On Wednesday 8 May, Conservative Party MP Natalie Elphicke defected to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.
What you’ve heard about her since then almost certainly isn’t flattering. As if being a Tory wasn’t bad enough, it turns out she also went after the women who were raped by her rapist ex-husband:
Here meanwhile is the report that led to Natalie Elphicke's suspension from parliament.
The standards committee found she and other Tory MPs had "improperly [sought] to influence judicial proceedings"https://t.co/2fknKbOvoL
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) May 8, 2024
As can be seen above, this was all public knowledge, and yet Labour admitted her anyway.
What they didn’t do, it seems, is ask the obvious question: ‘Is there any chance this nasty, rule-breaking Tory has more skeletons in the closet?‘
And guess what:
EXCLUSIVE 🚨 w/@cazjwheeler
Natalie Elphicke lobbied the justice secretary to intervene in criminal trial of her sex offender husband
Robert Buckland told her it was "completely" improper
She allegedly then tried to secure him better prison conditions https://t.co/Ey2lcuwOFA
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) May 11, 2024
Elphicke’s dodgy back room deals
The latest story was broken by the Sunday Times and reported on by outlets including Sky News, which wrote:
allegedly told Sir Robert that it was unfair the case was the first to be heard at Southwark Crown Court after the COVID lockdown and that it was being overseen by Lady Justice Whipple.
One person present viewed her comments as a bid to have the case moved to a lower-profile court to spare her partner public scrutiny, while another saw it as an attempt to replace the senior judge, according to the newspaper.
Sir Robert reportedly told the paper he rejected her plea, suggesting his intervention could undermine the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers between parliament and the judiciary.
“She was told in no uncertain terms that it would have been completely inappropriate to speak to the judge about the trial at all,” Sir Robert said in a statement.
Elphicke described the actions as “nonsense”, and a Labour Party spokesperson said:
If Robert Buckland had any genuine concerns about the meeting, then he should have raised them at the time, rather than making claims to the newspapers now Natalie has chosen to join the Labour Party
Yes, he should have done, but he wouldn’t, would he, because he’s a Tory. The Tories are bad, dishonest people, which is why you shouldn’t be welcoming them into your party.
Gabriel Pogrund, who broke the story, had more to add on Elphicke:
Elphicke assured the justice secretary and chief whip she did not wish to discuss her husband during meeting in parliament ahead of his trial in 2020.
She is said to have done the opposite.
She denies the characterisation of the meeting but will not say how.
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) May 11, 2024
Buckland felt her actions threatened to undermine the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers between the principal institutions of state — including parliament and the judiciary.
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) May 11, 2024
Read more in the Sunday Times tonight:https://t.co/Ey2lcuwOFA
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) May 11, 2024
He also made it clear that the story is different to a previous expose:
No, that is the wholly separate matter of her writing to a judge after his conviction to stop character references submitted by his supporters from being published.
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) May 12, 2024
Shock! Horror!
A lot of people – particularly those sympathetic to Starmer’s Labour – seem shocked that the media would only now draw attention to Elphicke’s misdeeds.
To be fair, though, before she crossed the floor she was just another backbench Tory dirtbag, so there wasn’t any particular reason to report on her.
Additionally, it’s no secret the media is by and large more favourable towards the Tory Party. You’re always going to draw criticism from the mainstream press, but that doesn’t mean the criticism isn’t sometimes deserved:
Should you require any further evidence of how the UK media works, they’ve been silent on this issue for the FOUR YEARS that Elphicke was a Conservative MP, she defects to Labour and within FOUR DAYS it’s front page news. pic.twitter.com/Y9tIINYKrM
— Mark Tucker (@turnipdodger) May 11, 2024
Laura Kuenssberg: “More awkward questions for Keir Starmer about his defected MP (Natalie Elphicke)”
All of which happened under her tenure as a *checks notes* TORY MP#bbclaurak pic.twitter.com/XdjI2GlQB7
— David (@Zero_4) May 12, 2024
Interestingly, even Starmer’s sympathisers are struggling to stomach his admission of Elphicke:
Loath to defend anyone as loathsome as Elphicke, but why didn’t the Mail run a piece about this at the time? (A rhetorical question, needless to say). pic.twitter.com/PpQcL1Vf4p
— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) May 11, 2024
Others are arguing it’s actually the Tories who have questions to answer:
Surely the story here is actually the unethical behaviour of @RobertBuckland & the @Conservatives in hiding this instead of expelling Elphicke there & then. They were still perfectly happy to have her & only when she had defected did they bring it up. They are an open sewer. pic.twitter.com/1pHRKVEHka
— Gareth Bouch (@garethbouch) May 12, 2024
The Tories never answer to this sort of stuff, though, and as they themselves are noting, they have even less reason to now:
Laura Kuenssberg, "Why didn't the Conservative party do something about Natalie Elphicke lobbying ministers about he husband's court case?"
David Cameron, "I've only just seen the story in the papers, I've got no idea about it.. Natalie Elphicke is a Labour press office problem,… pic.twitter.com/HnuiWqsfBZ
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) May 12, 2024
More importantly, the Tories are unarguably a spent force at this point, with the party hitting its worst polling since Liz Truss. The vast majority of voters in this country are repulsed by the Tories and everything they stand for. As such, where is the sense in welcoming a Tory MP who willingly stood for everything they stand for?
There’s being tarred with the same brush, and there’s pouring the paint pot over your own head.
Some people have the right idea at least:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If an MP can seamlessly hop from the Conservative Party to Labour, there isn’t sufficient political distance between the two parties.
— Dr Julia Grace Patterson💙 (@JujuliaGrace) May 8, 2024
The Natalie Elphicke story gets even grubbier….
Tried to sway the Justice Secretary regarding her sex offender husband's case…
Tories being Tory…
She shouldn't be anywhere near the Labour Party imo
Exclusive @Gabriel_Pogrund and Sunday @thetimes https://t.co/EdE240bdza
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) May 11, 2024
Danse macabre
The Elphicke situation is actually pretty comical at this point, with hordes of skeletons falling out of her closet like it was a clown car. We didn’t even cover everything – as reported by Adam Bienkov:
Keir Starmer just welcomed hard-right, anti-migrant Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke into the Labour party.
Some highlights from her recent record pic.twitter.com/nQYF1IW4SL
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) May 8, 2024
Starmer has had one victory at least – in that no one is saying his party is Tory ‘light’ anymore. At this point, they might as well rebrand to the ‘New Conservatives’ and have done with it.
Featured image via Guardian News – YouTube
