in it will be more likely because of natalie elphicke.— natalie elphicke. elphicke. in 100 days or three months we _ natalie elphicke. in 100 days or three months we can _ natalie elphicke. in 100 days or three months we can take i natalie elphicke. in 100 days or three months we can take awayj natalie elphicke. in 100 days or- three months we can take away the majority and actually call a general election. the rate at which people are defecting from the tory party to the labour party, it is a government thatis the labour party, it is a government that is in decay, a party indicates. tim, what is the logic here, that natalie elphicke can have the whip but diane abbott can't? diane abbott should have the _ but diane abbott can't? diane abbott should have the whip _ but diane abbott can't? diane abbott should have the whip restored, i i should have the whip restored, i have said that since last year. is this a strategic mistake and why is keir starmer not allowing the whip to be restored? i keir starmer not allowing the whip to be restored?— to be restored? i

good afternoon, any words for natalie elphicke? me, with natalie being further to the right than me, i would be surprised if she finds a home with the labour party. if you look at the things she has said on the past, her criticisms of labour on the policy on the boats, it seems incompatible with her position now. it's up to her. any words to offer her? i only go through dover for the ferry. natalie elphicke became an mp in 2019, replacing her then—husband charlie elphicke after he was charged with sexually assaulting two women. he was later convicted and jailed, at which point she announced that their marriage was ending. tonight, labour will hope the focus is on the big picture — two defections from the conservatives in less than a fortnight. natalie elphicke today, after this man, dan poulter, a week last sunday. let's speak to adam fleming, who joins us from the newscast podcast studio. adam, good to see you. timing is everything, isn't it?— everything, isn't it? yes, that thin of everything, isn't it? yes, that thing of unveilin

_ to natalie elphicke. do you agree with them? robert, _ to natalie elphicke.th them? robert, thanks. on l to natalie elphicke. do you agree i with them? robert, thanks. on this question about the past and the future. i'm not standing here pretending that everything has been perfect about the last 14 years, of course not. but i'm incredibly proud of our record in government, and some of the most difficult circumstances that any government has faced since the end of the second world war, not least starting with our country that was bankrupt. whether you look at the economy, the transformation in our schools, the strengthening of our defence, all these things, how we have progressed as a society in inclusiveness, it is her record to be proud of. of course there were areas that were far from perfect. you talk more recently about the last few years. those are global shocks, the pandemic didn't just happen to the uk. the war in the ukraine impacted energy bills notjust in the uk. what is happening in the middle east isn't just something that concerns the united king

it's a shame, with natalie elphicke? it's a shame, with natalie being _ natalie elphicke? hicke? it's a shame, with natalie being further to _ natalie elphicke? it's a shame, with natalie being further to the - natalie elphicke? it's a shame, with natalie being further to the right - natalie being further to the right than me i would be surprised if she finds a home with the labour party. if you look at the things she has said on— if you look at the things she has said on the _ if you look at the things she has said on the past, her criticism of labour— said on the past, her criticism of labour on — said on the past, her criticism of labour on the policy on the boats, it seems— labour on the policy on the boats, it seems incompatible with her position— it seems incompatible with her position now. it�*s it seems incompatible with her position nova— it seems incompatible with her. position now._ any position now. it's up to her. any words to offer _ position now. it's up to her. any words to offer her— position now. it's up to her. any words to offer her must - position now.

okay well that was natalie elphicke , the new labour mp. w labour mp. >> very strange new labour mp. >> very strange new labour mp. >> now we're going to take a very quick break, but we're going to hear another view on the whole immigration debate. perhaps someone who believes that actually , no, all that actually, no, all immigration is good for the economy. we'll find i >> -- >> good afternoon. britain. it's 1:26. now, as we were discussing before the break, two former conservative ministers are behind a new report by the centre for policy studies. it claims that mass immigration has failed to boost our economy. >> yes. it also argues it's putting severe pressure on housing, public services and infrastructure. robert jenrick and neil o'brien, who we just spoke to, are pushing the government to take on over 30 recommendations, including creating a department of border security. and this is all to dramatically bring down immigration to that promised tens of thousands level . tens of thousands level. >> well, joining us now is the professor o

yesterday, natalie elphicke jumped ship . natalie elphicke jumped ship.ing the 64th conservative mp to declare they will not stand again at the next general election. every day there's a fresh battle front for rishi sunak at the moment. >> it really feels like it . >> it really feels like it. nadhim zahawi obviously had to resign under a cloud, when it was when it emerged that he had been investigated by hmrc from for his tax affairs and had tried to cover that cover up. that investigation . all of that that investigation. all of that aside, he was actually considered a very competent minister when he was in government and is well liked as an mp. he also has an impressive back story. a boy who came over from baghdad with almost no english, who went on to found yougov and then to go on to be the chancellor of the exchequer. that sort of calibre of mp rishi sunak can't really afford to lose the fact that the number is now up to 64 conservative mps . now up to 64 conservative mps. to put that in perspective, before the 1997 labour landslide , 75 conservative

natalie elphicke was elected _ colleagues? natalie elphicke was elected in 2019. keir starmer is the solution to the problem is collective she has the bravery to stand _ collective she has the bravery to stand in — collective she has the bravery to stand in that seat against a conservative candidate to make the case for _ conservative candidate to make the case for why she thinks labour's no plan to— case for why she thinks labour's no plan to stop — case for why she thinks labour's no plan to stop the boats is good for her constituents when it means more people _ her constituents when it means more people coming across, more people clogging _ people coming across, more people clogging up photos, more nhs places bein- clogging up photos, more nhs places being pressured. and of course, she isn't going _ being pressured. and of course, she isn't going to come she is running scared _ isn't going to come she is running scared which mean she hasn't got a very strong — scared which mean she hasn't got a very strong record to defend. jonathan _ very strong record to defe

natalie elphicke., as she she walked the floor yesterday . but of course floor yesterday. but of course is this damaging for keir starmer. he is facing a bit of a backlash. anyway this is what natalie elphicke had to say . natalie elphicke had to say. >> i don't really know her to be honest . she's very much >> i don't really know her to be honest. she's very much on >> i don't really know her to be honest . she's very much on the honest. she's very much on the more of the right wing of the party. i mean, i know all parties are a broad church, but she was kind of an erg member and, big liz truss supporter, i believe so, i don't really know her personally very well. i mean, whilst it's disappointing to see colleagues go, this one does not look like a good fit. i mean, i think most people are very, very surprised. it seemed to come to a surprise to most mps. and yeah, it shows really a real lack of principle . st real lack of principle. st giles, well, obviously that was the education secretary, there we

natalie. elphickeeen very, very critical of sir keir starmer, basically saying he favours open borders now. hey presto. suddenly, on the eve of a general election , she defects a general election, she defects to a party. she's done nothing but criticise for years and years. do you buy this? is this an onorable defection or is something fishy going on down there in dover? what's her career about to head off the white cliffs of dover? thelma and louise style. and this is about a dramatic way of making her seem like one of the good guys, not one of those who's spectacularly failed to control our borders for all of these years. get in touch. as you can tell, i'm hyped. i hope you are too. get in touch gbnews.com/yoursay say. but before all of that is your headunes before all of that is your headlines and it's tatiana sanchez. >> martin. thank you. the top stories from the gb news room. the conservative mp for dover stunned her colleagues this afternoon, crossing the floor and joining the labour party. nats

no uni jack carson. >> it's got to be natalie elphicke. to defend herself. so i'll say sorry, natalie, but come on. what are you doing? she's joining. she should have gone to reform. if these are her politics. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> doesn't make any sense. go on. bill. >> moeen ali. the green candidate elected in leeds last week who cried. this is for gaza. if you look at what he's actually said, you know, immediately after the october the 7th attacks, saying the palestinians have the right to fight back. his is the type of extreme ism that, you know, really keep it out of, keep it out of the labour party. >> all right. today's winner of the union jackass. natalie elphicke. there we go. right. thank you, thank you, thank you. great show this. thank you all for watching. and i've got something special coming your way at 9 pm. tomorrow. so i'll see you then. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello. good evening. it's been another dry and fine day for many of us, and there'll be more in the way of sunshin

i'm delighted to welcome natalie elphicke to the labour party. a strong track record on issues such as housing, she is on the front line when it comes to the crisis of small boats, and the reason that she is given forjoining the labour party is very, very important, because i think she speaks for very many tory voters in saying that the tory party has changed, it's left the centre ground, but equally the labour party has changed. we are very clearly the party of the national interest, country first, party second, and i look forward to working with her on the mission to deliver the real change that this country desperately needs. are there more mps that might be defecting? i think there are very many tory voters who genuinely feel that the party that they may have voted for many, many times in some places, is no longer the tory party that they see, and i say to every tory voter who feels that they want to be part of a national mission to change our country for the better that the project we've built here in this changed labour party is a project t

to the _ pleased to welcome natalie elphicke to the labour— pleased to welcome natalie elphicke to the_ pleased to welcome natalie elphicke to the labour party and you - pleased to welcome natalie elphicke to the labour party and you heard i to the labour party and you heard for yourself — to the labour party and you heard for yourself the _ to the labour party and you heard for yourself the reasons _ to the labour party and you heard for yourself the reasons she i to the labour party and you heard for yourself the reasons she tookl to the labour party and you heard l for yourself the reasons she took a very difficult — for yourself the reasons she took a very difficult step, _ for yourself the reasons she took a very difficult step, a _ for yourself the reasons she took a very difficult step, a very— very difficult step, a very difficult _ very difficult step, a very difficult thing _ very difficult step, a very difficult thing to - very difficult step, a very difficult thing to cross i very difficult step, a veryl difficult thing to cross the very difficult step, a very- difficult th

natalie elphicke in natalie elphicke has been absolutely natalie elphicke made a speech in the house ago about housing, where she criticised the government completely for its retreat on the landlords bill. that's the thing she's going to be advising the party on, okay? he hasn't changed. he hasn't changed one policy because of natalie elphicke. her politics have have changed because she sees what a failure the conservative government is. and the rats are leaving the tory sinking ship. >> can i can i say something right. most people in the country are not going to say, oh, well done, natalie, you know a lot about housing. that's the right thing to do. what they're going to say is keir starmer should have shown a bit of class and said, thank you for your support. but no, because you're very, very, very far away from where we are and where we're going. but the reason he didn't say that, because he doesn't have one particular direction of travel, that's the difference. matthew, most people are not sat at home with a, with a with an excel sheet looking at policy. what they're looking at i

good afternoon, any words for natalie elphicke? it's a shame, with natalie being further to the right than me i would be surprised if she finds a home with the labour party. if you look at the things she has said in the past, her criticisms of labour on immigration policy, on the boats, it seems completely incompatible with her position now. pfft, it's up to her. any words to offer her? i only go through dover for the ferry. natalie elphicke became an mp in 2019, replacing her then—husband charlie elphicke, who she's seen talking to here. he was charged with sexually assaulting two women, and later convicted and jailed, at which point she announced that their marriage was ending. tonight, labour will hope the focus is on the big picture. two defections from the conservatives in less than a fortnight. natalie elphicke today, after this man, dan poulter, a week last sunday. and chris is here. if you were going to pick a conservative mp to defect to labour, would you have picked natalie elphicke? i would you have picked natalie elhicke

natalie elphicke crossed the floor last week, and the paper reported through gabriel pogrund that inshe had had a conversation with then justice secretary robert buckland asking him to intervene in the court case of her then husband charlie elphick facing sexual assault allegations of which he was convicted. and here's how gabriel pogrund summed it up. as i understand it, having spoken to two people - who were in the room, she said, number one, she said she did not think it was furtherl that it was being held - at southwark crown court, where it would get a lot. of publicity, the first to be held after lockdown, _ and she also felt that a very senior judge would throw the book at him, and she felt that, i am not sure i'm| allowed to say these words... you cannot use words out of context that are swearwords, but you can use words in context that are swearwords. well, with that, i'm going to say that she allegedly said - that she thought the judge, . ladyjustice whipple would be hard—arse and would be unfair on her husband. i there is a word you don't hear often enough on radio 4. henr

let's get back to natalie elphicke- tell— benches. let's get back to natalie elphicke. safe conservative seat —— only been an mp. worth noting she succeeded charlie elphickjohn are you note the same surname, he was her husband but he stood down from parliament because he was charged later and convicted of serious sexual offences. they have subsequently divorced, but that is the back story to natalie elphicke succeeding him in the constituency. she's only been an mp since 2019 and was on the right of the conservative party. if you'd asked me as an exercise this morning to draw a list of the 100 conservative mps i thought would be most likely to defect to the labour party, natalie elphicke would have been nowhere near it. she is on the right of the conservative party and a big supporter of borisjohnson's leadership and in her statement announcing her defection she vents her frustration at rishi sunak for an unelected leader replacing an elected leader. it is a statement of defection to the labour party which extols her support for boris johnson which extols her support fo

natalie elphicke cross last week, and story? natalie elphicke cross last week. and the — story?oss last week, and the paper _ story? natalie elphicke cross last week, and the paper reported - story? natalie elphicke cross last. week, and the paper reported that story? natalie elphicke cross last - week, and the paper reported that in 2020 _ week, and the paper reported that in 2020 she _ week, and the paper reported that in 2020 she had had a conversation with thenjustice _ 2020 she had had a conversation with thenjustice secretary 2020 she had had a conversation with then justice secretary robert buckland asking him to intervene with her— buckland asking him to intervene with her husband charlie elphick's sexual_ with her husband charlie elphick's sexual assault allegations he was then facing and has since been convicted _ then facing and has since been convicted of.— then facing and has since been convicted of. , ., , convicted of. number one, she said she did not — convicted of. number one, she said she did not think— convicted of. number one, she said she did not think it _

words’ since natalie elphicke, the consethe words from e natalie elphicke, the consethe words from nataliecke that you can bring us? >> absolutely. this was released at midday, just as mps were preparing for prime minister's questions, just as the prime minister got to his feet. natalie elphicke said today i announced that i have decided to join the labour party and that i will sit in parliament as a labour mp. when i was elected in 2019. the conservative party occupied the centre ground of british politics. the party was about building the future and making the most of the opportunities that lay ahead for our country. since then, many things have changed. the elected prime minister was ousted in a coup led by the unelected rishi sunak under rishi sunak, the conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division. the centre ground has been abandoned and key pledges of the 2019 manifesto have been ditched. she goes on to write about how the labour party has changed from the leadership under jeremy corbyn, and changed from the leadership underjeremy corbyn, and points to what she s

natalie elphicke and her dirty laundry— natalie elphicke and her dirty laundry said _ natalie elphickenoon for a three hour rehearsal because you have to get everybody in line, you have to then link up all the countries, 36 countries, 25 countries, whatever it is. you've got to get all the presenters in place. you've got to go, "hello, are you there?" in your special language. you've got to hold up a piece of paper to say that you can hear them, all that, and then on your block and then come back. then you've got to do an afternoon show! so the rehearsal was recorded, then we come on to the evening, you mustn't drink a drop because you're going to be speaking and you're going to be representing our country. it's been fascinating. and to see the love and the work and the detail of all these performers going into it — i've loved it. i've talked too long for your show. laura, look, we love you — we respect and love you — but your show is a little bit dull compared to the eurovision. 0k, cheers, sweetie, thanks. i can't top that — thank you tojoanna. thank you to my trio at the desk and to

natalie elphicke?>> yes. >> well, it's very curious , >> well, it's very curious, isn't it, because, they're mystified , frankly, because she mystified, frankly, because she was seen as being really right on the right of the party. >> she was a member of the european research group. she supported liz truss. so really, the last person that you would have expected to go over to laboun have expected to go over to labour, particularly as, as a conservative mp for dover up until wednesday, she spent plenty of time rubbishing keir starmer and his plans, or lack of a plan to stop the boats. but now she's suddenly gone about some sort of conversion and says that rishi sunaks plan isn't going to work and that she puts more faith in keir starmer. now lord cameron today has been saying that this is naked opportunity. opportunity pardon me by labour as much as anything. lots of tory mps mystified and not very impressed. and i have to say, with labour mps, a lot of them are pretty horrified at the fact that she's b

good afternoon, any words for natalie elphicke? ng further to the right than me i would be surprised if she finds a home with the labour party. if you look at the things she has said in the past, her criticisms of labour on immigration policy, on the boats, it seems completely incompatible with her position now. pfft, it's up to her. any words to offer her? i only go through dover for the ferry. natalie elphicke became an mp in 2019, replacing her then—husband charlie elphicke, who she's seen talking to here. he was charged with sexually assaulting two women, and later convicted and jailed, at which point she announced that their marriage was ending. tonight, labour will hope the focus is on the big picture. two defections from the conservatives in less than a fortnight. natalie elphicke today, after this man, dan poulter, a week last sunday. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. john swinney has become the seventh first minister of scotland. his appointment was rubber—stamped by the king before he was

and in comes natalie elphicke, who sat with the erg and was one of the key proponents of brexit.s itself to the criticism of keir starmer that he is creating new labour. he might say that to win elections you need to have a broad church, but i wonder how people to the left of him feel about it. guest: it's not just people to the left, there are more mainstream centrists in the labor party that i have spoken with today, people who would be very happy to be aligned with the new labor project who are still bemused and slightly concerned, some of them, about natalie elphicke's arrival to the party because of her past views not just on immigration, but criticizing manchester united football at marcus rashford and his food and poverty campaign and for her criticisms of labour. just last year she wrote an article in which she called keir starmer sir softie, that derisive label that rishi sunak often applies to him. she a cute labour of having no plan of tackling illegal migration and of wanting open borders. so it is different of her to now go to saying that labour is this party of the

they've got natalie elphicke.r security guard, which is partly what we already do anyway. yeah, apart from maybe the involvement of m15. but i thought they would get involved if necessary. and by talking about this and then accepting natalie elphicke, people are now looking at all the scandal around natalie elphicke and not sort of dissecting sir keir starmer's policies, which makes him a very astute politician , him a very astute politician, frankly. and somebody i wouldn't want to play chess against. >> yeah, but why would she want to put herself in that position? >> she must have known that all this dirt will be dragged out. i mean, it had been put to bed and it's all out in the open again. she's having everything sort of gone through with the forensic comb, and i just cannot see what, what she would get out of this. >> well, you could also . well, i >> well, you could also. well, i suspect because it seems as in that book , mayor of that book, mayor of casterbridge, i don't know whether you ever read it, but t

then comes natalie elphicke. she was one of the key performance of brexit.starmer within his own party that he's creating new labour too. his own party that he's creating new labourtoo. he might his own party that he's creating new labour too. he might say that there's nothing wrong with that. i wonder how people in the left feel about that. it’s wonder how people in the left feel about that. �* , ., , wonder how people in the left feel about that. �*, ., , , wonder how people in the left feel aboutthat. �*, ., , ., about that. it's not 'ust people to the left. i would _ about that. it's notjust people to the left. i would say _ about that. it's notjust people to the left. i would say there - about that. it's notjust people to the left. i would say there are - the left. i would say there are more of mainstream centrist with the labour party, people who would be very happy to be aligned with the new labour project, who are still the muse to concern them about natalie elphicke arriving into the party. because of her past views, notjust party. because of her pa

. >> and the day after natalie elphicke crosses the floor.n, a bit of a brutal day for the leadership. >> oh, totally. i mean, natalie elphicke came in second in a fortnight or whatever it is. i mean , i to use, lady bracknell mean, i to use, lady bracknell here to lose one mp, looked like misfortune to lose two looks like carelessness and who knows how many more are going to follow. but but to go back to zahawi zahawi himself. i mean , zahawi zahawi himself. i mean, he's had a pretty a starry role in parliament. he served in so many of the great offices, and i suspect his real motivation is, look, we're going to get utterly slaughtered in the general election. do i really want to be languishing on, on, on the opposition benches ? and i've opposition benches? and i've known plenty of mps in my time who have found themselves, particularly tory mps after the blair landslide, who were in a state of clinical depression and remained in that for a considerable length of time. >> it's worth saying, peter , >> it's worth saying, peter, that, were to

now, of course, one reason for that is natalie elphick's politics.ight of the conservative party she's been a huge proponent of the rwanda bill. if anything , it rwanda bill. if anything, it sounded as though she didn't think it went far enough . but think it went far enough. but also, of course, there was this huge, huge controversy over her backing. her husband, the former mp charlie elphicke, when he was convicted for sexual offences. after that conviction, she said that the reason he was being punished for being attracted and attractive to women. now, that's not the sort of comment you expect to hear from any politician, let alone a female labour politician. so i think it's not really surprising that quite a lot of labour mps. it sounds as though jess phillips is leading the charge, aren't happy about the newest member of their benches at all. >> it seems to me, olivia, that keir starmer took this decision with a small cabal of advisers he didn't consult widely at all, which doesn't augur well for the future, does it? and even the chief whip, who

specifically as natalie elphicke, notjust a conservative mp, but natalie elphicke?sed to see she had taken the decision i l see she had taken the decision i think she's done the right thing and she has put her constituents first, and she's put their concerns first. she is stepping down at the election? . . , she is stepping down at the election?— she is stepping down at the election? ,, , ., , , election? she has stated she is ste imi election? she has stated she is stepping down _ election? she has stated she is stepping down at _ election? she has stated she is stepping down at the _ election? she has stated she is stepping down at the next - election? she has stated she is i stepping down at the next general election, but until then she has been clear that she wants to serve her constituents and in the statement she released she talked about the fact that children are stuck in temper your accommodation in her constituency are in a dreadful situation —— temporary accommodation. we've had promises from the conservatives manifesto in 2019 and she referred to that, p

natalie elphicke has been the mp for dover in kent since 2019. chief political correspondent henry zeffmanjoins me from the houses of parliament — henry, was this a surprise? it was a shock. if you had asked me before this afternoon to list 100 conservative mps most likely to defect to the labour party, natalie elphicke would have been nowhere near that list. and i think that was reflected in the faces of conservative mps at prime minister's questions, as keir starmer announced at the start of his question that he wanted to welcome her to the labour side. mps had not noticed her there, and they were expressing to bewilderment to each other. natalie elphicke's announcement will hurt rishi sunak, because she goes for him on an issue that is central to his attempt to recover his political position. she accuses him of failing on small boats. remember, that is one of his five priorities, and she is the mp for dover and deal in kent, where some of these crossings happen. so that will sting. the conservative party pointing out in response, hang on a sec

had it natalie elphicke and _ weeks because had it natalie elphicke and doctor- weeks because had it by labour as - was also unveiled by labour as crossing — was also unveiled by labour as crossing to— was also unveiled by labour as crossing to the _ was also unveiled by labour as crossing to the conservatives. i was also unveiled by labour as| crossing to the conservatives. i think_ crossing to the conservatives. i think this — crossing to the conservatives. i think this is _ crossing to the conservatives. i think this is another _ crossing to the conservatives. i| think this is another humiliating moment— think this is another humiliating moment for— think this is another humiliating moment for rishi _ think this is another humiliating moment for rishi sunak, - think this is another humiliating moment for rishi sunak, not. think this is another humiliating - moment for rishi sunak, not because of the _ moment for rishi sunak, not because of the comments _ moment for rishi sunak, not because of the comments that _ moment for rishi sunak, not because of the comments that he _ moment

natalie. elphickend's trial. a story we'll be tackling in greater detail on tomorrow's mark dolan tonight, but, folks, listen, the e word that i mentioned to greg just a moment ago is eurovision. that's right. we've stayed off the subject because it's happening tonight, and i'd much rather you tackled the big stories of the day with me rather than watching that rubbish. but let me bring you up to date all the performers have now done their songs and the voting has begun. it's not clear at the moment who will win , but at the moment who will win, but how about this? israel's eurovision star eden golan. it was very beautiful and talented young woman. receive served a mix of cheers and loud boos as she performed on stage after gaza demonstrators tried to storm the show. let's get reaction from a man who is a consummate performer himself and would never be shouted down. coronation street star charlie lawson , charlie, what do you lawson, charlie, what do you make of the mindless thugs booing the israeli en

of course, what he didn't say was natalie . elphicke was was natalie. pily ensconced in the tory party for all those years to . party for all those years to. >> yes, it is interesting. it sort of does feed a little bit into this narrative that we've been hearing time and time again from rishi sunak that labour has no plan. we're going to, i suppose, hear a lot more about that in the coming months and weeks. but chris, it's interesting seeing rishi sunak taking on a foreign policy speech. he's traditionally been a very domestic policy focused person. of course, his portfolios before becoming prime minister were all economics related, were all domestic . this related, were all domestic. this is almost new territory for him, but i suppose it's crucial in order to create that dividing line with keir starmer . line with keir starmer. >> yeah, he is that kind of individual who's globally facing. he's got a house in california. don't forget he's married to a wife who's part of a of a of a almost a first family in india. given the given that given their wealth ,

i'm talking about natalie elphicke. indeed, dover , who elphicke.k like a bleeding heart liberal. >> are you going to be joining us soon, andrew? >> when she when she defected, i heard she said i thought there was a mistake and that they'd got it wrong, that she'd actually defected to nigel farage and richard tice reform party because that's where her heart lies. >> well, that's what i think people, as you say, if she was, if she was on defection watch, she would have been on the defection watch to reform list. >> i'm not sure. i don't quite agree that it's completely unravelled. i mean, we have seen some criticism this morning, from matt wrack, who is the leader of the fire brigades union, president of the tuc. and he's president of the tuc. they're not actually a labour, affiliate at the moment, if i'm correct. but el—sisi is very close. he's he's on he's on the far left of the of the political spectrum . so he's having spectrum. so he's having a little pot for his own reasons on the far right. well, she , she on the far right. well, she, she now

should we start with natalie elphicke ? because if you want elphicke?you want to. >> yes. >> yes. >> why are you reluctant to. i mean, the word weird springs to mind . that was so strange on mind. that was so strange on wednesday. what did you make of it all, yeah. well, she is quite an erratic, you know, individual , erratic politician. so it is an unusual. >> do you mean by that? what >> do you mean by that? what >> i think she's a bit, a bit unpredictable. >> she's. it's never quite clear to work out where she's been on the political spectrum or what? what she wants, i have to say, i kind of rather assume that she was going to carry on and stand again and. and had assumed that the seat in dover would she could stand as a labour candidate. and i don't know whether i mean, she didn't announce she was going. i think, when she first said it. that came a few hours later, and i sort of wonder whether she assumed it would come her way. but i don't know. i mean, you know, we can only obviously look at is she would you categorise her as a loss to the conserva

natalie elphicke, who was too.mly on the right of politics and once mocked sir keir starmer as sir softy , has keir starmer as sir softy, has defected to labour. i'll be giving my view. israel has launched its long expected rafa offensive and vowed to eliminate the remaining hamas battalions in the city. i'll be joined by an israeli mp who also attended the oxford pro—palestine protests today and like the prodigal son, it seems the king's schedule is too busy. state of the nation starts now. i'll also be joined by a particularly pugnacious panel this evening historian and broadcaster doctor tessa dunlop and the founder of the new culture forum, peter whittle. as always, as you know, i want to hear from you. it's a crucial part of the programme. email me mercy muroki gbnews.com. but now it's what you've all been waiting for. the news of the day with sam francis.

natalie elphicke, the mp for dover, says rishi sunak has failed on his pledge to stop the boats, butously accused labour of having no plan to deal with illegal immigration. canterbury mp rosie duffield said labour mps were "baffled" by her "really peculiar" move to swap sides. but a senior party figure hailed her switch as "one hell of a coup". 0ur chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, told me that labour leader keir starmer and his allies are jubilant that natalie elphicke hasjoined labour. and that's for the simple reason that they can now say to rishi sunak and to the voters that rishi sunak has promised to, in his words, stop the boats, stop the small boats crossing the channel. and the mp for dover, which is where so many of those boats arrive, has now publicly declared that she backs keir starmer to achieve that goal over rishi sunak. make no mistake, that is a proper blow in public relations terms for the conservative party, for rishi sunak. however, as you say, there is significant unease, mostly private, but a little bit in public from labour mps about this basically

hythe constituency labour party executive has said they are shocked and appalled to hear that natalie elphicked by elphicke in her time as mp. we believe she's a toxic and divisive figure who has no place in the labour party. while sent most of been temporarily headline grabbing at the time, we think tremendous damage has been done to the reputation in doing so." they see this as a political coup this week. see you soon. hello there. temperatures have been creeping up day by day. high pressure has brought plenty of sunshine around, but a weather front launching across northern scotland has brought thicker cloud here, some spots of rain and thursday was another grey day here with outbreaks of rain. now, as we move through tonight, it does look like that weather front will eventually move northwards, become confined to the northern isles for a while through the night before it clears away. it becomes drier here, but a dry night to come for most areas. bit of mist and fog here and there, temperatures ranging from 9—12 celsius. friday, then, our area of high pressure continues to bring a lot of fi

here is natalie elphicke talking about her decision.ken many election promises. meanwhile, under keir starmer, labour have changed and i think that change is going to bring a much better future for our country and that's why i was so keen tojoin the labour party and play my part in bringing that important future forward. tory mps i have been speaking to today here in parliament seem pretty shocked and staggered by the defection, they wouldn't have placed the natalie elphicke in the labour party at all and they think it is pretty incredulous she has done that. i think said to me for labour, this will be a huge political victory for them, adding to their sense of momentum they have behind them from very strong local election results. there may be some in the labour party who are slightly uneasy about her past views that were expressed by natalie elphicke, critical of their policy on immigration but she says it is the conservatives' policy and borders that has prompted her to go. 0k, thank you. just quickly — prompted her to go. 0k, thank

natalie elphicke was pretty damning in her criticism.used. she singled out rishi sunak, it felt quite personal, talking about him being the leader of a coup against borisjohnson, abandoning against boris johnson, abandoning the against borisjohnson, abandoning the 2019 manifesto on which the conservative party was elected and criticising his record on borders, his flagship policy of stopping small boat crossings. remember, she is the mp for dover, which is on the front line of that issue. here she is explaining why she made her decision. in 2019, the conservative stood on a manifesto that was very much centre ground, but under rishi sunak, they've abandoned the centre ground and broken many election promises. meanwhile, under keir starmer, labour have changed and i think that change is going to bring a much better future for our country and that's why i was so keen tojoin the labour party and play my part in bringing that important future forward. i have to say, after the previous defection about ten days ago, natalie elphicke was not re

i agree with. when natalie was busy writing - articles in the... i agree with miss elphickelphicke of the past _ articles in the... i agree with miss elphicke of the past when - articles in the... i agree with miss elphicke of the past when she - elphicke of the past when she tweeted — elphicke of the past when she tweeted that _ elphicke of the past when she tweeted that sir— elphicke of the past when she tweeted that sir keir- elphicke of the past when she i tweeted that sir keir starmer's elphicke of the past when she - tweeted that sir keir starmer's mode old and _ tweeted that sir keir starmer's mode old and confused _ tweeted that sir keir starmer's mode old and confused what _ tweeted that sir keir starmer's mode old and confused what to _ tweeted that sir keir starmer's mode old and confused what to do - tweeted that sir keir starmer's mode old and confused what to do with - old and confused what to do with small— old and confused what to do with small boats _ old and confused what to do with small boats i_ old and confused what to do with small boats. i look— old an

natalie elphicke labour party.ie elphicke could be doing this for a joke for all the we know, but this is this is this is not good for the labour party . labour party. >> sorry. oh, no. you're taking your point. is she a mole? is she a double agent? she could be a mole. yeah, she could be. but then again, this is not politics. this is british politics. this is british politics. it's what happens when you have a parliamentary democracy. where where, you know, where somebody decides whether they can be a labour party or not. in america, nobody can decide whether donald trump is going to be a republican or a. and they didn't want him to be a republican. donald trump. so that's what this is ridiculous. the point is, is what does she believe? does she believe in anything? we don't know what she believes. when she was voting for all these conservative things, for the five years she's been an mp, did she believe in any of it? >> well, this is what i think are the exposes for keir starmer. actually, a lot of accusation thr

so that's the tory mp natalie elphicke from dover and deal. natalie elphicke from dover and deal .to say, i don't deal. i've got to say, i don't actually agree with this . i actually agree with this. i think crossing the floor in my view, because it suits you as an individual and what you perhaps want to achieve in your future is pretty damn shameful, actually, because it it's a snub to all of those people that turned out and gave you the cross in the box. and yes, i can hear you now saying, oh, michel, educate yourself. we vote for the person , not the party. well, the person, not the party. well, that's fascinating, but we put the parties on there. and of course, those people are selected to represent said parties and all of the policies that go with it. so if you ask me, my humble opinion, i would say that, any defection should trigger a by—election. and yes, i'm not biased in that view. i apply that whichever side you're moving from to. and and yes, i would involve and include people like lee anderson in that as well. what says you at home? but aaron, what do you say? >> well,

meanwhile, sir keir starmer may come under renewed pressure this week over claims new labour mp natalie elphickever her. then husband's sexual offences trial. her spokesperson says claims she asked sir robert buckland to influence charlie elphick's case influence charlie elphick's case in 2020 are nonsense. however a number of labour mps have raised concerns about miss elphick's continued support for her ex—husband after his conviction for sexual assault. sir keir has already faced criticism from within his own party for his decision to welcome her into laboun decision to welcome her into labour, given her a history of attacking his party on immigration issues, and he's now facing calls to investigate these recent allegations . the uk these recent allegations. the uk says it would support palestine gaining full member status in the united nations, but only when the time is right. the comments by the deputy foreign minister come as israel launched fresh attacks on northern gaza to prevent hamas from regrouping, three months after the idf claimed it had taken control of the area. meanwhile, tens o

but next, as natalie elphicke defects to laboun natalie elphicke defects to labour, are sir keir starmer'se and more like the conservatives you're with the saturday five live on gb news. >> on mark dolan tonight. in a mark. meat. special. world cup winning south african captain francois pienaar. the man who made history with nelson mandela, tells his incredible story in my take at ten. why? it's time for the king and the country to forgive prince harry. plus, radio legend mike reid, the hamiltons and coronation street star charlie lawson. we're live at nine. >> welcome back to the saturday five. as always, thank you very much for all of your emails and comments about tonight's topics. d has written in. good evening d . hello wonderful folks. it's only a union jack if it's on a ship. otherwise it's union flag . ship. otherwise it's union flag. thank you. >> my scout leader would be very angry. yeah. did i say union jack instead of union flag? i'm so sorry . so sorry. >> christine said. i cannot understand why persons who are not patriots of this country are allowed to use our platform to be

the mp natalie elphicke, who defected from the conservative party to labour yesterday, has told the bbc tonight she is sorry for comments she made supporting her ex—husband after he was convicted of sexual assault. charlie elphicke was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women in 2020. 0ur political editor chris mason is in central london. what she said has caused a fair amount of consternation among labour mps. it really has, yeah. there is anger, there is fury and upset amongst