Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.Natalie Elphicke, the Tory MP who defected to Britain’s opposition Labour occasion this week, has apologised for feedback she made in support of her disgraced ex-husband after he was convicted of sexual assault.The Dover MP’s shock determination to cross the ground of the Commons prompted scrutiny of her previous remarks about her former husband Charlie, who in 2020 was jailed for 2 years for sexually assaulting two girls, and anger amongst feminine Labour MPs.In an announcement on Thursday Elphicke stated the interval main as much as her ex-husband’s conviction was “extremely worrying and troublesome”, however “far tougher for the ladies who needed to relive their experiences and provides proof in opposition to him”.She added that she condemned his behaviour in the direction of different girls in addition to herself, and was “sorry for the feedback that I made about his victims”.Beforehand she had claimed that he had been “engaging” to girls and an “simple goal for soiled politics and false allegations”.Earlier within the day Labour chair Anneliese Dodds defended the occasion’s determination to confess Elphicke, after she defected on Wednesday with a salvo in opposition to Rishi Sunak’s “drained and chaotic authorities”. Elphicke’s shock transfer fuelled anger and bemusement in Sir Keir Starmer’s occasion, as Labour MPs raised issues about her defence of her ex-husband, her rightwing politics and previous criticism of the occasion.However Dodds stated Elphicke, who will stand down on the subsequent basic election, was an excellent match for Labour and that “individuals can change their minds”. She informed the BBC that the previous Tory MP was “taking the identical determination as so many different former Conservative supporters up and down the nation”. Anneliese Dodds, pictured, stated Natalie Elphicke was an excellent match for Labour © Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesElphicke had “realised that as a way to put her constituents and nation first, she can not proceed backing a celebration that’s . . . divided and is incompetent, in her phrases, and one that can’t ship on points like migration, security and housing”, stated Dodds.Requested about Elphicke’s defence of her disgraced former husband and her one-day suspension from the Commons following an “improper” try and affect a choose listening to his trial, Dodds stated Labour’s latest MP had already confronted “accountability” and a “parliamentary course of”. The Labour chair was additionally quizzed in regards to the defecting MP’s criticism of footballer Marcus Rashford over his campaigning in opposition to baby poverty. Dodds stated she had “rightly apologised for these unacceptable feedback”.Lord David Cameron, the overseas secretary and former prime minister, stated Elphicke’s defection confirmed that Labour stood for nothing. “What does this inform us in regards to the occasion she’s becoming a member of? In life, if you happen to don’t stand for one thing, you’ll fall for something,” he stated after a speech in London.Elphicke’s shock defection follows that of fellow Tory Dan Poulter, who determined to affix Labour final month. The MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, who’s a physician, stated he was quitting as a result of he couldn’t look NHS colleagues and sufferers “within the eye with good conscience” and referred to as for an early basic election. Regardless of Starmer’s judgment coming underneath scrutiny over Elphicke’s transfer, a YouGov ballot on Thursday gave Labour the biggest lead over the Tories since Liz Truss was in Downing Road. Labour was on 48 per cent and the Conservatives on 18 per cent, in line with the survey, whereas Reform UK was on 13 per cent. RecommendedIt got here as shortlived former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi introduced he would step down from parliament on the election, turning into the sixty fourth Tory MP to take action. In contrast 18 Labour MPs, 9 Scottish Nationwide occasion MPs, eight independents, two Sinn Féin MPs, one Inexperienced and one Plaid Cymru MP have stated they plan to exit the Commons on the election, in line with the Institute for Authorities think-tank.Zahawi, Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010, was sacked as Tory chair in January 2023 after he was discovered to have dedicated “critical breaches” of the ministerial code by failing to be clear about his tax affairs.He was appointed chancellor for 2 months within the dying days of Boris Johnson’s administration following the resignation of Sunak. He was additionally beforehand training secretary and vaccines minister in the course of the pandemic.In an announcement on X saying his determination, Zahawi stated it had been an important honour to serve his constituents however “the time is true for a brand new, energetic Conservative” to develop into the candidate for a seat finest often called the birthplace of William Shakespeare.