Conservative MP defects to Labour in protest of Johnson scandal

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Christian Wakeford, a British Conservative MP, defected to the opposition Labour Party on Wednesday, following a slew of lockdown-breaking "party gate" revelations engulfing 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 in northwest England, near Manchester, one of many that the Conservatives won from Labour in the 2019 general election.

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

Labour leader Keir Starmer welcomed Wakeford to the party, pointing to him sitting in the House of Commons with other MPs on his side on 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 endeavor."

Boris Johnson to face Tory no confidence vote

In the wake of the lockdown party scandal that made headlines the past week, as well as his confession, British PM Boris Johnson is facing arguably the biggest political crisis of his Tory party’s leadership.

Conservative MPs coming from all over the spectrum are now searching for a way to oust Johnson from his position following his much-ridiculed and eyebrow-raising interview in which he claimed that “nobody warned me it was against the rules” to host a drinking party in Downing Street during the first lockdown.

The timing could not have been worse for the UK’s politician of chaos, as not only he is trying to avert the eyes of constituents away from his unpopular – and occasionally illegal - actions amidst a series of political rows, but he is also desperately attempting to gather support for the next general election.