![\"Natalie](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/100FC\/production\/_133288756_elphickegetty.jpg.webp)
<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSir Keir Starmer’s decision to admit Tory MP Natalie Elphicke into Labour has been met with bewilderment by some of his MPs.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Dover MP’s surprise defection from the Conservatives has prompted reaction ranging from delight to anger by his new colleagues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield said Labour MPs were “baffled” by her “really peculiar” move to swap sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But a senior party figure hailed her switch as “one hell of a coup”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And Sir Keir has said he is “delighted” with her defection, telling reporters it showed his party was “the party of the national interest”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Several sources suggested Labour’s whips, responsible for party discipline, were worried about accepting her, but Labour deny this. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It is the second defection to Labour for Rishi Sunak in less than two weeks, after Dr Dan Poulter also quit the Tories last month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Normally, when an MP switches parties, their new colleagues are almost all delighted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n However, this latest defection, announced minutes before Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, has left to some Labour MPs feeling upset, let down, and shocked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a blistering statement, Ms Elphicke said the Tories had become a “byword for incompetence and division”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n What Ms Duffield is willing to say publicly in reaction to the defection, many many more are saying privately.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Although Ms Elphicke has made arguments in areas such as housing that are in tune with her new colleagues she has previously attacked Labour policy in a number of areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n She has criticised the party for “grabbing more in taxes” and not being “serious” about stopping small boat crossings, a big issue in her Dover seat. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n As well as her political stance, many Labour MPs are deeply uncomfortable with remarks she made about her then-husband Charlie Elphicke, whom she replaced as Dover MP in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In an interview with the Sun after his conviction in 2020 for sexual assault, she was reported to have said being “attractive” and “attracted to women” had made him an “easy target”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n