Mark Logan: Former MP backs Labour at next general election

In an interview with BBC News, Mr Logan, who represented the constituency for the Conservatives until Parliament dissolved on Thursday, said Labour had been on a "journey" and now offered "centrist politics".

He said that the party could "bring back optimism into British life".

Mr Logan added that the Tory Party was now "unrecognisable" from the party he joined a decade ago.

He won his seat with a majority of just 378 in 2019, making it one of the most marginal in the country. Mr Logan said his application to join Labour was "going in today".

Mr Logan, who supported Brexit, will stand down at this election, but he told the BBC that he "wouldn't rule out coming back into public life" when asked if he could stand for Labour in the future. 

The Labour Party has already chosen a candidate, Kirith Entwistle, for his former constituency.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Logan said: "The time has come to bring back optimism into British public life."

"When I look back to my teenage years, in 1997 when Labour came to the fore at that time and we obviously heard the song Things Can Only Get Better, I feel that we're at that point again in British politics and British history.

"For my constituents and for the country, it's right that we get some stability back into the UK, we get optimism, we get new and fresh ideas."

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.

He added: "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." 

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".

Mark Logan, left, at a recent protest in Bolton in relation to Gaza (Image: Newsquest)

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

When 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.

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.