Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has suffered another humiliating blow as Dover MP Natalie Elphicke defected to Labour moments before PMQs.Ms Elphicke has joined Dr Dan Poulter and Christian Wakeford in crossing the floor.The move is a shock from an MP who had been part of the rightwing Common Sense Group but whose seat was set to be lost to Labour according to the polls.The announcement saw Kent’s preniously only Labour MP Rosie Duffileld, who has been repeatedly snubbed by Sir Keir Starmer over her views on trans issues, put out a sarcastic tweet: “At least one woman from Kent got a meeting.”Sir Keir Starmer, who held talks with Ms Elphicke in the run up to the defection, welcomed his new MP at the start of prime minister’s questions (PMQs) in a rowdy session in the Commons.Natalie Elphicke has defected to Labour from the Tories (David Woolfall/UK Parliament) More

This is the moment Tory MP Natalie Elphicke walks across the Commons floor to join the Labour party, just minutes before Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday 8 May.The Dover MP crossed the floor in the Commons as she hit out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government”.She said: “I have carefully considered this decision. The change has been dramatic and cannot be ignored.”At PMQs, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked Mr Sunak “what is the point of this failed Government staggering on” when “the Tory MP for Dover on the front line of small boats crisis says the Prime Minister cannot be trusted with our borders and joins Labour?” More

Rishi Sunak warned Sir Keir Starmer he can be “as cocky as he likes” after the local election results, but when it comes to a general election “it is policy that counts”.Mr Sunak reminded the Labour leader of Tony Blair’s famous words during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 8 May, after Sir Keir began the clash by welcoming Natalie Elphicke and Chris Webb to the Labour benches.Ms Elphicke has defected to Labour, hitting out at the “broken promises” of the government, while Mr Webb is the new Blackpool South MP after winning last week’s by-election.Despite a mauling from the electorate last week, Mr Sunak remained defiant during his clash with Sir Keir. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused Wednesday of leading a “chaotic” government as another one of his Conservative lawmakers defected to the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a looming general election.In a stunning move just ahead of weekly prime minister’s questions, Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the ranks of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which appears to be heading to return to power after 14 years in opposition.Elphicke, who represents the constituency of Dover, which is at the front-line of migrant crossings from France, lashed out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government” and said that Labour now occupies the center ground of British politics.“From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure,” she said. “Lives are being lost in the English Channel while small boat arrivals are once again at record levels.”Sunak has made stopping small boat arrivals one of his main priorities, notably with his controversial plan to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda. Starmer welcomed Elphicke to the Labour benches as well as Chris Webb, the party’s new lawmaker in Blackpool South in northwest England following his big victory in a special election last Thursday. Elphicke is the second Conservative lawmaker to defect to Labour in two weeks after Dan Poulter quit in anger over the government’s handling of the National Health Service.Starmer called on Sunak to call a general election now as he wondered what was the point of “this failed government staggering on” when even the Conservative lawmaker ”on the front line of small boats crisis says the prime minister cannot be trusted with our borders and joins Labour?”Last week, the Conservatives suffered a historic drubbing in local elections, losing nearly half of its candidates, while Labour made gains and won most of the key mayoral races it fought, including in London.In the U.K., the date of the general election rests in the hands of the prime minister. It has to take place by January, and Sunak has repeatedly said that his “working assumption” was that it would take place in the second half of 2024. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak faces Sir Keir Starmer in Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 8 May.It will be the first time the two leaders go head-to-head since last week’s local election results.The Conservatives suffered a mauling from the electorate, losing nearly 500 council seats, the West Midlands mayoral race and the Blackpool South by-election.Sir Keir has urged the prime minister to call a general election “as quickly as possible” as he welcomed Labour’s newest MP to Parliament yesterday.Chris Webb took his seat in the House of Commons five days after winning the Blackpool South by-election with almost 60 per cent of the vote.Welcoming Mr Webb to parliament’s Westminster Hall, Sir Keir praised his “phenomenal victory” and hailed him as “the first born-and-bred Blackpool MP for 60 years”.The Labour leader joked that the party was “making a habit of this”, with Mr Webb making last Thursday’s by-election the eighth of the parliament to see Labour gain a seat. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTory MP Natalie Elphicke has defected to Labour, hitting out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government”.The Dover MP crossed the floor in the Commons just moments before Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.Here is the statement she released in full following her defection:“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.“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.Natalie Elphicke with then-Home Office minister Robert Jenrick during a visit to meet residents in Dover in November 2022 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer England cricketer Monty Panesar has stood down as a candidate for George Galloway’s Workers Party of Great Britain after just one week.Mr Panesar was to contest the Ealing, Southall seat in west London, currently held by Labour with a majority of 16,084.But after a series of disastrous media interviews, he has said he will no longer contest the seat and instead will “take some time to mature and find my political feet”.Monty Panesar said he was ‘still learning about how politics can help people’ More

Robert Jenrick has admitted he would not oppose Nigel Farage coming back to the Conservative Party.The former immigration minister said on Wednesday (8 May) that Rishi Sunak needs to win back Tory voters who have gone “on strike” because of the failure to curb immigration and tackle extremism.Asked by Nick Ferrari if that would require Farage “with a blue rosette”, Mr Jenrick said that his return is not a “priority”.“I would not oppose Nigel Farage coming back into the party,” he told LBC.“He’s associated with a different political party today – what we should be doing is tackling issues that the public care about.” More