Northern Tory MP defects to Labour ahead of testy PMQs over “disgraceful” Johnson behaviour
Christian Wakeford, the Conservative MP for Bury South, has defected from the party to join Labour in a sign of the increasing pressure on PM Boris Johnson.
It is another damaging blow to the Prime Minister as the fallout from his attending a lockdown garden party continues.
The defection raises the stakes for the Conservative leader who is already reported to be close to a vote of no confidence forced by his own party.
The Prime Minister’s interview yesterday, in which he said “nobody told me” that the party in May 2020 was breaking lockdown rules, does not appear to have cheered the backbenches.
Wakeford told the Bury Times, his local newspaper, that the “Conservative party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves.”
“I have wrestled with my conscience for many months, and you will know that I have made my policy misgivings clear on many occasions in private and sometimes in public. I can no longer support a government that has shown itself consistently out of touch with the hard working people of Bury South and the country as a whole,” he said.
“My decision is about much more than your leadership and the disgraceful way you have conducted yourself in recent weeks,” he continued.
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, welcomed the defection on a dramatic day in Westminster.
“I’m determined to build a new Britain which guarantees security, prosperity and respect for all and I’m delighted that Christian has decided to join us in this endeavour.”