Natalie Elphicke defecates to Labour

[skyscraper101]

This is where I think Starmer has landed on this one: 1. it's another one in the eye for the Tories to add to the misery of the local elections, 2. it's a Dover MP which adds significance to the 'tough on immigration' line, 3. she's not standing for re-election anyway so it'll be a short term 'problem', and 4. that an outspoken Brexiteer Tory defecting to Labour is where we are now, then that sends a stronger message to undecided Tory/Labour voters that it's 'safe' to vote Labour in the general election, than telling her to go fuck herself.

I don't think it's a great look but I am totally unsurprised by this.

 

[Serge Forward]

Vermin in red (Chris DeBurgh song).

 

[Petcha]

This is where I think Starmer has landed on this one: 1. it's another one in the eye for the Tories to add to the misery of the local elections, 2. it's a Dover MP which adds significance to the 'tough on immigration' line, 3. she's not standing for re-election anyway so it'll be a short term 'problem', and 4. that an outspoken Brexiteer Tory defecting to Labour is where we are now, then that sends a stronger message to undecided Tory/Labour voters that it's 'safe' to vote Labour in the general election, than telling her to go fuck herself.

I don't think it's a great look but I am totally unsurprised by this.

Ok, all fair points. But really really dont like it. I mean I'm not gonna vote Labour anyway but if I was planning to this would not encourage me. I think it would have made him seem stronger if he very publically rejected her request to join.

 

[skyscraper101]

5. as to the Labour left

 

[kebabking]

...I don't see what Starmer has to gain here.

I see what he has to gain by another Tory MP defects..., but I'm not convinced that Elphicke was at the top of his wish list given her odious history and how the LP would react given the scare they've had about voters moving leftwards when faced with LP policies they don't like - but the biggest mystery is why she went to Labour, rather than Reform, or going Independent.

5. as to the Labour left

View attachment 423715

In the end, this.

If Starmer puts the Tories to the sword and gets a hundred seat majority, in a year Natalie Elphicke will be lucky to be a comedy pub quiz answer on a SCG away day.

 

[PR1Berske]

 

[Silas Loom]

Shes a total cunt and it's a bonkers decision. I take your point though that if nutters like Corbyn and Abbot can't get in then why should this idiot. I don't see what Starmer has to gain here.

Me neither. He got to gloat at PMQs, which interests nobody outside the Commons itself.

 

[Silas Loom]

but the biggest mystery is why she went to Labour, rather than Reform, or going Independent.

No mystery at all. She wants to be important, and she is a housing geek. Labour will be in power and will owe her a favour.

 

[Lord Camomile]

This is where I think Starmer has landed on this one: 1. it's another one in the eye for the Tories to add to the misery of the local elections, 2. it's a Dover MP which adds significance to the 'tough on immigration' line, 3. she's not standing for re-election anyway so it'll be a short term 'problem', and 4. that an outspoken Brexiteer Tory defecting to Labour is where we are now, then that sends a stronger message to undecided Tory/Labour voters that it's 'safe' to vote Labour in the general election, than telling her to go fuck herself.

I don't think it's a great look but I am totally unsurprised by this.

Aye, it's sadly just another example of how Starmer doesn't really care all that much how it plays with 'the left', because those simply aren't the votes he's interested in.

I see what he has to gain by another Tory MP defects..., but I'm not convinced that Elphicke was at the top of his wish list given her odious history and how the LP would react given the scare they've had about voters moving leftwards when faced with LP policies they don't like - but the biggest mystery is why she went to Labour, rather than Reform, or going Independent.

Also a fair point.

 

[Lord Camomile]

I know it's not the point, but he looks like he's literally keeping her at arm's length

 

[Silas Loom]

Aye, it's sadly just another example of how Starmer doesn't really care all that much how it plays with 'the left', because those simply aren't the votes he's interested in.

The hard left already think that Starmer is a Tory. It’s his natural supporters who are really cross about this.

 

[skyscraper101]

Aye, it's sadly just another example of how Starmer doesn't really care all that much how it plays with 'the left', because those simply aren't the votes he's interested in.

Exactly, they aren't the votes that matter in Labour winning or losing the election. If Corbyn proved nothing else, then he proved that much.

I think it'll make very little difference in all honesty. But the strategy is obvious.

 

[hash tag]

Shes a total cunt and it's a bonkers decision. I take your point though that if nutters like Corbyn and Abbot can't get in then why should this idiot. I don't see what Starmer has to gain here.

As I said on the Corbyn thread, great publicity and might even help some Tory voters switch their votes.

 

[Lord Camomile]

The hard left already think that Starmer is a Tory. It’s his natural supporters who are really cross about this.

 

[skyscraper101]

There's always that thing when a politician defects where the rejected party puts a spin on things to suggest they were some sort of uncommitted player anyway, but the fact she was such an unlikely defector was quite amusing listening to all the perplexed soundbytes from former Tory colleagues yesterday.

 

[nightowl]

I can sort of see why it's been done in a headline-grabbing way, appeal to a certain type of voter they want to target way for Labour but the fact this is such an unpleasant Tory is troubling.

 

[kebabking]

I can sort of see why it's been done in a headline-grabbing way, appeal to a certain type of voter they want to target way for Labour but the fact this is such an unpleasant Tory is troubling.

I'm not even convinced it's about attracting 'stop the boats!' voters - I simply don't believe that anyone who is motivated by that stuff, who knows who Elphicke is because of it, and therefore might be swayed by what she says, would even consider voting Labour on the issue.

I think the net has gone in the water on the search for 'a Tory MP', and unfortunately Elphicke is what got dredged up. There are, imv, many that Starmer would have preferred - Halfron, Tugendat, Green etc... who would be far less troublesome to the LP, and (critically) would be people who were if not aligned with, then steering towards, labour values/policy on the things they were criticising the Tory party for.

Elphicke OTOH, seems to be criticising Sunak for not being even further away from LP values/policy than he is, which is why I don't understand why she's gone to Labour - if she wanted a gig on KGB News, then going Reform or Independent (Bomb the Boats!) would have been far more productive....

 

[Silas Loom]

Elphicke OTOH, seems to be criticising Sunak for not being even further away from LP values/policy than he is, which is why I don't understand why she's gone to Labour - if she wanted a gig on KGB News, then going Reform or Independent (Bomb the Boats!) would have been far more productive....

She wants to do housing policy work, which she’ll get to do under Labour as a quid pro quo.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

She wants to do housing policy work, which she’ll get to do under Labour as a quid pro quo.

She's a non-entity backbencher with an appalling history of idiotic blunders, who was retiring at the next election anyway. Why would she have any leverage here? I mean it has lols value for Labour to have Tories defect to them, but what else?

 

[Karl Masks]

She's a non-entity backbencher with an appalling history of idiotic blunders, who was retiring at the next election anyway. Why would she have any leverage here? I mean it has lols value for Labour to have Tories defect to them, but what else?

because starmer wants to show tory voters that tories like him

 

[Silas Loom]

She's a non-entity backbencher with an appalling history of idiotic blunders, who was retiring at the next election anyway. Why would she have any leverage here? I mean it has lols value for Labour to have Tories defect to them, but what else?

I don’t understand what’s in it for Starmer either. I’m as baffled and annoyed as his MPs are.

I can see what’s in it for her, and why Labour appeals to her where Reform doesn’t, which is why I addressed that particular point.

 

[brogdale]

She wants to do housing policy work, which she’ll get to do under Labour as a quid pro quo.

The LP needs only 1 housing policy, that is to dramatically increase the stock of social housing. A nasty right-wing grifter won’t do that.

 

[Karl Masks]

She wants to do housing policy work, which she’ll get to do under Labour as a quid pro quo.

What a shame Labour doesn't have anyone or access to anyone that could do better policy work on this issue than her

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The LP needs only 1 housing policy, that is to dramatically increase the stock of social housing. A nasty right-wing grifter won’t do that.

The one thing they're pointedly extremely unlikely to do. They have already committed to not raising taxes while at the same time cutting borrowing. Social housing is built through borrowing.

 

[brogdale]

The one thing they're pointedly extremely unlikely to do. They have already committed to not raising taxes while at the same time cutting borrowing. Social housing is built through borrowing.

Yep, of course, it doesn’t effect the transfer of wealth from taxes on labour to unearned income; why would the LP be interested in it?

 

[Pickman's model]

The LP needs only 1 housing policy, that is to dramatically increase the stock of social housing. A nasty right-wing grifter won’t do that.

Better housing policies are available eg eirigi's universal public housing

 

[Puddy_Tat]

The LP needs only 1 housing policy, that is to dramatically increase the stock of social housing. A nasty right-wing grifter won’t do that.

nor will the labour party, so seems a reasonable fit...

 

[Saul Goodman]

She's absolutely vile so why has she been welcomed into the Party?

Because they're all the same. Self-serving cunts.
She swam frantically from the scuttled HMS Tory, straight into the propellors of the General Incompetence.

 

[hitmouse]

I appreciate it's unlikely to happen, but if Elphicke had a decent sense of humour she's got the chance to do something really funny here, now Starmer's rolled out the red carpet she should now just announce "oh, by the way, I think Corbyn was right about the claims of antisemitism within Labour being exaggerated for factional purposes" or similar.

 

[hash tag]

Her neighbour, Yvette Cooper said NE was a changed woman on R4 earlier.