Kris Brown, until recently a member of the Labour Party, and who worked for Labour MP Bill Esterson has joined the Lib Dems.

When things like this come out of the blue it is both surprising and enjoyable. In the past few days I have spent time talking to Kris and of course welcoming him to the Lib Dem fold. He has already been out in Formby campaigning for us.

Whilst it is not for me to put words into Kris’s mouth I have picked up one very clear message from my discussions with him. The steady drift of Labour to the left and away from the more Social Democratic positioning of New Labour has clearly been a big factor in his political move.

Ironically Kris stood against me in May as the Labour candidate in Park Ward and he came very close to unseating me! I am sure that he must have wondered how I would react to him joining the Lib Dems but in reality he had nothing to be concerned about; we are a friendly bunch of community activists and Kris is very welcome amongst us.

He will be taking up employment in London in the very near future so the real Lib Dem gain of having a talented person like Kris will be had by the party in London.