Liberal Democrats' massive by-election win over Conservatives cannot be dismissed as a 'one-off' – Christine Jardine

That a safe Conservative seat, with a near 20,000 majority, was taken by the Lib Dems speaks volumes about the lack of faith in the government and new belief in my party, says Christine Jardine

There are times in politics when you just want to be able to say: “I was there.” Like Andy Murray supporters when he won Wimbledon, or seeing Elton John at Glastonbury rather than from your living room, those seminal moments provide the stories we will tell for the rest of our lives.

Perhaps, in politics, no event provides that experience more than an election count where you know the result will upset somebody’s apple cart. That was last Thursday. The thrill of knowing that results in Yorkshire, Somerset and London could be the precursors for massive change was like no sports event or concert I have ever been to.

But what you could feel in the air was not just excitement. It was confidence. For Labour, the victory in Selby and Ainsty was evidence that the poll lead they hold over the Tories could be converted into general election gains – even though, after a recount, they narrowly failed to clinch victory in Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

And for those of us who are Liberal Democrats, the massive win in Somerton and Frome was confirmation that recent results were not just a flash in the pan. Two years ago, when Liberal Democrat Sarah Green deprived the Conservatives of the formerly safe seat of Chesham and Amersham, it was dismissed by many as a Lib Dem protest vote. Nothing really for the government to worry about. Even the massive historic victories which followed in North Shropshire and Tiverton and Honiton were treated as something of a novelty.

Despite that initial reaction, analysts did begin to consider that perhaps a series of “one-offs” were maybe not just one-offs. So by the time it came to Somerton and Frome, it was regarded differently. And it felt different. For the first time, the media began speculating from the get-go that this could, and almost certainly would, be a Lib Dem gain.

That a safe Conservative seat, with a near 20,000 majority was within our reach spoke volumes about the lack of popular faith in the government. And new belief in the Liberal Democrats.

For the campaign team, it was a chance to equal a record set by the late former leader Paddy Ashdown between 1992 and 1997 – four straight by-election victories over a Conservative government. A government which was defeated at the next election, and which marked the start of our most successful electoral period in a century.

Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke with party leader Sir Ed Davey in Frome, Somerset, after winning the Somerton and Frome by-election (Picture: Ben Birchall/PA)

Conservative MPs interviewed in the early hours on Friday morning spoke of mid-term pressures, whilst pundits were talking about the potential record-breaking nature of the evening. What we ended up witnessing was the fifth largest swing from Conservative to Liberal Democrat since the Second World War. And I was there to enjoy it.

Perhaps if Friday morning was indicative of anything, it could be that the public will cast their votes carefully, even tactically, to ensure that this government’s time is up. With mortgages rising and public services at breaking point, the Conservative party is going to be a hard sell. And they know it.

Now, it is up to the other parties to prove their worth.

Christine Jardine is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West