THEY were to have battled each other at the next general election.
But last night Daniel Clarke stood shoulder to shoulder with Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne after sensationally quitting as Labour’s Westminster hopeful in Eastleigh.
The 26-year-old teacher has dropped a political bombshell – revealed by the Daily Echo – by defecting to the Liberal Democrats.
His decision has shocked local Labour Party officials who after the European and county council elections will get down to the job of finding a new candidate.
With a general election having to take place by June next year, they will have to move fast to get someone in place to fight Labour’s corner.
At the 2005 general election Labour came third in Eastleigh behind the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats who hold the seat with a 568-vote majority.
Eastleigh is seen as a key battleground seat which ranks as the Conservatives’ 11th most winnable target across the country.
Brushing aside any immediate ambitions of becoming an MP, Mr Clarke said: “I am only 26 so I have got a long way to go.’’ But he said he was prepared to be part of the Liberal Democrat team which would keep Chris Huhne at Westminster.
It was in January 2008 that Mr Clarke was picked as Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Eastleigh.
He revealed to the Daily Echo that last July he had seriously considered quitting the party but was talked out of it.
Mr Clarke said: “I, like many other people, have become increasingly disillusioned with the Labour Party.
Unfortunately I no longer believe that it is committed to realising the dreams of people like me.
“The Labour Party leadership is showing a total lack of urgency to make this country fairer and better.
“For some time, particularly towards the end of the Blair premiership, I believed that at heart the Government had the right ideas and that it would eventually come good. I have now lost this faith.’’ Mr Clarke believed that the Eastleigh’s general election battle was now a two-horse race between Mr Huhne and the Conservatives’ Westminster hopeful Maria Hutchings.
Mr Huhne said: “I am delighted to welcome Dan Clarke as a member of the Liberal Democrats. He is a thoughtful and committed individual who cares deeply about creating a fair and sustainable society that only the Liberal Democrats can and will deliver.”
A Labour South East spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that Daniel has decided to leave the Labour Party at this crucial time in the world’s economy. “
