Did I hear that right? Paul Marsden wants to rejoin the Labour party. The Lib Dem MP, who unexpectedly won Shrewsbury and Atcham for Labour in 1997 before defecting to the Lib Dems over the war in Afghanistan, had already decided not to defend the seat this year. Now he has quit the Lib Dems and is urging his constituents to vote Labour.
But what about the war? "I did not agree with the government's foreign policy then and I do not agree with it now, but I believe that I can now disagree with that policy from inside the Labour party which is more tolerant and more willing to listen," Mr Marsden said this morning. In the meantime, he has rediscovered the joys of Labour's investment in public services and the efficacy of Asbos. It was a rapid conversion. Mr Marsden issued a press release only two months ago deploring Labour's support for top-up fees: "Frankly I am appalled at a Labour party that taxes people's education rather than their wealth."
But the MP knows that the local Conservative candidate, 33-year-old Daniel Kawczynski, is going down well in Shrewsbury: I talked to female Tory activists who were swooning over his charm at last year's Conservative conference. He, at least, will be delighted that Mr Marsden has taken fright.
