Tory MP calls government 'incompetent' as she defects to Labour at PMQs

Here's what happened:

• Rishi Sunak faced another challenge as Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, crossed the chamber floor to join Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party at the beginning of PMQs

• Labour announced Elphicke's defection moments before Prime Minister's Questions began
• Sir Keir Starmer encouraged Tory voters to follow in her footsteps while Conservatives posted on X (formerly twitter) screenshots of Elphicke's previous attacks on Labour's immigration policy
• Labour also praised her stance on the housing crisis whilst Rishi Sunak's spokesperson, brushing off the defection, said the PM was focused on British people's priorities
• Our correspondents have reported feelings of unease on the Labour benches given some of Elphicke's previous comments, including those on the small boats crisis and her attempt to influence judges in a case involving her ex-husband, former MP for Dover Charlie Elphicke

And one final reaction to bring you on Natalie Elphicke's defection, as we prepare to wrap up our coverage of the day.

Mike Tapp, the Labour candidate for Dover and Deal, says locals are "fed up" of Rishi Sunak's "gimmicks" and "Natalie has realised that".

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, Tapp says Natalie Elphicke has "seen the light and come over to the Labour Party".

"I absolutely support the defection. I think it sends a really clear message that Rishi Sunak and this Conservative government has completely failed to secure the borders," he says.

When pressed on whether he backs Natalie Elphicke, Tapp says he'll "work closely" with her.

Tory MP Robert Jenrick says Natalie Elphicke's defection to Labour is an "idiotic decision".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Jenrick says she has "joined a party that stands for all the things she despises".

He recalls Elphicke previously telling him she was "concerned and fearful" at Labour's "open borders policy" when it comes to migration.

Labour's five-point plan on immigration would see the end to the government's Rwanda scheme, alongside greater co-operation, and a returns agreement, with the EU.

Jenrick - who previously served as immigration minister - says he doesn't believe the government's current policy on the matter is "robust enough", but doesn't think Elphicke's move to Labour will serve her or her constituents well on that front.

This was the moment, just before Prime Minister's Questions, that Natalie Elphicke took her place on the Labour benches in the House of Commons.

Chatting to Labour MPs around Parliament this afternoon, some are definitely ‘queasy’ - as one put it - about acquiring a new colleague in Natalie Elphicke. They're not willing to speak about it publicly though.

Some are baffled by her decision but are happy to bank the dramatic moment and sense of momentum it provides the Labour Party - also pointing to the fact that she’ll be standing down come the general election anyway.

But there are those on the left of the party who've long been critical of Keir Starmer and the direction he's steered Labour in.

They are are questioning why he's happy to have Natalie Elphicke as a Labour MP and not for example, Diane Abbott - who is waiting to hear if she will be re admitted to the parliamentary party over a letter she wrote to a newspaper.

Natalie Elphicke has repeatedly criticised Labour for being soft on migration and untrustworthy on Brexit and the economy.

With her constituency covering the UK's main port of Dover, Elphicke has been vocal about border security and regularly called for more hardline immigration policies.

Writing in the Daily Express in April last year, she accused Labour of wanting open borders and claimed their plans were "dangerous".

But she has called for a deal to return immigrants crossing the Channel in small boats to France rather than the Rwanda plan, which is in line with Labour's policy.

She has also called for a rent freeze - a popular policy on the Labour left - and was behind a cross-party project to build houses for homeless people.

Elphicke's defection from the Tory party to Labour is momentous, but not unprecedented.

Let's take a look at some of the defections that took place during this Parliament alone, so that's since December 2019.

Back in April, former Tory MP Dr Dan Poulter announced he would leave Rishi Sunak's party and join Labour, saying he could not look his NHS colleagues and patients in the eye as a Conservative.

Poulter has the Labour whip until the general election, but he will not be seeking re-election.

Before him, Ashfield MP Lee Anderson defected to Reform UK after he was stripped of the Tory whip over comments he made towards London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

In October 2023, East Kilbride MP Lisa Cameron left the Scottish National Party (SNP) to join Conservatives.

North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen was expelled from the Tory party, then sat as an independent MP, later went on to join Laurence Fox's Reclaim party. This lasted eight months, until Bridgen left Reclaim to continue sitting in Parliament as an independent MP.

And Christian Wakeford, MP for Bury South, left the Tory party and went on to sit as a Labour MP in January 2022.

We've had lots of reaction coming in following Natalie Elphicke's surprise defection to the Labour Party. Here's some of what we've heard:

• Keir Starmer has encouraged Conservative voters to follow in her footsteps. When asked if further defections could be coming down the line, he said: "I think there are very many Tory voters who genuinely feel that the party that they may have voted for - many, many times in some cases - is no longer the Tory Party that they see"
• Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Conservative Party dug out Elphicke's old criticisms of Labour. The account posted a screenshot of a Daily Express article written by the Dover MP in April last year, headlined: Don't trust Labour on immigration they really want open borders
• Conservative Councillor Oliver Richardson, for the ward of Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret's-at-Cliffe in Dover District Council, told the PA news agency: "I think that Natalie's let us down and she's a complete turncoat"
• The leader of the Dover District Council, Labour Councillor Kevin Mills, has welcomed her decision, despite saying it's not something he expected to hear. "She believes this country has been let down by the Government and has been quite clear that the only government she can see taking us forward - providing fairness, opportunity, housing - is a Labour government under Keir Starmer"
• Meanwhile, rail minister Hew Merriman said he was "absolutely staggered", characterising her defection as "shameless". "I've seen some sights in this place, but actually the lack of scruples on this one is a new bar that Natalie has created," he added

• The Prime Minister's press secretary said Rishi Sunak remained focused on "the priorities of the British people". She added that Elphicke had previously been "very forthright in attacking 'Sir Softie' Starmer" and "Labour's open-borders policy"

We're getting more reaction from Dover District Council, after Dover MP Natalie Elphicke announced her defection to the Labour Party.

Conservative Councillor Oliver Richardson tells the PA news agency that Elphicke has "let us down" and is "a complete turncoat".

Meanwhile, Labour Councillor Gordon Cowan says "it was her choice, she decided to cross the floor".

Cowan - who also chairs the council - says his focus will be on backing Labour's candidate at the next election, Mike Tapp, but he adds it is "always a good sign that people want to join Labour".

More from a Labour Party spokesman now on Natalie Elphicke's defection from the Conservatives.

Pressed on whether all Labour MPs are happy with her joining the party, he says "it's a sign of the progress that we've made".

"People recognise that on some of the key challenges facing the country, the Tories have failed", he says, adding that Elphicke is "someone who is willing to make the significant step of switching across to Keir Starmer's changed Labour Party".

"That's something we're very happy to see", he says.

Labour has defended its welcoming of Natalie Elphicke, despite previous criticism the Dover MP has faced.

In 2021, Elphicke and four of her colleagues were found to have breached the code of conduct over an attempt to influence judges in a case involving her ex-husband, and former MP, Charlie Elphicke, who was convicted and jailed for sex offences.

A Labour spokesman says "all of those issues have been dealt with previously, both in Parliament and in public."

He is also asked about Elphicke previously saying her ex-husband was punished for being "attractive and attracted to" women.

"Natalie can speak to her own remarks on that and she has spoken extensively about that case", he says, "I don't have anything to add to what she has said on that subject."

Angela Richardson, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, has been telling the BBC's World at One programme she thinks the people of Dover and Deal will be "sorry" and "disappointed" that their MP, Natalie Elphicke, has defected to Labour.

They've felt the impact of illegal immigration and small boat arrivals, she says.

Richardson goes on to say more about the reaction of Conservative MPs.

"I was sat next to Jacob Rees-Mogg on the benches, and he said: 'Natalie is even to the right of me'. I am not sure they're going to be happy bedfellows," Richardson continues.

"Labour has just got its first member of the ERG," she says, referring to the Brexit-backing European Research Group of Conservative MPs.

"It is quite extraordinary so there is a level of bemusement," she adds.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The BBC's Adam Fleming and Chris Mason sprung into action to record an emergency, breaking news, episode of Newscast to react to Natalie Elphicke's defection from the Tory party to join Labour.

Adam and Chris discuss the shocking defection, Elphicke’s track-record as an MP for Dover and Deal to date, and the response so far from MPs across the political spectrum.

You can listen to it here.

Natalie Elphicke has not been shy about criticising the Labour Party in the past, and her former party has been quick to dig out the receipts.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), the Conservative Party account posted a screenshot of an article Elphicke penned in April last year for the Daily Express, headlined: Don't trust Labour on immigration they really want open borders.

Elphicke's electorate of Dover and Deal is the entry point for many small boat arrivals.

A year ago Elphicke was warning against trusting the Labour party to reduce the number of small boat crossings, today she has defected, saying it's Rishi Sunak's government that cannot be trusted on the matter.

XCopyright: X

People from Natalie Elphicke's constituency in Dover have been speaking to the BBC's World at One programme on Radio 4 to share their views on her defection to Labour.

A woman says she is "gobsmacked" by Elphicke's move, and calls it is "rather disingenuous". She says Elphicke hasn't represented Dover, and calls the MP's views on immigration "appalling".

A man says that her defection to Labour was bound to happen as there are so many Tories trying to jump ship. "They need a place to go where they can still have a certain amount of power," he says.

Another woman says that Elphicke's defection doesn't surprise her at all. "Nobody cares about this part of Kent whether you're [from] Kent, Labour, Conservative or Martian," she says.