime Minister about two Conservative MPs who have switched their affiliation to Labour.
In an article for the Express back in April, Mrs Elphicke stated that Labour lacked a strategy to combat illegal immigration. She also commended the government's Rwanda initiative, describing it as the best in the world.
Nevertheless, in recent times she expressed her apprehension regarding the enactment intended to revive the proposal, as she thinks it would not thwart small boat crossings. Instead, she proposed that an agreement for returning migrants with France would yield better results.
If Labour comes into power, they have promised to cancel the plan that would entail sending certain asylum seekers to an east African country.
When questioned about her shift in stance on Labour's stance on immigration, Mrs. Elphicke stated that Mr. Sunak's actions had not put an end to the issue of small boat crossings. According to her, Labour has plans in place to address this problem.
The Member of Parliament stated that she was not promised a peerage to switch sides, but instead was requested to make a contribution in the field of housing.
According to Sir Keir, Mrs Elphicke has a great history of dealing with housing issues and is actively involved in tackling the problem of small boats crisis.
The Transport Minister, Huw Merriman, expressed his complete shock and disbelief towards Mrs. Elphicke's defection and accused her of displaying opportunistic behavior.
He told the BBC that she had recently written an article where she said that Labour cannot be trusted on immigration since they support open borders. However, now she's seen with them.
On BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour, ex-Leader of the Labour party, Lord Kinnock suggested being selective when accepting new members, acknowledging that although the party is inclusive, there are still boundaries that need to be respected.
He said: "Mrs. Elphicke must determine if she is dedicated to the program and ideals of the Labour Party, which have a broad definition and expansive liberal goals. However, it should be noted that we are a political party and not simply a group for discussion and debate."
Keir Starmer, the knighted politician, wonders when would Rishi Sunak finally understand the message communicated by the recent failures endured by the Conservative Party.
Mrs. Elphicke was a member of the Conservative Party's right wing and a supporter of Liz Truss during the Tory leadership contest in 2022. Additionally, she was part of the European Research Group, which favored Brexit.
Criticism has been directed towards Sir Keir's choice to accept her into the Labour party, with opposition coming from members further left of the party. This is mainly due to the fact that Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn remain suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Momentum, a left-leaning advocacy group, stated that this conservative politician with extreme views does not belong in a Labour Party that upholds its true values.
Keir Starmer is showing a lot of support for the new person by warmly welcoming them, but he is not giving any attention to Diane Abbott. This shows a lot about his character.
Mrs. Elphicke expressed her concern about the government's inability to construct enough homes to fulfil the demand. Additionally, she accused the government of breaking its promise of ending no fault evictions and abolishing ground rents, which is a betrayal to the renters and leaseholders.
She stated that during the year of her election in 2019, the Conservative Party held the dominant position in the middle of British politics.
Since that time, a lot of things have shifted. The chosen leader, Boris Johnson, was removed from power in a takeover executed by Rishi Sunak, a person who was not elected to the position.
Rishi Sunak's leadership has caused the Conservatives to be known for being ineffective and having disagreements. They have ignored the moderate position and have reneged on important promises from their 2019 campaign.
In comparison, she stated that Labour has undergone a significant transformation since 2019 and is currently situated at the heart of British politics.
She stated that their party has a strategy for constructing the necessary houses and their economic and defense plans are reliable and dependable.
In 2019, Mrs Elphicke won the election for the Dover seat, which was previously held by her disgraced ex-husband Charlie Elphicke.
In September of 2020, he got sentenced to a two-year prison term for committing sexual assault against two women.
Following the Conservative party's track record on the National Health Service, former minister Mr. Poulter jumped ship and joined the Labour party.
Since 2019, four Conservative members have left the party.
Earlier this year, Lee Anderson became a member of the Reform Party after being an independent for a short period of time. Similarly, Christian Wakeford switched his allegiance from the Conservatives to the Labour Party in 2022.
Lucy Gilder from BBC Verify wrote a blog piece.
During the recent Prime Minister's Questions session, Sir Keir Starmer stated that there has been an unbelievable number of 2,400 small boat crossings since Rishi Sunak declared his win just 16 days ago.
Rishi Sunak addressed the media on April 22, 2024, following the successful passage of the Safety of Rwanda Bill in the House of Commons.
Up until May 6th, a total of 2,409 individuals have been identified crossing the Channel in small boats. Therefore, Sir Keir's statement is accurate.
During this time frame, there has been a considerable increase of 76% in the amount of small boat crossings in comparison to the corresponding period from the previous year, when 1,366 individuals crossed between 22 April and 6 May 2023.
Up until now in 2021, a total of 8,674 individuals have made the journey across the English Channel.
