Elphicke took over the seat from her former husband, Charlie, a Conservative MP who was convicted in 2020 of three counts of sexual assault and sent to prison.
In an op-ed after his conviction, Natalie Elphicke wrote 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.”
She was also briefly suspended from the House of Commons in 2021 for improperly trying to influence a judge not to disclose character statements written for Elphicke in his trial. Natalie Elphicke apologized and said she had been wrong to question the process.
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Elphicke announced her defection to Labour Wednesday, saying: “Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division.”
But a shadow minister said there was “a lot of unease” because “Natalie has said some abhorrent things and I’m not sure her values are those we should be aspiring to have in the party.”
Another Labour MP said the news left her in tears, because “I thought we had some values that were sacrosanct but we don’t.”
