Former Labour MP joins the Conservative Party

John Marek, who for eighteen years was the Labour MP for Wrexham, has today defected to the Conservative Party.

Dr Marek represented Wrexham in the Commons between 1983 and 2001, and then in the Welsh Assembly between 1999 and 2007 (for the latter four years as an Independent, having been deselected by Labour prior to the 2003 Assembly election and then retained his seat as an Independent).

He said today:

"David Cameron’s social conscience is at the heart of my decision to join the Conservative Party. He understands the difficulties faced by ordinary people and I am convinced that as Prime Minister he will govern for everybody.

“I believe it is only through a Conservative government that we can fix our broken economy, restore our civil liberties, ensure our public services meet the public’s expectations, and tackle the big national and international issues facing our country today.”

In December sitting Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly Member Mohammad Asghar defected to the Conservatives.

Jonathan Isaby