TORY MP Natalie Elphicke has defected to Labour after attacking the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic Government”.
The Dover MP crossed the floor in the Commons just moments before Prime Minister’s Questions.
She said: “I have carefully considered this decision. The change has been dramatic and cannot be ignored.
“For me key deciding factors have been housing and the safety and security of our borders.”
But who is Natalie Elphicke?
Elphicke became the Member of Parliament for Dover in 2019 after the constituency's previous MP - her husband Charlie Elphicke - stood down after being charged with three counts of sexual assault committed against two women.
Charlie Elphicke was found guilty of the charges in July 2020 after the court heard that he had groped one of his accusers and chased her around the house singing "I'm a naughty Tory, I'm a naughty Tory".
His wife announced their divorce shortly afterwards.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and was released from HMP Leyhill in September 2021 after serving half of his sentence.
In July 2021, Natalie Elphicke was found to be among five MPs to have breached the code of conduct after attempting to influence senior judges in her husband's sentencing appeal.
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The MPs had used parliamentary, taxpayer-funded stationary to write to senior judges in order to "express concern" about the release of pre-sentencing character references for Charlie Elphicke.
They were all found to have threatened to undermine public trust in the justice system and later apologised.
Still, Natalie Elphicke condemned the sentencing of her ex-husband as "excessive" and accused the court of being "on a bit of a mission".
While she acknowledged her husband had "behaved badly" she claimed he had not received a "fair trail".
Following the conviction she also claimed that he had been punished for being "charming, wealthy, charismatic and successful — attractive, and attracted to, women.
"All things that in today’s climate made him an easy target for dirty politics and false allegations."
Did Rachel Reeves tell Natalie Elphicke to "F*** off"?
In 2021, Natalie Elphicke said that England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford's campaigning on food poverty was "playing politics".
After Rashford missed a penalty at the Euro 2020 final, Elphicke said in a message to colleagues:
"They lost – would it be ungenerous to say Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics."
It was later revealed that Elphicke herself had a second job, earning £36,000 a year on top of her MP's salary as chair of the New Homes Quality Board.
In response to Elphicke's comments about Rashford, Labour MP Rachel Reeves - who now serves as shadow chancellor - said she should "f*** off".
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