Conservative MP for Bolton north east Mark Logan defects to Labour

Former Conservative MP Mark Logan has said he is defecting to the Labour party.

The MP was elected for Bolton North East in 2019, but says he is now quitting the Tories and is urging people to vote for Sir Kier Starmer on 4 July.

In recent months he has been a fierce critic of the government's policy on Gaza, and says the Tories are “unrecognisable” from the party he joined a decade ago.

The 40-year-old said his application to join Labour was “going in today”, describing Sir Keir Starmer’s party as having been on a “journey” and now offering “centrist politics”.

He said: “I believe, as a politician, it’s incumbent upon me to be able to say, to look people in the eyes in Bolton and say that I believe that a Labour government is going to serve you better, your interests better, it’s going to be better for your pockets, it’s better for the economy, it’s going to be better for the UK.”

Referencing Gaza and the impact of inflation on Bolton, Mr Logan said he is standing down at this election and Labour has already chosen a candidate for his former constituency.

In a "personal statement" written just before parliament dissolved on Thursday, Mr Logan referred to Labour's 1997 election anthem Things Can Only Get Better.

"Labour is back, and given how things have been, I believe things can only get better", he said.

Explaining his decision to support Labour, he said in a statement: "We need renewed enthusiasm and optimism in both tone and in policy, and I believe that we are already seeing this through Keir Starmer and the team."

In February Mr Logan broke ranks from his own party to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, saying Israel had "gone too far".

Mr Logan won his seat from Labour in the 2019 general election with a narrow majority of just 378, making it one of the most marginal in the country.

He was a junior member of the Government, a parliamentary private secretary to ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions.

He becomes the third Tory to defect to Labour since late April, following Dan Poulter and Natalie Elphicke. Bury South MP Christian Wakeford defected in January 2022.

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…