Exclusive: PM ‘lying to nation’ and Tories ‘don’t have answers’, says Wakeford

Christian Wakeford has told LabourList in an exclusive interview that the Tories “don’t have the answers” and Boris Johnson “will carry on doing what he will carry on doing, which is lying to the nation”.

The MP for Bury South, who defected to Labour from the Tories in January, has said he does not expect local Labour members to be his “best friend on day one” – but the “onus” is on him to show “sincerity” about his move.

Labour launched its local elections campaign in Bury today, where Keir Starmer urged voters to “send the Tories a message they cannot ignore” on the cost of living by voting for his party in the upcoming May elections.

In an interview with LabourList following the launch, Wakeford described his former party as “on the ropes”, saying: “The Tories don’t have the answers. And if they do, they’re lying. But again, they’re lying about a lot of things at the moment.”

Asked about the response on the doorstep in Bury, the Labour MP said: “They’re clearly not happy with the Tories. But I think there is a genuine concern as to what the next few months, or weeks even, are really going to mean.”

He added: “People really, really are feeling the pinch. But again there’s no message from the government as to why anyone should go out and support them. So, locally the response has actually been really positive. I’m actually very hopeful for May.”

Asked whether he regrets anything he said in parliament while serving as a Tory MP, Wakeford said: “Yeah, I think we can all say things when it’s to a particular audience or, you know, when you’re trying to be helpful.

“Obviously, there were plenty times I wasn’t too helpful to the government. But obviously I was a Conservative MP, following a Conservative whip.”

“I would like to think we can draw a line in the sand and say, well, actually I’m not that, so the way I want to vote, I can no longer be threatened or bribed or coerced,” the MP said. “Being a new member as well, some of it was naivety.”

He suggested Labour members should judge him on his record as a Labour MP, adding: “If I was to vote that way moving forward, I can understand people being really concerned. But my intention is to show that I really am committed to this.”

After Wakeford’s defection, some in Labour criticised his past voting record and comments. Left-wing activist group Momentum described him as “an anti-BLM, climate-change denying, pro-tax dodging Tory MP”.

As a Conservative, Wakeford described asylum seekers as “not just travelling through one safe country” but having “a shopping trolley as to what they want”, and said he was “proud” to support the controversial policing bill.

Discussing his record in parliament, Wakeford told LabourList: “There’s only so many times you can be threatened. It’s not been a nice place on the Tory benches… and the PLP, Keir, the whips have made me feel incredibly welcome.”

On the local Labour reaction to his defection, the MP said: “To be fair, it’s been warm. I mean, do I expect them all to be my best friend on day one? No, but I think there’s an onus on me to show that there is sincerity, that I do mean this and I do want that relationship to grow – but work more than anything.”

Asked whether he had met resistance from local members, the MP replied: “Not massively, no. I mean, there are few who, you know, saw it as opportunistic with the timing, and I think we’ve all seen those comments in the press.

“But we’re two months down the line now, and I think people will hopefully see that actually, I am here, I do want to help, I do want to make it work – and it’s a positive message for those Tory voters that need to go back to Labour to actually make a meaningful change for the country.”

On his chances of selection as Labour’s Bury South candidate for the general election, Wakeford said it was “not anything I’ve even thought about so far”, adding: “I just want to get on with the job of representing the people of Bury South.”

Pressed on whether he was nervous about the upcoming trigger ballot meeting, the Labour MP said: “I don’t even know when it’s going to be yet. At the moment, it’s not even a thing that’s spoken about.

“It’s a very steep learning curve of acronyms – NECs [national executive committee] and GCs [general committees]… There’s a lot that I need to learn.”

He added: “I’m sure conversations may happen at some point, again it’s very early days. The reaction locally and nationally – it feels good. But I don’t think now’s the time really to be worrying about reselection and triggers.”

On the key issues that led to his defection, Wakeford said: “I keep on getting asked what was the one issue, and it wasn’t one. It was slowly building and building. And I just realised, I literally couldn’t stay anymore.

“So when we go back to that first free school meals vote, back in the summer of Covid, essentially being threatened by the Education Secretary to vote in favour of the government.

“I mean even then, I couldn’t fully bring myself to do it, so I abstained. But I think that was the starting point of that journey. And there were quite a few things where I clearly wasn’t happy.”

He cited the government decision to cut international aid, its failure to focus on the cost of living and its opposition to banning fire and rehire as some of the areas that caused him concern.

On Labour’s chances in Bury at the local elections, Wakeford said: “I think there’s a real chance certainly of Labour holding the council. I don’t think the Tories will gain it. Worst case scenario is no overall control.

“But I think there’s a genuine case for one, voting Labour in the first place, but actually Labour to maintain control with a majority. If anything, possibly increasing in areas of Prestwich as well.”

He noted that it was “not the time to be complacent” but added that he believes “there’s a really chance we can actually improve things rather than seeing it go backwards”.

Asked whether Labour’s message is cutting through to the public, Wakeford replied: “So say the doors I’ve been knocking on and the emails coming in to me.” But the local MP added that it “might need to cut through a bit deeper”.