Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Ex-Tory MP switches sides, endorses Labour in general election

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 30 May 2024 23:09
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

Former Conservative MP Mark Logan has made headlines by announcing his support for the Labour Party in the upcoming general election.

Listen
  • x
  • Ex-Tory MP switches sides: Endorses Labour in general election
    Mark Logan (UK Parliament)

Former Conservative MP Mark Logan has announced his support for Labour in the upcoming general election, expressing his belief that the party can "bring back optimism into British life."

Logan, who represented Bolton North East for the Tories until Parliament dissolved on Thursday, stated, in an exclusive interview for BBC News, that Labour had undergone a "journey" and now embodied "centrist politics".

He also remarked that the Tory Party had become "unrecognizable" compared to the one he joined a decade ago.

It is worth noting that Logan won his seat with a narrow majority of just 378 votes in 2019, making it one of the most closely contested constituencies in the country.

Logan, a Brexit supporter, disclosed in the interview that he is stepping down and submitting his application to join Labour "today".

Labour has already selected a candidate for his former constituency.

When asked if he might run for Labour in the future, he responded, "I wouldn't rule out coming back into public life in the future but this is me definitely stepping down in this Parliament.”

A Conservative Party spokesperson said, "Much of the association wanted him deselected for inactivity and his failure to be present in Bolton for extended periods of time. And he's been asking No 10 for a peerage."

A second spokesperson mentioned that the party would soon select a new candidate for Bolton, adding, “It’s notable that Mark Logan has defected to a party he can’t even name a single policy of."

Related News

Corbyn to Al Mayadeen: New party to fight for justice and Palestine

Heatwave politics: Could air conditioning become a UK election issue?

Logan, who supported Rishi Sunak for Tory leader, refrained from criticizing the prime minister personally, suggesting that Sunak could "leave politics with his head held high" if he lost the election.

"It's more about not the the push factor of Conservatives, but the pull factor of Keir Starmer, the new cabinet that would come in, the fresh faces, the fresh ideas," he explained.

Logan revealed that he had been contemplating supporting Labour "for quite a long period" but felt that stepping down as an MP was the appropriate time to announce his support for the party "because the electorate did vote me in as a Conservative MP."

From calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to defecting to Labour

In February, Logan diverged from his party's stance by calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asserting that "Israel" had "gone too far."

Around the same time, Labour also shifted its position to support an immediate humanitarian ceasefire after facing internal pressure.

When asked if Labour leader Keir Starmer had now adopted the correct stance on Gaza, Logan expressed his belief that Labour was "best placed to deal with what's going to come down the track" regarding the war on Gaza.

Logan, who is fluent in Mandarin, serves as chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on China. Before becoming an MP, he worked for the UK Foreign Office and was head of communications at the British Consulate-General in Shanghai.

In 2022, he resigned from his role as a ministerial aide in protest against Boris Johnson's leadership.

His defection follows that of two other MPs, Natalie Elphicke and Dan Poulter, who also left the Tories to join Labour earlier this month. Unlike Logan, they defected before Parliament was dissolved for the election, allowing them to briefly serve as Labour MPs before stepping down.

Read next: Tory Peer downplays Conservative loss in Summer

  • Labour Party
  • war on Gaza
  • Tory Party
  • Mark Logan
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS