Labour candidates Tory past revealed

Labour's Norwich North by-election candidate was last night forced to defend his political past - after it emerged he was a member of the Conservatives while at university.

Documents seen by the EDP list Chris Ostrowski, the University of East Anglia graduate chosen to replace Ian Gibson, as one of four candidates selected to represent the Tories in a 2001 National Union of Students election.

The revelation represents a fresh embarrassment in a campaign already tarnished by the controversial nature of Dr Gibson's de-selection. The former MP sparked the by-election by resigning after being told he would not be allowed to stand at the next general election because of his involvement in the expenses scandal. Many Labour supporters have expressed publicly their disappointment at this decision.

Mr Ostrowki issued a brief statement saying: “I was for around about 8 months a member of the Conservative student society whilst studying here in Norwich.

"I suppose everyone does silly things whilst at university.

"I am certainly glad that I ended up in the Labour Party and am able to campaign hard for even more sure start children's centres and for even more police officers in Norwich North."

The EDP had hoped to quiz him further about why he originally supported the Conservatives. However, his representative said he would not be commenting further after attending a hustings event last night.

A spokesman for the East of England Labour party said: “We are relaxed about this. Chris is far from the only person in Norwich to switch from the Tories to Labour."

The reference to Mr Ostrowski's candidacy is made in a letter circulated to all members of Norfolk and Suffolk Conservative Future, the party's youth movement, in 2001. He was standing as delegate for the NUS conference in Blackpool. The result of the election is not clear.

In a separate document, the 28-year-old expressed an interest in attending party rallies and offered his support to members of the shadow cabinet during official visits.

Mr Ostrowski, from London, was selected by constituency members last month. He was also a candidate for the Eastern region the recent European elections.

He gained the support of Norwich South MP Charles Clarke, who said at the time: “Chris Ostrowski is a very strong candidate for Labour in the Norwich North by-election.” Mr Clarke added that Dr Gibson “knows Chris and respects him”.

Mr Ostrowki joins a list of politicians who have switched allegiances. Most notably Quentin Davies joined Labour from the Conservatives in 2007. In 2005 Robert Jackson took the same route to the Labour party following a disagreement over high education funding.
Norfolk Eastern Daily Press