Summary

  • Natalie Elphicke, the MP for Dover and Deal, defects from the Conservatives to Labour as Prime Minister's Questions begins in the Commons

  • "Under Rishi Sunak, the Conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division," she says in a statement released at midday

  • "From small boats to biosecurity, Rishi Sunak’s government is failing to keep our borders safe and secure," she adds

  • In the Commons, Starmer asks Sunak: "What's the point of this failed government staggering on?"

  • But the Conservatives have highlighted past comments from Elphicke - including an article she wrote headlined "don't trust Labour on immigration"

  • "Even Labour MPs know you can't trust Labour to stop the boats," the Conservatives say on X

Live Reporting

Edited by Nadia Ragozhina

  1. Sunak 'determined fight on' despite local election losses

    Rishi Sunak speakingReuters

    We're expecting to see Rishi Sunak attempt to rally Conservative MPs during PMQs today, after his party lost councils, a by-election, and mayoral contests to Labour during the local elections last week.

    The prime minister said that while the results were "disappointing", the general election result is "not a foregone conclusion".

    On Monday, the PM said he was "determined more than ever to show the public that what we're doing is making a difference".

    He also insisted his party was "united" on its values.

    The BBC has spoken to a number of Tory MPs who say they are feeling increasingly pessimistic.

    One senior figure in the party described the next months as "managed decline", and talked of the Conservatives waiting for their fate.

    Read more: Rishi Sunak vows to fight on – but Tory MPs feel gloomy

  2. What happened at the local elections?

    Today’s PMQs is the first since the local elections last week, which saw major Conservative losses while opposition parties, chief among them Labour, made substantial gains across the country.

    The Tories lost more than 470 councillors and control of 10 councils. The party also failed to hold on to the parliamentary seat in Blackpool South, where it lost to Labour.

    Elsewhere, smaller opposition parties performed well with the Liberal Democrats returning 521 councillors - more than the Conservatives on 513 - while the Greens secured their highest ever tally of seats.

    Of the 11 mayoral races, Labour won in 10 areas - the East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Greater London, Liverpool City Region, the North East, Salford, South Yorkshire, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, and York and North Yorkshire.

    Read more here.

  3. Sunak back in the Commons after bruising election defeats

    Aoife Walsh
    Live reporter

    Good morning and welcome to our coverage of this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions.

    It’s Rishi Sunak’s first time at the dispatch box since his party suffered heavy losses at the local elections last week. He’ll face off with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, having lost 470 council seats and all but one mayoral contests.

    Sunak has described the local election results as "disappointing", but said the general election result is not a "foregone conclusion".

    (As a reminder, the general election has not been announced, but has to take place by January next year.)

    We’ll soon hear what questions Starmer has for Sunak, so stay with us as we bring you live updates and analysis from our political correspondents.

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