Hove MP Ivor Caplin has risen faster than most up the greasy pole of politics.
Ten years ago he was a political unknown who was a minor Labour politician in a Tory town.
But he took control of Hove council in 1995 and caused a sensation two years later by winning the seat in the general election.
Next he became a whip in the Commons and now he has become a junior defence minister.
The ambitious Mr Caplin has enough savvy to make further progress but his chief problem will not be whether he is up to the job but whether he can hang on to Hove should Labour's fortunes decline.
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