Lockdown partygate: Conservative MP defects to Labour in protest at UK PM

British Conservative MP Christian Wakeford on Wednesday defected to the opposition Labour party, after a slew of lockdown-breaching “partygate” revelations engulfed Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Wakeford said in a message to Johnson that “you and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves”.

Wakeford represents the seat of Bury South near Manchester in northwest England, one of many that the Tories under Johnson captured from Labour in the 2019 general election.

As a Conservative, he was one of seven MPs who had publicly called for a no-confidence vote in Johnson after the allegations that Downing Street staff had held parties during Covid lockdowns.

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Labour leader Keir Starmer welcomed Wakeford to the fold as he pointed to him sitting with other MPs on his side in the House of Commons Wednesday.

“As Christian said, the policies of the Conservative government are doing nothing to help the people of Bury South and, indeed, are only making the struggles they face on a daily basis worse,” he said.

“I’m determined to build a new Britain which guarantees security, prosperity and respect for all, and I’m delighted that Christian has decided to join us in this endeavour.”

• Europe