Elphicke’s defection shows how far to right Labour have shifted
Have your say by emailing letters@thenational.scot
THE famous quote “you’re judged by the company you keep” came to mind as Tory MP Natalie Elphicke defected to Labour. The colourful Dover MP, famed for her rather right-wing views, crossed the floor to join the ranks of a party where she clearly feels more at home.
Initially highly critical of Labour’s plans to tackle immigration, Ms Elphicke was previously suspended from the Commons for trying to influence the judge linked to her former husband, Charlie Elphicke, who was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault. Even after her conviction and the end of their marriage, she pivoted back to defending him.
Ms Elphicke also famously apologised to footballer Marcus Rashford for claiming he should spend more time in his “day job” rather than campaigning against child poverty.
Even in comparison with other Tories, her views are starkly on the right. She has consistently voted to make it easier to remove someone’s citizenship and has almost always voted for stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules.
It is indicative of how far to the right Labour has veered, that Ms Elphicke should find the party a more appropriate home than the current Conservative benches.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
WITH the latest defections from the Conservative Party to Labour and the notification from a former chancellor of the Tories that he will stand down at the next election, it would appear that Sir Keir Starmer is simply waiting until sufficient MPs resign or defect so he can become prime minister. I jest, but it could seem that way. A major concern for Starmer, with these defections, is what the people think and how they see the infection of Labour by the defecting MPs’ political views.
It is already quite evident that UK Labour is mirroring the direction of the Conservatives. If Suella Braverman is any guide to a significant slice of the governing party, many believe they should forge further to the right to regain voters that recently boosted the Reform Party’s fortunes in the English council elections.
It doesn’t seem a good look for the Labour Party, with its roots allegedly cemented in left-ofcentre politics, when it accepts a Conservative who is considerably further to the right of their historic average. Yet the likes of Diane Abbot and Jeremy Corbyn have lost the Labour whip.
Starmer is right, yes, and moving further right.
Alistair Ballantyne
Angus
I WATCHED an extremely disturbing programme on BBC One late on Tuesday night. It was called The Other War and was made by a group of UK journalists.
It showed, very clearly, the disgraceful way the Israeli state and Israeli Defence Forces are treating the Palestinian people who live in the West Bank.
The programme should really have been shown at peak viewing time to let everyone in the UK see what is happening there.
It showed the mistreatment of Palestinian people by both Israeli settlers and the IDF. Palestinians were beaten up and some killed and their bodies were abused.
The film showed innocent children being shot dead by the IDF. The IDF accused them of carrying bombs.
Absolute lies! These Palestinians were not terrorists. They were ordinary people trying to live in peace on their own land.
Surely these actions by the Israeli state and IDF are crimes against humanity and genocide?
I don’t know why the UK and US governments don’t call them out as such and stop arms sales to Israel.
We already see, every night on TV news broadcasts, what is happening in Gaza to the Palestinian people. Almost 35,000 people, the majority women and children have been killed there and many hundreds of thousands of civilians are now facing starvation.
It has long been the aim of the Israeli state to rid the West Bank and Gaza of the Palestinians and the UK and US governments are sitting back and letting Israel do it!
Robert Cumberland Blantyre
ON Radio Scotland an Israeli government spokesman, in an effort to justify its genocide, said that if Dundee was attacking the rest of Scotland the Scottish Government would be right to send an army into Dundee to wipe out the residents of that city.
The difference between Dundee and Israel is that Dundee did NOT take over the territory of another country, sending armed gangs to kill the indigenous people. That is exactly what Israel did, but it refuses to acknowledge that fact.
As to the Israeli spokesman’s second point, that it has the right to defend itself, well so do the Palestinians. The UK was threatened by the Troubles in Northern Ireland over 30 years, but the British government never at any time threatened to reduce the whole of Northern Ireland to rubble with air strikes, as the IDF have already done in Palestine.
The fault has always been on the side of the Zionists, nobody else, and it is time the Israelis acknowledged that fact, and apologised to the rest of the world for their genocide. As things stand right now, the Israelis are still saying “a bad boy did it and ran away, it wisnae me!”.
Once again, I must say that
I am not antisemitic, but I am pro-justice.
I am anti the bombing of babies, I am anti-nuclear weapons, I am antigenocide and I am anti the use of white phosphorus.
Margaret Forbes Blanefield