Norwich Lib Dems help win Richmond Park

In the by-election last week, the people of Richmond Park elected a Liberal Democrat, Sarah Olney, to represent them in parliament. We took the seat with a swing of 21.7% from the Tory MP which reflected the monumental effort we put into our campaign. I was lucky enough to travel down there from Norwich and play a part in that campaign.

I had helped run our popular Norwich phone bank in the weeks before polling day and had heard the positive feedback we were getting from voters. I got a real sense (as did others on the phones) that we could win the seat with a lot of hard work.

Friends and colleagues of mine who had visited the constituency to campaign reported the same sort of feeling. I couldn't wait to get to London myself and talk to voters on the doorstep.

It became clear fairly early on, that despite the incumbent, Zac Goldsmith, triggering the by-election over the proposals of a third runway at Heathrow, the big issue for all types of voters was in fact, Brexit.

By the time of my first visit to the area with James Wright on the Saturday before polling day - almost every conversation involved Brexit without having to bring it up myself. This showed just how important stopping a hard Brexit was to people, and that our campaign leaflets mentioning Zac's anti-EU stance were working.

The aim of canvassing voters on the final Saturday was to spread our message and identify our supporters - and we certainly managed that. I was delighted to hear so many households recognising me as part of "Sarah's" campaign. The people who answered doors clearly knew our candidate's name and policies, and this translated into large groups of households confirming their support for us.

However, I found a fair few Zac supporters and left not feeling quite as confident that we would win the seat. I began to regret the money I had placed on a Lib Dem victory as well as the bet I had made with my housemate. Even another positive evening phone canvassing voters two days before polling day with Norwich Lib Dems didn't make me feel overly optimistic about the result.

I wasn't feeling too much better by the time of my 4am train out of Norwich on polling day either - although that may have been down to lack of sleep. Teaming up again with James for a round of early morning delivery in the Mortlake area soon woke me up, as did a large breakfast and a cup of tea before our first round of door knocking.

Despite my earlier doubts, I became very confident by the early afternoon. Almost every answer I got on the doorstep was a positive one. Houses filled with usual Labour supporters were happy to declare their support for Sarah, and so many normally Conservative supporters said much the same. Our message that we would help stop a hard Brexit and stand up for everyone in Richmond Park was clearly working. Even a group of schoolchildren shouted "Go Sarah!" as we wandered through the constituency.

My optimism only increased throughout the day, each door knocking session better than the last. Chatting with other Lib Dems during our breaks confirmed to me that other activists were having the same sort of feeling about our chances. Much like the schoolchildren from earlier, commuters, people in cars as well as in the street who passed me as I handed out leaflets and knocked on doors were more than happy to declare their support for Sarah. I ended the last round of door knocking more confident than ever.

As I got on my train home, I was thankful for the rest and the thought of being back in bed, but knew I wouldn't get to sleep before the result was declared. After food, a long sit down and brief moments of sleep, I finally got to hear just before 2am that we had won Richmond Park.

I was not too shocked by this point. I was simply relieved that we had won it and that all our hard work had been worth it.

By the next morning, I had gone from relief to amazement. The thought that I had been part of such a huge campaign was one thing, but the thought that I had helped contribute to a winning campaign was even better. It was incredible to have worked so hard with so many other Lib Dems on causing a huge result, one which could be the start of a truly special comeback for the Liberal Democrats across the country.