Mark Logan: Former Tory MP backs Labour at general election

Mr Logan, who backed Rishi Sunak to be Tory leader, did not criticise the prime minister personally, saying he could “leave politics with his head held high” if he lost the election.

“It’s more about not the the push factor of Conservatives, but the pull factor of Keir Starmer, the new cabinet that would come in, the fresh faces, the fresh ideas,” he said.

Mr Logan said he had been considering backing Labour “for quite a long period” but felt the point he stood down as an MP was the right time to announce his support for the party “because the electorate did vote me in as a Conservative MP”.

The former businessman and diplomat added: “I believe as a politician it’s incumbent upon me to be able to say, to look people in the eyes in Bolton and say that I believe that a Labour government is going to serve you better, your interests better, it’s going to be better for your pockets, it’s better for the economy, it’s going to be better for the UK.”

In February Mr Logan broke ranks from his own party to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, saying Israel had “gone too far”.

At a similar time Labour also shifted its position to back an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, following pressure on the party.

Asked if leader Keir Starmer had now got it right on Gaza, Mr Logan said he believed Labour was “best placed to deal with what’s going to come down the track” in relation to the conflict.

Mr Logan, who speaks fluent Mandarin, is chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on China.

Before becoming an MP he worked for the UK Foreign Office and was head of communications at the British Consulate-General Shanghai.

In 2022, he quit his role as a ministerial aide in protest at Boris Johnson’s leadership.

It comes after two other MPs – Natalie Elphicke and Dan Poulter – also quit the Tories to join Labour earlier this month.

However, as they defected before Parliament was dissolved for the election, they briefly sat as Labour MPs before standing down.