The Tory MP for Dover hit out at Rishi Sunak’s party saying 'the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division'
Another Tory MP has jumped ship and defected to the Labour Party hitting out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government”.
Natalie Elphicke the MP for Dover issued a statement just before Prime Minister’s Questions announcing she is quitting the Conservative Party to join Labour, becoming the second Tory MP to do so in a month.
It comes after ex-health minister Dan Poulter the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich announced his dramatic defection to Labour at the end of April, in anger at the NHS crisis.
Elphicke blasted Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party in her defection statement, saying that under him “the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division” and that key pledges in the 2019 manifesto had been ditched.
What was most significant for her about the Labour Party was that it “looks to the future – to building a Britain of hope, optimism, opportunity and fairness” and that it had “changed out of all recognition”.
In her statement issued through Labour officials, Elphicke said: “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.”
She went on: “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.”
(Image credit: David Woolfall / UK Parliament)
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