0
0
In her statement emailed by Labour, Elphicke said, “Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division”
In a fresh blow to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, another Conservative Member of Parliament defected to the Labour Party on Wednesday (May 8), becoming the second to do so recently. The ruling Conservatives suffered their second defection to the main opposition party in as many weeks, while overall Natalie Elphicke is the third Conservative lawmaker to defect to Labour since the last election in 2019.
This will increase problems for the Conservatives after heavy losses for the Tories in English local elections last week. They are already trailing Labour by about 20 points in opinion polls ahead of a national election expected this year.
Also read: Australia increases minimum savings limit for student visa, Indians to be impacted
Just before Sunak’s weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ), Natalie Elphicke, who represents the Dover and Deal constituency in southeast England, announced her defection.
Dover is on the south coast of England, a region heavily affected by the small boat crossings from northern Europe. Sunak has promised to stop the people.
In her statement emailed by Labour, Elphicke said, “Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division. The center ground has been abandoned and key pledges of the 2019 manifesto have been ditched.”
Also read: India’s Bengaluru among world’s millionaire cities, New York wealth hits $3tn mark
She said Sunak’s government had failed to stop the arrival of small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel, had failed to build enough homes, and had overseen a rise in homelessness.
“We need to move on from the broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government,” she said.
Christian Wakeford switched in 2022 over former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conduct around rule-breaking parties during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Last month, Dan Poulter, who is a former health minister, defected to Labour. He said that the government’s record on the state-run National Health Service (NHS) meant he could no longer represent the Conservatives.
(With inputs from agencies)
