John McDonnell has said he is "shocked" by Natalie Elphicke defecting to Labour from the Conservatives because of previous comments she made that have "nothing to do with Labour values."
The former Shadow Chancellor also said that Ms Elphicke being able to join Labour meant that Sir Keir Starmer should restore the whip to Diane Abbott and Mr Corbyn.
He added: "The Labour Party is a membership party, and always will be no matter who is the leader. But the two examples of Diane and Jeremy, there is no argument now that they should have the whip withdrawn. That should be done instantly, I believe, because if you look at Jeremy and Diane's record, they've been standing up for socialist principles.
"They've devoted their life to the Labour Party. And that means I think they deserve to have the whip restored. And in the context of welcoming Natalie Elphicke, what does that say about judgement that has taken place at the moment?"
He said that restoring the whip to Ms Abbott and Mr Corbyn would "rebalance things" in the minds of voters, who might be dismayed by Ms Elphicke joining the party.
Andrew Marr also revealed that a Labour spokesman failed to definitively rule out the possibility of Nigel Farage joining the party.
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7 май 2024
