.. very new Conservative.
Former Labour MP and AM, former deputy Presiding Officer, former leader of Forward Wales, John Marek has joined the Conservatives.
Cheryl Gillan and Nick Bourne were in Wrexham this morning to welcome him to the Tory fold and revel in - or perhaps marvel at - what the Shadow Welsh Secretary called "his political journey".
If Caroline Aherne's Mrs Merton were in North East Wales this morning she might have been tempted to ask Dr Marek what first attracted him to the election frontrunner, David Cameron? But she wasn't and anyway Mrs Merton would no doubt accept that Mr Cameron is not a dead cert to win this election.
So I'll stick to this question: why has the man who clashed with Labour because they'd moved too far to the right joined the Conservatives?
Labour, says Dr Marek, have failed to deliver: "David Cameron's social conscience is at the heart of my decision to join the Conservative Party."
Welsh Labour hone in, not on the 'social conscience' but the socialist past.
"Since John got himself excluded from the Labour Party seven years ago, we've been watching his weird and winding political journey with increasing disinterest. We're unsure whether today's news says more about John or the Welsh Conservatives, but in any case, 'any port in a storm' is the phrase that springs to mind" comes the response from Transport House.
I'm Betsan Powys, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on .
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