Natalie Elphicke, former extreme right wing and repugnant Tory MP now embraced in to the Labour Party by the person she used to call Sir Softy!
I was going to do a blog today asking the question about how Labour could possibly stomach having an MP with the repugnant views of Natalie Elphicke as part of their membership. However, I am not going to do so because I found the position absolutely summed up by the article below which appeared in my inbox earlier from Liam Thorp. I reproduce this below and fully acknowledge the authorship of Liam and the Liverpool Echo.
But first a few thoughts of mine. When I heard the news, I thought that I had misheard it and that she had actually joined Reform. This would be an appropriate place for a rabid right-winger who until a few days ago had been mouthing off at Starmer (Sir Softy in her view) and the Labour Party about a few issues. Then I thought that she had applied for membership but no she was already in!
Political parties are all coalitions and need to be a broad church. Taking someone in with such repugnant views which do not diverge from main Stream Labour but totally oppose main stream Labour beggars’ belief. No Labour members should never have a go at people like me who were Lib Dems when our Party worked nationally with David Cameron when their Party is now inclusive of people like Elphicke.
This is what Liam Thorp has to say. I repeat his email in full:
It was a balmy July in 2021 and England’s men’s football team had just suffered European Championship final heartbreak. After a nail-biting 1-1 draw with Italy, England players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho each missed penalties in the shout-out that gave Italy the victory at a packed Wembley Stadium. The three young Lions faced a torrent of horrific racist abuse following the match.
On a Conservative Party Whatsapp group, one of them was also being mocked by a Member of Parliament.
The MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, snidely joked to her colleagues that Marcus Rashford – who had spearheaded an impressive and passionate campaign to ensure that needy children would not go hungry – should have spent more time “perfecting his game” rather than “playing politics.” It was a cheap and crass shot. One of a smorgasbord of deeply unpleasant and divisive comments that have emanated from this particular politician.
Her most dogged work has been in denigrating desperate asylum seekers fleeing the horrors of war and persecution to try and seek safety in Britain. She was rightly castigated for using “appalling and dehumanising language” when she suggested people were “breaking into Britain” after arriving on the Kent shore.
And how can we forget her touching Christmas message? In which she said the festive period, a time for helping those in need, was a reminder of how important it was to end the small boats crossings.
Ms Elphicke has also been widely criticised for her response to the conviction of her then husband, Charlie Elphicke, for the sexual assault of three women. She cast doubt on his accusers, claiming he was an “easy target for false allegations” because he was “charming, wealthy and charismatic.”
She was also temporarily suspended from the House of Commons in 2021 for improperly trying to influence a judge in that trial.
With all this in mind I genuinely rubbed my eyes this week when a press release landed in my inbox from the Labour Party, announcing that this right-wing firebrand was leaving the Conservatives and crossing the floor to join Keir Starmer’s parliamentary team. I had to check that we hadn’t somehow rewound to April 1 – and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
There were a few rumblings last month when fellow former Tory Dan Poulter crossed the floor, but nothing of this magnitude and for clear reasons. A trained doctor, he hit out at his party’s stewardship of the National Health Service – although some correctly pointed to his less than impressive voting record, particularly when it came to supporting vulnerable people.
But that move was a calculated risk for Labour and it paid off. Not enough people will know of Dr Poulter but they will see a Tory MP dumping yet more pressure on Rishi Sunak and boosting Keir Starmer as he heads towards an election in search of the middle ground.
Ms Elphicke is a different story entirely – and in my opinion, this is a move too far.
It was only a year ago that she was writing an excoriating rant in the Daily Express about her new boss and party, headlined ‘Don’t trust Labour on immigration, they really want open borders’ in which she referred to Keir Starmer as “Sir Softy.”
People may argue that any defection from blue to red is a strategic win but I’m not convinced Labour actually gain that much from a move that has undoubtedly caused consternation and concern amongst its MPs, members and potential voters.
Ms Elphicke is standing down at the next election anyway and we have already seen reports from a number of Labour MPs who are deeply uncomfortable with her being admitted to the party. While some have spoken anonymously, I imagine Birkenhead MP Mick Whitely spoke for a fair few when he tweeted that the Dover MP’s “values are not the values of the Labour movement.”#
Keir Starmer has successfully moved his party into a position where they look almost certain to form the next government and he deserves credit for that, but a big reason for Labour’s polling success is that millions of people want to remove a party from power that has consistently sowed division and sought to divide people against each other.
Mr Starmer has said he wants to lead a government that will bring a return to decency in public life. Judging on her record and actions, it is hard to see how that ambition squares with the warm embrace offered to Natalie Elphicke.