Labor insists there is no place for Nigel Farage in the party after right-wing MP’s defection | Politics News

Nigel Farage would not be accepted into the Labor Party because his values ​​are “completely hostile” to the party, a shadow leader has said.

Anneliese Dodds was asked about her party’s “red lines” after the shock defection of former Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke to the opposition on Wednesday.

Some Labor figures have expressed concerns about the move, given that the Dover MP has repeatedly attacked Labor over migration and was seen as being to the right of her party.

Mrs. Dodds told the Policy Center with Sophy Ridge that she was not contacted by anyone “to say they did not want this decision to be made”, following reports that Sir Keir Starmer faced a hostile response.

Asked whether Farage would be welcome if he wanted to join the Labor Party, Dodds said: “Nigel Farage is someone who is well outside of any kind of Labor values.

“He’s proven that time and time again.”

She said the former Brexit leader and Elphicke are not comparable, as Farage is “someone whose values ​​are completely hostile to the Labor Party”.

“I think in what Natalie Elphicke has set out today, she has demonstrated very clearly that she is very concerned about the issues that concern both Labor MPs and Labor members and, indeed, many Labor voters,” Dodds said.

“She is very concerned about the impact of the lack of housing delivery on people across the country.”

Elphicke left the Conservatives with an attack on Rishi Sunak, saying that under his leadership the party had become “a synonym for incompetence and division” and abandoned the center.

The desertion comes after the MP Dan Poulter’s decision to leave the Conservatives for Labor in April and the dismal local election results for the Conservatives last week.

While many in the Labor Party celebrated the move as a sign of the party’s growing appeal, others expressed concern about Ms Elphicke’s previous comments and whether she should be welcomed.

Desertion ‘stressed John the Baptist’s generosity of spirit’

Former Labor Party shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was “surprised and shocked”, adding: “I am a great believer in conversion powers, but I think even this would have undermined John the Baptist’s generosity of spirit. “

Speaking to LBC, the veteran leftist said it was “certainly a blow to the Conservatives”, but added that Ms Elphicke had expressed views in the past that “I don’t think the party should be associated with”.

He cited her attacks on migrants and condemnation of English footballer Marcus Rashford when he missed a penalty at the Euros, suggesting he was too focused on his free school meals campaign.

McDonnell called on the Labor leadership to return the whip to Diane Abbot and Jeremy Corbyn, who remain suspended over comments relating to anti-Semitism, saying it was beginning to look like there was “no one Labor wouldn’t accept”.

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‘We are not a debate club’

Concerns were also raised by former Labor leader Neil Kinnock, who said the party has to be “choosy” about who it allows to join.

“It’s a very broad church, but churches have walls and boundaries,” he told BBC Radio 4.

He said the new deputy “has to decide whether she is committed to the program and principles of the Labor Party”.

A defection and an intervention show that the conservative party is fragmenting

“We are a political party and not a debate club,” he added.

Ms Elphicke is standing down at the general election.

She was elected Conservative MP for Dover in 2019, taking over the role previously held by her disgraced then-husband Charlie, who was jailed for two years after being found guilty in 2020 of sexually assaulting two women.

She supported him during his trial but said their marriage ended with his conviction.

‘Totally absurd’

His defection was met with bewilderment and disbelief on the Tory benches, with one minister telling Sky News it was “laughable and ignominious… a disgrace and a laughing stock”.

Science Secretary Michelle Donelan said his defection was “completely absurd”, adding: “I was shocked… it literally makes no sense.”

Railways Minister Huw Merriman said: “It is It just shows a real opportunistic turn in her career, but also that the Labor Party doesn’t seem to have a set of principles either.”