Natalie Elphicke: MP critical of Rwanda plan who gained seat after husband’s sexual assault charges

The first the world knew of Natalie Elphicke’s defection to Labour was when she sidled into the Commons chamber moments before PMQs began and perched herself on the green benches directly behind Sir Keir Starmer.

It was both an understated and yet an explosive way for the Dover MP, never one to shy away from the limelight, to announce that she was becoming the second Tory backbencher in a fortnight to switch their allegiance.

Minutes later, the Labour press office whirred into life, churning out a 498-word statement from the party’s newest recruit which contained attack line after attack line on Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and his record in Downing Street.

The shock on the Conservative benches was clear as Sir Keir revelled in the moment, pointing out the Prime Minister had “lost two Tory MPs in two weeks” following the defection of Dr Dan Poulter on Sunday April 28.

Ms Elphicke’s decision will come as an enormous blow to No 10, not least because of all the Tories who may be tempted by Labour she was a most unlikely candidate.

Generally thought of as on the Right of the Conservatives, she was a Boris Johnson supporter who made her disdain for Mr Sunak clear in her parting shot.

She said he had “ousted” the former prime minister in a “coup”, adding that under him the “Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division”.

But it is her attacks on his record, and especially her favouring of Labour’s approach to tackling illegal migration, that will cut particularly deep for Mr Sunak.

The Dover MP was first elected in Boris Johnson’s landslide 2019 election victory, taking over a seat which had previously been held by her then husband, Charlie Elphicke.

He had stood down as the Tory candidate a month before after facing allegations that he had sexually assaulted two women in incidents almost a decade apart.

Ms Elphicke was swiftly anointed as his successor in an uncontested selection process that caused some consternation amongst local members.

In her maiden Commons speech, on January 20 2020, she praised her then husband for his willingness to “engage in hand-to-hand political combat” whilst an MP.

In July 2020, Mr Elphicke was convicted on three counts of sexual assault, and a month later Ms Elphicke announced in a newspaper interview that they were divorcing.

Criticism of Government

She quickly got into her stride in the Commons and became known for her outspoken interventions on illegal migration and Brexit border checks.

In recent weeks she had become increasingly vocal in her criticism of the Government on both counts, paving the way for her shock defection to Labour.

A long-standing critic of the Rwanda plan, which she has argued will not work, she advocated for the Government to instead pursue a returns agreement with France.

In a speech to the Commons last December, she said: “We must turn to diplomacy once again, with a cross-channel agreement to return people to France rather than Rwanda.”

Her stance meant that she was always more likely to favour the approach taken by Sir Keir, who has said he will seek to secure a new returns agreement with the EU.

Yet she was previously scathing of his approach, writing in a July 2023 column that while the Tories were trying to stop the boats “Labour politicians oppose, oppose and oppose”.

Critic of post-Brexit border checks

In recent months she has also criticised the Government’s approach to introducing new post-Brexit border checks that will affect the Port of Dover.

Last month, she laid into Sir Mark Spencer, the farming minister, over the “slashing” of funding for the port’s facilities which carry out health controls on goods arriving from Europe.

Once again she may have proved more tempted by Labour’s proposals, which include a new agri-food deal with the EU that would reduce red tape on food imports.

Ms Elphicke, a former lawyer who specialised in housing, has also been an outspoken critic of what she said was the Tories’ failure to build enough new homes.

Having grown up in a council house herself, she championed higher quality social homes and was awarded an OBE for services to housing in 2015.

As an MP she backed the Government’s plans, which were blocked by Labour, to repeal EU rules on water pollution that are blocking 150,000 new homes.

Within an hour of her defection her former Tory colleagues were posting quotes on social media where she had attacked Sir Keir and his policies.

And while she was welcomed to the Labour benches to raucous cheers from MPs, Ms Elphicke may find her landing with the party’s Left-wing base is more bumpy.