Former Tory minister switches to Labor over NHS crisis, another blow for Sunak

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A senior Conservative MP has defected to Labor after claiming the Conservatives had become a “right-wing nationalist party”.

Dr Dan Poulter, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, who also works part-time as a mental health doctor in the NHS, said he would not stand in the next election but would join the Labor Party until 'to the vote, probably between the end of the year and the beginning. 2025.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Dr Poulter to the party, describing his defection as a “fantastic” boost to their attempts to unseat the Tories.

“It’s fantastic to welcome MP Dr Dan Poulter to today’s changed Labor Party,” Sir Keir wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s time to end the Tory chaos, turn the page and restore Britain’s future. I'm really happy that Dan decided to join us on this adventure. »

A Conservative Party spokesperson said Dr Poulter's defection would be "disappointing" for his voters.

In and to the BBC, Dr Poulter said that he could no longer look his NHS colleagues in the eye and remain Conservative because the party was not focused on public services.

“The difficulty for the Conservative Party is that the party I was elected to values ​​public services,” he said. “He had a compassionate view of supporting the most disadvantaged in society.

“I think the Conservative Party is very different today. »

He said his experiences during more than 20 night shifts over the last year in an overloaded A&E department had “truly changed his life”, adding that the experiences had convinced to defect.

NHS A&E departments are experiencing huge waiting times, according to the latest NHS (PA) data

According to , more than a quarter of all admissions to A&E in March...