Political defections can always be awkward depending on what an MP’s previously said about their new party – Christian Wakeford is proving a prime example of this. Plenty of people are now pulling up public posts from Christian, not least slamming the Labour Party during the 2019 election over their policies on brexit, tax and referendums. Six months ago Wakeford said we are “seeing is a paradigm shift whereby the Labour party no longer represents those working-class communities.” In his resignation letter, Wakeford said Tory policies are doing “nothing to help the people of my constituency”, though last October he was delighted at the Chancellor’s announcement of “£20 million secured to Level-Up Radcliffe Town Centre”…

More entertaining, however, are some of his previous comments, being passed on to Guido from his now-ex colleagues. Of Angela Rayner he quipped regarding her attempts to become the new shadow Cabinet Office secretary:

On the 18th January 2021, Christian was very blunt indeed:

Of the New European, a popular journal on his new side of the aisle, Wakeford continued his sweary rampage with “Their [sic] a bunch of twats too”

It’s fair to say Wakeford’s decision has gone down like a cup of cold sick with both the Tories and the left of the Labour Party. As Lee Anderson told GB News after his defection, “I guess if anybody was going to defect it would be Christian Wakeford – Wokeford as we call him in that place over there… I say good riddance to bad rubbish”