A TORY MP and former health minister has defected to Labour after accusing the government of “failing” on the NHS.
Dr Dan Poulter – Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich – is a working medic and said the health service was no longer a priority for the Conservatives.
Speaking to the Observer, Poulter said the Conservative Party “feels like it has become a nationalist party of the right”, having seen a “rightward drift” since David Cameron’s premiership.
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“The health service has ceased to be an area of priority for the Conservative Party, and that is now showing in the strain on the front line and the deterioration of care for patients,” he said.
Poulter will take the Labour whip until the general election, when he will not be running again as the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, he told the Observer.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting wrote on Twitter/X that he was “proud” to welcome Poulter to the Labour Party.
“As a frontline clinician, he’s seen the damage that 14 years of Conservative government have done to our NHS.
“Delighted to have his support and look forward to working with him, especially on mental health reform.”
It marks the first time a Conservative MP crossed the floor to Labour since Christian Wakeford did so in 2022.
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