Natalie Elphicke: Starmer faces wrath after Tory MP’s defection

Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to admit Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke into the Labor Party has been met with bewilderment by some of his MPs.

The Dover MP’s surprise defection from the Conservatives has sparked reactions ranging from jubilation to anger from his new colleagues.

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield said Labor MPs were “baffled” by her “really peculiar” move to switch sides.

But a senior party figure hailed his move as “a huge coup”.

And Sir Keir has said he is “delighted” with his defection, telling reporters it showed his party was “the party in the national interest”.

Several sources suggested that Labor leaders, responsible for party discipline, were worried about accepting it, but Labor denies this.

It is Rishi Sunak’s second Labor defection in less than two weeks, after Dr Dan Poulter also quit the Conservatives last month.

Normally, when a deputy changes parties, almost all of his new colleagues are delighted.

However, this latest defection, announced minutes before Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, has left some Labor MPs feeling angry, disappointed and shocked.

In a scathing statement, Elphicke said the Conservatives had become “a synonym for incompetence and division.”

What Mrs Duffield is prepared to say publicly in reaction to the defection, many more are saying privately.

Although Ms Elphicke has made arguments in areas such as housing that are in line with her new colleagues, she has previously attacked Labor policy in a number of areas.

He has criticized the party for “getting more taxes” and not taking “seriously” the decision to stop small boat crossings, a big issue in his Dover seat.

As well as her political stance, many Labor MPs are deeply uncomfortable with comments she made about her then-husband Charlie Elphicke, whom she replaced as MP for Dover in 2019.

He has not commented on those earlier comments since defecting on Wednesday.

The Labor Party said that “all such issues have been previously discussed both in Parliament and in public.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield on Wednesday, Labor MP Sarah Champion said that “some of the things Ms Elphicke had said defending her ex-husband from sexual abuse allegations” did not “sit well with me at all”.

He also said he would find it “challenging” to have former Conservative MPs in the party “when we are so close to the general election”.

“I think their policies and their belief systems are very far from mine, but I guess we are where we are,” he added.

He added that the fact that Elphicke, like Dan Poulter, are planning to leave Parliament at the election created a “bit of a mess” because the Labor Party already has candidates in both seats.

Conservative MPs also expressed surprise at Elphicke’s defection, with Transport Minister Huw Merriman calling her “shameless” and “opportunistic”.

“I’m just disappointed in politics because she’s done what she’s done,” he added.

Speaking to BBC South East, Kent MP Ms Duffield said Labor MPs were “really confused” by the defection.

“I think it’s a really peculiar decision and I think most Labor MPs and probably many Conservatives are really quite bewildered by it,” he added.

She added that she did not “believe for a second that she had suddenly become a Labor MP.”

And his Labor colleague Mick Whitley called his move “scandalous”, adding that Elphicke did not share the “values ​​of the Labor movement”.

Mish Rahman, a member of the Labor Party’s ruling National Executive Committee, said he takes a dim view of Elphicke’s defection and said the party is becoming “dirtier.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight, Rahman said Elphicke “has never been in the spotlight in her time as an MP”.

He described the Conservative Party as a “sinking ship” and said Elphicke is “swimming in the ocean” trying to “escape” it.

He said the Labor Party should be dedicated to changing the country, “not saving the careers of Conservative politicians who the British public reject for the damage they have done to the country.”

“She is not fit to be a member of the Labor Party, let alone an MP,” he added.

John McDonnell, who was shadow chancellor under former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, said he was “surprised and dismayed” by her move.

“I’m a great believer in the powers of conversion, but I think even this would have tested John the Baptist’s generosity of spirit, honestly,” he told LBC.

However, Sir Keir will hope to keep the focus on the bigger picture and argue that Tory defections may epitomize his broader project of tempting former Tory voters to switch to Labour.

“That’s what matters,” says a senior Labor figure.

“In the end, for God’s sake, we’ve recruited the Conservative MP for Dover. In the middle of the discussion about small boat crossings. That’s a big coup.”