PMQs verdict: Tory defection of Natalie Elphicke to Labour leaves Rishi Sunak vulnerable

Rishi Sunak would already have been treating today’s (8 May) Prime Minister’s Questions with some apprehension after last week’s local election results.

And just before PMQs started, he was dealt another blow with the news Dover MP Natalie Elphicke was defecting to Labour over the Prime Minister’s handling of the borders crisis. In a statement, she said: “From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure. Lives are being lost in the English Channel while small boat arrivals are once again at record levels. It’s clear they have failed to keep our borders secure and cannot be trusted.

This is just over a week after Dan Poulter, MP Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, also crossed to the opposition benches complaining about the government’s treatment of the NHS. Keir Starmer started his questions referencing this, saying: “Can I also warmly welcome the new Labour MP for Dover (Elphicke) to these benches

“If one week a Tory MP who is also a doctor says the Prime Minister can’t be trusted with the NHS and joins Labour, and the next week the Tory MP for Dover on the front line of the small boats crisis says the Prime Minister cannot be trusted with our borders, and joins Labour. What is the point of this failed government staggering on?”

Starmer added: “In addition to losing two Tory MPs in two weeks, the Prime Minister has been on the receiving end of some of the biggest by-election swings in history.

“He’s also lost 1,500 Tory councillors, half of his party’s mayors and a leadership election to a lettuce. How many more times do the public and his own MPs need to reject him before he takes the hint?”

To this, Sunak replied: “This time last year I reminded him of some advice actually from his own mentor Tony Blair, who had said at the time, ‘he can be as cocky as he likes about local elections, but come a general election it’s policy that counts’.

“Now, one year on from that advice, what has he managed? £28 billion of tax rises, 70 new business regulations, 30 U-turns and a deputy leader under police investigation.”

This was the first Prime Minister’s Questions since Thursday’s local elections, and the Labour leader was quick to bring them up. The Tories were hit with a disastrous set of results, losing around 500 councillors and the West Midlands mayoralty.

“At least after Thursday night he can go to the many places that he calls home and enjoy the fruits of his success,” Starmer said. “In Southampton or Downing Street, he’s got great Labour councils. At his mansion in Richmond he can enjoy a brand new Labour mayor of North Yorkshire. At his pad in Kensington he can celebrate a historic third term for the Mayor of London.

“Now that he too could enjoy the benefits of this changed Labour Party, is he really still in such a hurry to get back to California?”

To this Sunak made the familiar gag, about Starmer being from North London. He told the Commons: “I was, of course, surprised to see (Sir Keir) in North Yorkshire but probably not as surprised as he was when he realised he couldn’t take the Tube there.

“I can tell him that the people of North Yorkshire believe in hard work, secure borders, lower taxes and straight-talking common sense, they’re not going to get any of that from a virtue-signalling lawyer from north London.”

PMQs verdict - comfortable Starmer victory

All eyes were on the Tory backbenches today, following Thursday’s disastrous local election results. Former ministers Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick have both made high profile media interventions urging Sunak to change course.

However, no one was expecting Natalie Elphicke to defect to the Labour Party, and this appeared to unsettle Sunak. He appeared jittery and slightly nervous at the start, with Jenrick standing at the back of the chamber and new Labour MP Elphicke watching from across the Commons. The Prime Minister spent a lot of the session staring down at his notes, and appeared unable to think on his feet.

Political commentators often say at PMQs, keep an eye on the MPs behind the leaders - especially when they’re under pressure. Tory MPs were very subdued, only making noise when Sunak made a familiar gag about North London.

Starmer was not on top form either, asking questions that were often too long and bogged down in detail. However the most notable reaction from the Labour leader, was when he just laughed at Sunak’s lefty lawyer attack. Starmer was confident, while Sunak appeared nervous. The Labour leader was quick to remark, when Sunak tried to ask Starmer a question, if he’d got ahead of himself. The pressure is ramping up on the Prime Minister.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.