Streeting claims the defection is a sign of both the state of the Conservative Party but also the strength of the Labour Party.

He adds he hopes it sends a signal to disaffected Conservatives that they are "welcome to join us in Labour" because the party wants to unite the country.

Next up is shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who is asked whether Dan Poulter was offered anything by Labour in return for defecting from the Conservatives, such as a place in the House of Lords.

"Not that I'm aware of," Streeting says.

He also denies the ex-Tory MP was "abandoning a sinking ship to save himself" - but did so to "save the NHS", he says.

He says that at the next election there will be lots of Conservative voters who've become disillusioned with the party and will be "looking for alternatives".

He says he hopes people "will trust the doctor" and "give change a chance at the next election", follow Poulter to Labour and give the country "its future back".

Laura now turns to immigration, and specifically the government's Rwanda bill which has now cleared Parliament. She asks whether people who come to the UK from Goma (a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the border with Rwanda) could be sent to Rwanda where they might be in danger.

Do such examples illustrate the problem with the bill?

Philp says the number of people from Congo seeking to cross the Channel on small boats is "tiny", and says to anyone thinking about crossing in small boats: "Please don't do it".

He says there is no reason to believe someone with a Congolese background "would have a problem in Rwanda", but notes there is an independent monitoring committee that will carefully examine those kinds of questions.

Next Kuenssberg asks Philp if Poulter's "defection betrays a wider situation", pointing to the fact that around 70 current Tory MPs have said they will not stand at the next election, and the Conservatives are slumping in various polls.

Philp replies that opinion polls "are where they are" but says that as Tories "continue to deliver and get things done, the public will appreciate that".

He says inflation is "falling dramatically", wages are rising and NHS waiting lists are coming down, which he says are among a number of achievements by the government.

He says that as the country gets closer to an election which will "most likely be in the autumn" it will become "less a referendum on grumpiness" and more of a choice on who the public wants to run the country.

Philp says the choice is between Sunak who has a plan and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who doesn't.

Laura puts it to Philp that Poulter is saying the Tory Party is not the same party it was in 2010, and that it has lost its compassion and it doesn't value public services as it ought to, and that some of his former Tory colleagues share his views

Philp says he doesn't accept that.

He says his party does value public servants and is investing record amounts in education and health, and there are record numbers of police officers.

He says the pandemic was difficult and there have been unprecedented strikes in the NHS, but waiting lists are reducing. And he attacks Labour's record in Wales.

The next guest is Home Office minister Chris Philp.

Laura Kuenssberg asks him if Dan Poulter's defection from the Conservatives to Labour is a "sign of real rot" within the party.

Philp dismisses this, saying he doesn't "accept what Dan is saying at all".

He says the Tories protected the NHS when financial cuts had to be made to other areas and says the government is spending £165bn per year on the NHS and has hired tens of thousands more staff. He says this shows that the Conservatives are "not deprioritising" the NHS, instead they are "investing heavily".

"I don't know why Dan thinks joining the Labour Party is a good idea".

Back to the start of the programme for a moment, when Laura spoke to Conservative former immigration minister Robert Jenrick - who is on the panel today - about Poulter's defection.

He says he thought it was a confused resignation and Poulter is "wrong on the facts", arguing there has been a 40% real-terms increase in spending in the NHS.

He says it is always a shame to lose colleagues, saying it can happen for a number of reasons, including "opportunism".

Labour Baroness Chakrabarti - who's also on the panel - says she thinks it's "perfectly possible" others in the Conservative Party could join Labour.

Meanwhile SNP former Westminster leader Ian Blackford, asked about the past week in Scottish politics, says: "I think the SNP will get through this week."

He says Yousaf will set out his agenda and make sure they can build common cause and "makes sure he wins that vote this week". More on the latest on what's happening with Yousaf here.

Poulter says he could have resigned as an MP and caused a by-election, but “on balance” he felt it would be better to continue to work for his constituents because a general election is expected soon.

“We’re at the point where there might be a general election called at any moment, and I think Rishi Sunak should call a general election tomorrow, or as soon as possible, and let the public make a choice about who should be in government,” he says.

And with that, Poulter's interview on the Kuenssberg show wraps up.

“We now have a Tory Party that resembles sometimes a little bit more a nationalist, a national party, rather than a party of the centre right.”

He says he is attracted to the changes Labour have made since 2019 under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, particularly on health and tackling its determinants, such as poverty and housing.

He says that is why he has made the change and why he feels the party can make a difference for patients.

Image source, .

Laura puts it to Poulter that as a Conservative he has previously accused Labour of having been profligate in how they ran the NHS, and has criticised the party’s record of running the service in Wales.

He says the NHS is all parts of the country is under pressure, “but the service that I saw during those night shifts was unrecognisable from the service that I worked in routinely before I became an MP”.

“Frankly, patients deserve better,” he adds.

Poulter says: “Very clearly it’s been the case in the last eight, 10 years or so, the NHS is not a priority to the Conservative Party and to the government.”

If we want to do better for patients and “restore that service to where it was was before”, he says he believes “we need to look to a party that has a track record when it was in government before” of delivering for patients and transforming services, and investing in community health care.

“That’s what Keir Starmer and the Labour Party I know will do and they will be trusted I’m sure to do it by NHS staff as well,” he says.

We're now hearing from MP Dan Poulter, who has defected from the Conservatives to Labour - which he revealed exclusively on this programme. In a recorded clip, he starts by telling Laura: “I’ve been thinking about it for a little while.”

He describes how he works as an NHS doctor alongside his role as an MP, and says from his experience the health service is under “huge strain” and is very different now to how it was around a decade ago.

The “struggles and challenges” patients have been experiencing trying to access care have “resonated” with him, he says, and he’s found it “increasingly difficult” to look them, his NHS colleagues, patients and his constituents in the eye with good conscience.

“I feel that the NHS deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how it is run and governed,” he says.

The programme also starts with a brief look at the newspapers today.

Politics dominates many of Sunday's front pages, with many focusing on Tory turmoil following the defection of former minister Dan Poulter to Labour.

The Observer says discussions between Poulter and Labour have been going on for many months, but only half a dozen people knew about what was planned. Writing in the paper, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich says he will not stand at the next general election, but that he envisages a role advising Labour on its policies on mental health.

In an interview with the Sunday Express, Rishi Sunak seeks to assure voters all is well ahead of the upcoming election. The prime minister urges voters to stick with his plan, and declares himself the man to give people "peace of mind" and unlock a "brighter future".

Part of the PM's plan, which he set out last year is, "stopping small boats" containing migrants from crossing the Channel. Writing in the Mail on Sunday and singing the praises of his Rwanda bill, Sunak says he's "happy for Britain to lead the world in being tough of migrants".

Away from the Conservatives, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tells the Daily Express that Labour would keep the triple lock - which ensures pensions rise in line with inflation, average wages, or by 2.5%, whichever is highest - for at least five years if it wins the next election.

Laura starts the show by replaying the above clip which went viral online after Question Time last week.

Opposition parties criticised Home Office minister Chris Philp for appearing to confuse two African countries on BBC Question Time when he said: "I mean, Rwanda is a different country to Congo isn't it? It's a different country?"

An ally of the Home Office minister later suggested he had been posing a rhetorical question.

Laura asks Chris Philp "what was really going on there?"

He says he was "struggling to hear the question" and adds that he was asking a "rhetorical question" when he spoke to the person in the audience.

Streeting, who was also on Question Time this week, replies by saying "I'll believe Chris".

Lights, camera, action - here we go, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is now live on BBC One.

You can also watch the show by clicking play above, and follow along with the key lines as we bring you text updates and the best clips in this page.

Defections are rare and damagingpublished at 08:57 British Summer Time 28 April

08:57 BST 28 April

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

This is only the third Conservative defection since 2019.

Dr Dan Poulter's blast at the Tories' record on the health service in particular will hurt.

The MP, who still works on NHS wards, said he had been thinking about quitting the Conservatives for the last few months, having been first elected in 2010. The strain on the NHS made his mind up.

His decision to join the Conservatives' rivals is another blow to the prime minister's authority, just days before the party faces local elections across England and Wales on 2 May.

It’s particularly damaging because of his blunt criticisms of the Tory’s management of the NHS. Of course the date of the next general election hasn’t been set - but it has to take place before the end of January 2025, and could even be called for this summer.

MPs who switch parties don’t always make easy alliances once they ‘cross the floor’, as its known. But with the Conservative party nervous and unhappy, Poulter’s move is a gift for Labour.

Image source, Damien Storan/PA Wire

Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Tánaiste (deputy prime minister), has said the UK’s Rwanda policy is already impacting Ireland - after it was revealed 80% of recent arrivals to the Republic came from the UK across the Irish border.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News now, has been asked whether Martin's comments showed the UK was "simply exporting the problem".

Sunak says the deterrent is “already having an impact because people are worried about coming here”.

His comments follow reports that hundreds of migrants crossed the Channel to England in small boats yesterday.

The French authorities rescued a further 99 people in three boats who had got in difficulty at sea.

In the Sky News interview, Sunak describes illegal migration as a "global problem" and says many countries are looking to replicate "third-country partnerships" similar to the agreement struck between the UK and Rwanda.

Sunak's comments differ from those given by a No 10 spokeswoman yesterday, who said: "It is too early to jump to specific conclusions about the impact of the Act and treaty in terms of migrant behaviour.”

Image source, Reuters

We'll also be hearing from veteran Democrat and former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on today's show.

Pelosi is the first woman in US history to serve in that position and played a critical role in advancing - or thwarting - the agendas of multiple presidents. She first became House speaker in 2007 until 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023.

In viral terms, her big moments include her sarcastic #, externalPelosiClap during former US president Donald Trump's State of the Union speech a month after she took office again and ripping up a copy of Trump’s speech a year later.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Pelosi has urged protesters on college campuses to protest against Hamas' behaviour as well as Israel's conduct of the Gaza war.

You can read more about the former House speaker here.

Image source, Reuters

The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, will also be joining Laura Kuenssberg on the programme today.

Before joining the ranks in Westminster, he was the president of the National Union of Students, and later led on education for LGBT+ charity Stonewall, tackling homophobia in schools.

He joined parliament in 2015, as the MP for Ilford North, and has risen through the ranks under current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Tipped by some as a potential future leader of the party, Streeting has become a regular feature of the Labour frontbench in recent years

As shadow health secretary, Streeting has been vocal about the state of the NHS, and in January said children in the UK were “shorter, fatter and less happy than kids in other countries because we've got a childhood health crisis brewing".

Image source, The Labour Party

The Conservatives and Labour had understandably differing reactions to Dan Poulter’s defection and his comments about the health service.

A Tory spokesman said the decision was “disappointing” and that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had “no plan for our NHS".

"Under the Conservatives we are raising NHS funding to a record £165bn a year, helping it recover from the effects of the pandemic and driving forward its first ever long term workforce plan so that we train the doctors and nurses we need for the future in our country," he said.

Sir Keir, by contrast, described the news as “fantastic” and said Poulter would be helping Labour “get the NHS back on its feet” if it wins the next election.

“It’s time to end the Conservative chaos, turn the page, and get Britain’s future back,” he said. “I’m really pleased that Dan has decided to join us on this journey.”