It was hailed as a triumph: it is anything but. It reveals a party that’s lost its moral compass
Siri, show me a hollow victory.
It is easy to imagine the glee felt by Keir Starmer’s advisers when Natalie Elphicke MP let them know she was minded to defect from the Tories to Labour. After all, nobody can accuse Dover’s parliamentary representative of being a Tory wet. If she hasn’t passed over your radar before, and you’re trying to place her politically, the better-known Jacob Rees-Mogg or Priti Patel would not be unfair comparisons. If Elphicke – Elphicke! – wants a spot in Labour’s tent, then nobody can accuse Starmer of harbouring some secret lefty agenda!
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
