Despite her insistence that she “likes and admires” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Ms Perry O’Neill has destroyed her Conservative Party membership card to back Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. The ex-Tory MP also accused her former party of being “self-obsessed” and dominated by “ideology”.
Instead, she believes that Sir Keir is well-suited to lead Britain during this time of crisis, praising him for his “sober, fact-driven, competent political leadership”.
Ms Perry O’Neill, who was a Tory MP for nine years from 2010 to 2019, accused Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt of being held hostage to the divides within the party.
In an article for The Times, she said both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have become “too beholden to a party dominated now by ideology and self-obsession to deliver the big changes we need in a fact-based, competent way”.
She added: “I spend most of my time now working in the private sector and this is not the way to build back confidence and deliver investment, especially in the cruel energy sector.”
Ms Perry O’Neill’s departure will come as another blow to Sunak, whose five “no-trick” pledges to the British public failed to reassure voters.
The Prime Minister’s first big announcement promised to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, stop migrant crossings to the UK and reduce NHS waiting lists.
In the week following his speech, a poll showed that his personal ratings had taken another fall.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle could use ’war’ against Royals for political ambitions
Perry O’Neill added: “A full-scale reset of our domestic and international relationships, focused on calm, competent cooperation, is urgently needed.”
Ms Perry O’Neill also praised the Labour Party’s “exciting” policies surrounding green energy and how this can be of great economic benefit to the UK.
New research has shown that 49 percent of voters now believe that the Government is incompetent, which is the highest level since mid-November.
