Another Conservative Quits to Join Labour in Tory Exodus

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer at a launch event for Labour's six steps for change at the Beacons Art Centre in Custom House Quay, Greenock, Scotland, on May 31, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Another former Conservative MP has left the party to support Labour, as a record number of Tories resign before the General Election.

Mark Logan, who was MP for Bolton North East until Parliament was dissolved, quit the Conservatives on Thursday, telling the BBC that the party was “unrecognisable” from the one he joined a decade ago and that his application to join Labour was “going in today.”

Mr. Logan told the broadcaster he wanted to be able to tell the people in Bolton that a Labour government would serve them better, adding, “For my constituents and for the country, it’s right that we get some stability back into the UK, we get optimism, we get new and fresh ideas.”

However, it would appear the politician will not be doing anything with his newfound political allegiance other than applying it to a ballot on July 4, after he confirmed in his resignation letter that he is not standing for reelection.

“I am resigning from the Conservative Party with immediate effect. Regrettably, I will therefore not contest our constituency at the upcoming General Election,” he said in the resignation letter he shared to social media platform X.

He added: “The first time I voted, I voted for Labour. The next time I vote it will be a vote for Labour.”

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Mr. Logan’s switch, saying: “Voters across the country are looking to Labour for change. I am pleased Mark Logan has taken the decision to vote for Labour at this upcoming General Election.”

The Tories responded with a spokesperson saying that it was “notable” that Mr. Logan had defected to a party “he can’t even name a single policy of.”

“We wish Mark Logan well with the Labour Party – a party that has no plan for the country and would take us back to square one,” the spokesperson added.

Other Defections

Former Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke also defected from the Conservative Party to Labour earlier this month, despite having no intention of fighting for her own seat under her new allegiance, having previously said she would stand down at the general election.

Ms. Elphicke crossed the floor to sit among Labour MPs on May 8, just moments before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak began taking questions in Parliament. She later addressed a press conference in Sir Keir’s parliamentary office where she criticised the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government.”

The former Dover MP denied to reporters that Labour had offered her a peerage.

Mr. Logan and Ms. Elphicke were not the only Tory politicians to switch parties in recent months, with former health minister Dr. Dan Poulter crossing the floor to join Labour in April.

Other movements out of the Tory party include those of Lucy Allan, who was first suspended and then resigned on Monday after backing the Reform UK candidate running in her former Telford constituency.

William Wragg resigned in March to sit as an independent after he admitting to being “manipulated” into sharing politicians’ phone numbers with a stranger he interacted with on the gay dating app, Grindr.

Undated handout photo issued by UK Parliament of Mark Logan, former Conservative MP for Bolton North East. (David Woolfall/UK Parliament)

In February, Lee Anderson was suspended from the Conservative Party for claims he made about the “Islamification” of London and went on to join Reform UK.

Largest Tory Exodus Since 1997 Election

According to a House of Commons Library research briefing on changing party allegiances since 1979, 44 MPs have crossed the floor or had the whip suspended or removed before the dissolution of the last Parliament. However, the two-year Parliament of 2017 saw a higher number of 59.

A far more significant number is that of the number of MPs standing down at a general election, with the 2019–2024 parliament seeing those dropping out at record numbers.

MPs standing down at general elections. (PA)

To date, a total of 135 have stood down, which is almost as high as the record set in the 2010 election, when 149 resigned, which resulted in a hung Parliament and the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition that lasted until 2015.

In total, 79 Conservative MPs have resigned, which itself is the highest number of Conservatives to resign in modern political history, surpassing the previous post-war record of 72 Tories who stood down ahead of the 1997 election, which ushered in the New Labour Tony Blair era.

Some notable Conservatives stepping down include Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, Theresa May, and Sir John Redwood.

Labour Suspensions

The Labour Party has not been immune to upheaval since the election was called, losing 33 MPs, including veterans Harriet Harman, Dame Margaret Hodge, and Dame Margaret Becket.

During the last Parliament, a number of Labour MPs have had the whip suspended or withdrawn after having made controversial statements, including in relation to the Israel–Hamas war.

Kate Osamor was suspended in January after she posted a message on social media equating the conflict in the Gaza Strip with the Holocaust. The whip was restored on May 8.

Andy McDonald was suspended on Oct. 30, 2023, over comments he made at a pro-Palestinian rally, during which he used the phrase “between the river and the sea.” He had the whip restored on March 11.

Labour Party veteran Diane Abbott was suspended on April 23, 2023, after writing a letter for The Observer which suggested Jewish, Irish, and Traveller people do not experience racism “all their lives.”

Left-Wing ‘Cull’

The whip was restored to Ms. Abbott on Tuesday, who caused a stir this week by accusing Labour of carrying out a “cull” of the left-wing in the run up to the election, with a number of MPs and candidates being told they will not be standing.

“Appalling. Whose clever idea has it been to have a cull of left wingers?” Ms. Abbott wrote on X on Thursday.

The former shadow home secretary also claimed to have heard reports that she had been barred by her own party from running as an MP in her former Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency on July 4.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (R) applauds former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott (L) after she addressed delegates on the third day of the Labour party conference in Liverpool, England, on Sept. 25, 2018. (Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)

Sir Keir found himself this week frequently rejecting the claims, which had gained significant media attention, saying that it was not true, but refused to make a judgment, instead saying the final decision would be made at the next National Executive Committee meeting.

Amid persistent questioning which has overshadowed Sir Keir’s campaign efforts, the party leader was forced to say on Friday that Ms. Abbott was “free” to stand as a Labour candidate in the general election.

“The whip has obviously been restored to her now and she is free to go forward as a Labour candidate,” he said.

PA Media contributed to this report.