Did Tory MP defect to the wrong party?

In the past week Labour has welcomed three new MPs – two of whom have crossed the floor from the Conservatives. The latest defection was timed to coincide with the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) and thus to cause Rishi Sunak maximum damage. The leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, declared himself “delighted” with Natalie Elphicke’s decision to switch. But some Labour MPs, including frontbenchers, tell Tortoise they were “confused, baffled and perplexed” by the arrival of Elphicke, an ardent Brexiteer and immigration hardliner who was once suspended from the House of Commons for trying to influence a judge presiding over the sexual assault trial of her then-husband, Charlie Elphicke. One shadow minister said: “I get that politics is a journey but she’s completely done a 180. We need to appeal as a party to everyone to win but that doesn’t mean losing our values or what we stand for.”