Christmas came early for the country and the Liberal Democrats with a win in the North Shropshire byelection. An excellent local candidate, Helen Morgan, won with a 34% swing. The last time the Liberal Democrats gained two Conservative seats in parliamentary byelections in the same year was back in 1993. For the record, the last time Liberal Democrats came from 3rd or worse to win was in 1981.

Liberal Democrats won a stunning victory in North Shropshire, taking one of the Conservatives' safest seats.

Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Morgan received 17,957 votes, representing a swing of 34% from the Conservatives and giving her a majority of 5,925.

North Shropshire was the 58th safest Conservative seat in the country, with former Conservative MP Owen Paterson having a majority of almost 23,000 votes in 2019. This represents the second biggest majority overcome in a modern by-election, after Christchurch in 1993.

Liberal Democrats have and always will support public health protections that work but the use of so called "vaccine passports'' provides a false sense of security.

The Government has lost sight of why they put forward these measures in the first place - to reduce transmission of the virus. The vaccines being given in the UK are highly effective at reducing the severity of Covid symptoms, the likelihood of admission to hospital and against the risk of death. But even those who are fully vaccinated can still spread the virus.

I've often said history points to two routes for Liberal Democrat (and before that Liberal Party) revivals. One, which we'd much rather avoid, is a foreign disaster - Iraq, former Yugoslavia, Suez… The other is seizing electoral opportunities outside Westminster general elections to give us momentum, increased prominence and growing relevance.

The scenes of people trying to cross the Channel demand urgent action. They also show that the Government's approach isn't working.

in her two years as Home Secretary, Priti Patel has only made the problem worse."

These crossings are incredibly dangerous - as demonstrated so tragically by the deaths of 27 people when their dinghy sank two weeks ago. They line the pockets of the criminal gangs engaged in people smuggling and human trafficking. And they undermine public confidence in our whole immigration system.

I would like to talk about trust, and in particular trust in politicians. Recent YouGov figures show a dramatic decline in trust since Johnson became Prime Minister. Only 5% believed that politicians work for the public good. This corrosion of trust reflects a crisis of confidence in politics itself.

Whilst our Prime Minister entertains British industry with Peppa Pig and simulating car engines, the NHS is under real pressure. The UK has entered a third phase of excess deaths during the pandemic with more people dying than expected. The figure is not readily explained by coronavirus. The new phase of excess deaths raises the possibility that since the summer more people have been losing their lives as a result of strains on the NHS, and lack of early diagnosis of serious illness.

When I arrived in London as a teenager, Sir John Major was Prime Minister. I felt a connection with the City. My political views formed, firstly at university, and later whilst living in Islington. I joined the Liberal Democrats.

I was honoured to be elected as the Lead London Regional Diversity Champion. I continuously help to increase participation and engagement within our inclusion and diversity teams. I am vocal within Liberal Democrats Members to help represent those underrepresented in the UK Politics. In 2020 I founded the national BLAC Liberal Democrats (Blac Lives Action Committee) with the mission to make heard the voice of Black members within the Party.