A TORY MP has declared he will support Labour at the next election – claiming Keir Starmer can “bring back optimism into British life”.
Conservative Mark Logan, who is standing down at July’s election, said the party had been on a “journey” and offered “centrist policies”.
The ex-Bolton North MP, who was elected in 2019, claimed the Tories were “unrecognisable” from the party he joined 10 years ago.
He revealed he quit the Tories today and was in the process of making an application to join Labour.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Logan, 40, said: “When I look back to my teenage years, in 1997 when Labour came to the fore at that time and we obviously heard the song Things Can Only Get Better, I feel that we’re at that point again in British politics and British history.”
“For my constituents and for the country, it’s right that we get some stability back into the UK.
“We get optimism, we get new and fresh ideas.”
But he refused to criticise Rishi Sunak, who he had backed to be leader, adding the PM could “leave politics with his head held high” if he lost the election.
Logan confessed he had weighed up backing Labour for “quite a long period” but decided to wait until Parliament dissolved to announce the move as he is no longer a sitting MP.
He said: “It’s more about not 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.
“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.
He added electing Sir Keir would serve “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.”
In February Mr Logan became the first Tory MP to publicly call for a ceasefire in Gaza after claiming Israel had “gone too far”.
Watch our daily politics show
Watch The Sun’s new DAILY Never Mind the Ballots Election Countdown show on our brand new YouTube channel here.
Every weekday Sun Political Editor Harry Cole brings you the latest news and analysis from the election campaign trail.
Asked if Starmer, 61, was better placed to deal with the Middle East, he said Labour was “best placed” instead of the Tories and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron.
Two other Tory MPs, Natalie Elphicke and Dan Poulter, also quit the Tories to join Labour earlier this month.
