In the week following bleak local election results for the Tories, Labour is there for those looking to jump ship. Meanwhile Scotland has a new First Minister.
Read all about this week's happenings in Who's Top, Who's Not!
Top: John Swinney
WTWN congratulates John Swinney on his appointment as the seventh First Minister of Scotland, following the resignation of Humza Yousaf last week.
One of the first moves by the new First Minister was the announcement of his cabinet, in which he axed the post of minister for independence, perhaps a nod to shifting priorities amongst the Scottish electorate who are less concerned with independence and more worried about the cost-of-living crisis. Also interesting is the return of Kate Forbes who becomes both Finance Minister and Deputy First Minister.
The SNPs decision to go with Swinney is a return to a familiar, steady, and reliable hand to steer them through. But he has a sizeable challenge ahead to hold his party together between left and right factions, and between those that want to prioritise independence now and those that want to focus on doorstep issues ahead of the general election in which Labour will likely win back several Scottish seats. And this is all whilst continuing to navigate the tricky parliamentary arithmetic that still exists in the Scottish Parliament thanks to an increasingly confident Scottish Green party that is willing to use its political muscle.
Middle: Keir Starmer
Having welcomed a new MP at the tail end of last week, Sir Keir Starmer stood beside Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, on Wednesday to welcome her with open arms into the Labour Party.
While her crossing of the floor highlights the divisions within the Tory Party, it has sparked anger in Labour ranks that Starmer would welcome a member who might have been just as likely to jump ship to Reform UK as to Labour.
The murmurs of discontent, particularly from female Labour MPs, prompted a hasty apology for her 2020 comments about her husband’s sexual assault conviction. Positioned further to the right than many Tories, vocal on immigration and asylum policy, Elphicke’s defection has a different feel to Poulter’s which was grounded in concerns about the NHS.
In her defection statement, Labour’s newest MP said that Starmer now occupies the “centre ground” in British politics – a slap in the face to the Labour left that their party now appeals to someone like Elphicke.
Starmer’s electoral strategy has been to make Labour electable again by appearing sensible, competent, trusted and ready for government. To get into No.10 Labour clearly has to win over former Tory voters and what better way to demonstrate that the party has changed than by having former Tory MPs join Labour, especially if they do so by criticising the government on one of its flagship policies.
Nevertheless, Starmer faces a difficult party management challenge here. Elphicke will be gone from the Commons soon enough, but LOTO may still need to up their parliamentary liaison game to keep the troops happy.
Bottom: Rishi Sunak
Another tough week for Rishi Sunak as he was once again forced to play defence after heavy losses in the local elections.
Last week, Sunak tried to convince his party that all was not lost, highlighting some of the few wins at local level, which included the Tees Valley mayoral contest. However, even that turned to embarrassment, as newly re-elected Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen, blamed Sunak for the ‘chaos’ that is the current Tory Party, while distancing himself and his win from the Prime Minister.
Local failures were compounded by the loss of Elphicke in parliament, although it seems the defection may be causing more headaches for Labour than for Rishi.
All in all, it could have been worse for Sunak, as despite the grim results and defections, it looks as though he will be allowed to fight the next general election as party leader – with no leadership challenge for now…