Baffled, bemused, bizarre - just three of the words that have been used by many to describe the defection of Dover MP Natalie Elphicke to Labour.

To which you could add futile, pointless and perplexing.

Rarely has a defection backfired quite so spectacularly as that of Natalie Elphicke’s switch to a party that, prior to adopting new political stripes, she routinely castigated for its claimed multitude of failings and shortcomings.

It’s as if someone had whispered in Labour’s ear that there was a political coup in the offing and it would be ridiculous to turn it down.

It is like seeing a nice coat on the sale rack which turns out to be not quite your size but you buy it anyway then spend days and months trying to convince yourself that it does.

Labour’s calculation appears to have been based on a belief that it might look a little bad for the party but that it would look much, much worse for the Conservatives.

And in one sense, it might be worth enduring a short-lived backlash given the values of parading a former Tory MP as your latest recruit.

The difficulty is that this particular defection does not on its own deliver much of a coup. We are told that she will be standing down at the next election, so the shock value has to be put in that context.

It would be a different matter if she was to switch allegiance to another party and then stay on.

That’s not going to happen. And had it been, the backlash among party activists would have been even greater.

As it is, leader Keir Starmer has faced some uncomfortable questioning from his own party, who ordinarily would give him the benefit of the doubt.

On this defection, he seems to have convinced himself that the net gains outweigh the positives.

The body language when the two met formally in a room served to underline the bizarre nature of a defection, she looking like an air steward about to serve drinks; Starmer uttering banalties like “it’s a great day”.

None of the explanations proffered as to why Elphicke had decided to switch seemed coherent; perhaps they never will.

The pair shuffled out of the room awkwardly, like first dates.

You can’t help feeling this is going to be a marriage of convenience, perhaps followed by a painful divorce.
But who knows? It’s a funny business, politics.

• Hats off to the Conservative leader of Kent County Council Roger Gough, who delivered a soundbite takedown on the defection of Natalie Elphicke: “Well it came as a big shock to me. It is not exactly a meeting of ideological minds; I am all in favour of parties being big tents and broad churches but this stretches the Labour church to a pretty big space.”

• Meanwhile, it seems the press conference that was hurriedly organised to make the announcement omitted some guests that perhaps should have been invited.

The Labour leader at Dover district council, Cllr Kevin Mills, says he was unaware of the event until Friday morning.

Asked if he felt snubbed, he chose to opt for the safety-first option, saying: “No comment.”

Well you can’t blame him for taking a diplomatic stance, although generally speaking, that kind of response can be translated as: “Yes, I agree but I’m not going to say anything.”