Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke in shock defecting to Labor – POLITICO

“In the meantime, the Labor Party has changed beyond recognition. Since 2019, he succeeded Jeremy Corbyn and now occupies, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, the center of British politics.

“(The Labor Party) has accepted Brexit and its economic and defense policies are responsible and trustworthy,” added Elphicke, who voted for Brexit and supported Boris Johnson.

Elphicke is the second Conservative MP to defect to Labor in just two weeks, following the departure of former Health Minister Dan Poulter, accusing the Conservatives of becoming a “right-wing nationalist party”. Earlier this year, Sunak also lost former Conservative president Lee Anderson to the right-wing Reform Party.

Labor, led by Starmer, has a wide lead over the Conservatives in the polls and recently inflicted heavy losses on Sunak’s party in a series of local elections.

Elphicke’s defection could, however, prove controversial among parts of the Labor left.

As MP for Dover, on the English Channel, since 2019, Elphicke has been outspoken about asylum seekers arriving in Britain via small boats. She supported the Rwandan government’s controversial plan to permanently deport asylum seekers to the central African country.