UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer is facing calls to let “trailblazing” MP Diane Abbott back into Labour as anger mounts over the shock defection to the party of Natalie Elphicke.The Labour leader is facing a fierce backlash over his decision to welcome Ms Elphicke, a controversial right-wing Conservative who has continually attacked his party over its policies on immigration. Less than 24 hours after crossing the floor, the MP for Dover was forced to apologise for her comments about her ex-husband’s victims.Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti told The Independent: “Like others, I look forward to Ms Elphicke’s first in-depth broadcast interview about her political journey to the Labour Party.Diane Abbott is currently suspended from Labour over a letter she wrote to a national newspaper last year More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightBrexiteers on a parliamentary committee have warned that British citzens and Nato personnel could be blocked by the EU from entering Gibraltar if “the Rock” goes ahead with settlement it had to negotiate because of the UK leaving the EU.Following Brexit, Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo has been negotiating a deal with the EU to allow the outpost and home of a British naval base to enjoy free movement of people with the EU.It comes after decades of problems at the border with Spain which claims Gibraltar for its own. But the border issue became a crisis for Gibraltans when the UK left the EU and in effect ended freedom of movement. The UK has had control over Gibraltar since 1713 via the Treaty of Utrecht as part of the compensation for Britain to withdraw from the War of the Spanish Succession.British and EU flags fly next to Gibraltar’s flag More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe MP whose shock defection to Labour has sparked a fierce backlash against Keir Starmer has been forced to apologise for comments about her ex-husband’s victims. Charlie Elphicke was convicted of sexually assaulting two women and sentenced to two years in prison in 2020.Natalie Elphicke supported his unsuccessful appeal, saying he was an “attractive” man who had been “an easy target for dirty politics and false allegations”.As anger mounted over Labour’s decision to admit her, one female Labour MP told The Independent there was a “collective rage” against Sir Keir over Ms Elphicke. A member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) also called for her to have the party whip suspended, just 24 hours after she joined the party. In a statement, Ms Elphicke said she always knew her decision to cross the floor would “put a spotlight on the prosecution of my ex-husband and I want to address some of the commentary around this head on”.She described the period between 2017 and 2020 as “an incredibly stressful and difficult one for me as I learned more about the person I thought I knew.” She added: “I know it was far harder for the women who had to relive their experiences and give evidence against him.”I have previously, and do, condemn his behaviour towards other women and towards me. It was right that he was prosecuted and I’m sorry for the comments that I made about his victims.”Natalie Elphicke has defected to Labour from the Tories (David Woolfall/UK Parliament) More

Labour MP Natalie Elphicke with ex-husband Charles Elphicke (PA) Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email New Labour MP Natalie Elphicke has apologised for defending her ex-husband after he was found guilty of sexual assault. Ms Elphicke’s former husband and […] More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA righ twing British think tank which supports Donald Trump has praised David Lammy for his US diplomacy.The Legatum Institute has told Rishi Sunak and the Tories to learn lessons from Labour’s shadow foreign secretary after he made another successful trip to Washington DC ahead of what many think will be a Labour general election victory.The controversial think tank, funded by hedge fund billionaire Christopher Chandler, has recently opened a UK-US Special Relationship Unit at its offices in Mayfair which is pushing to promote UK/ US diplomatic relationship.The thinktank has been impressed by the way that Mr Lammy has reached out to both sides of the aisle in the US and even made attempts to connect with the Trump camp.Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailChris Webb, one of Labour’s newest MPs, has taken his seat in the Commons after winning the Blackpool South by-election.Mr Webb won the Lancashire seat after securing nearly 60 per cent of the vote and the third-biggest swing from the Tories to Labour (26.3 per cent)  in a by-election since the Second World War.He beat Conservative candidate David Jones in the contest to replace ex-Tory MP Scott Benton, who was forced to quit after becoming embroiled in a lobbying scandal.“The people of Blackpool have spoken for Britain,”  Mr Webb said following his victory.  “They have had enough of this failed government, people no longer trust the Conservatives.”Labour’s Chris Webb has taken his seat in the House of Commons (Peter Byrne/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour MPs erupted in fury as a rightwing Tory told the Commons that he has instructed his constituency staff to refuse any cases brought to him by asylum seekers.Calls of “resign!” could be heard across the chamber as Dudley North MP Marco Longhi got up to speak.His intervention was another shot across the bows for Rishi Sunak with the right of his party making their views clear on his failure to stop the small boats with asylum seekers on them.Mr Longhi said: “I have stopped the large number of so-called asylum seekers from attending my surgey and I have instructed my office to not deal with asylum seekers for two reasons.”Marco Longhi is the Conservative MP for Dudley North (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has been accused of paying “lip service” to victims of violence against women and girls after welcoming Natalie Elphicke into the Labour Party.The Labour leader unveiled the Dover MP at PMQs after her shock defection on Wednesday, sparking a furious reaction among his MPs and charities in the sector.As well as a backlash over Ms Elphicke’s right wing views, the defection raised questions about Sir Keir’s commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, which he has made a central part of his pitch as Labour leader.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer with former Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More