Our candidate in Walsall North, Isabelle Parasram, has written this letter to her supporters and we are pleased to share it with you.

Hello!

I’m writing to thank you for supporting me in my first campaign to stand for Parliament on behalf of the Liberal Democrats.

Though I didn’t win a seat in Walsall North this time ‘round, my campaign wasn’t all about gaining a seat for myself. Of course I gave it everything I had, but I wanted to see others win too.

My heart goes out to those candidates whom I campaigned for in one way or another, but who didn’t gain a seat: Ade Adeyemo (Solihull), Daisy Cooper (St Albans), Amna Ahmad (Sutton and Cheam), Ben Sims (Leyton/Wanstead) and Sarah Olney (Richmond).

Their constituencies have missed out on having a great MP…

But we, as a campaign team and as a Party did win in so many other ways.

• We won by having our number of MPs increase by 50%.
• We won by seeing our first ethnic minority MP be elected.
• We won by knowing that 1/3 of our MPs are now women.
• We won by experiencing an increase in our membership to over 100,000.

I’ve also won through the relationships I’ve developed with people I’d never otherwise have met.

Without the Campaign for Gender Balance and, specifically, my mentor, Julia Cambridge, I wouldn’t have been an approved candidate this May.

After being given the backing of my Redbridge Local Party to stand in the West Midlands, I had the privilege of getting to know and work with the members and Executive of Walsall North. One local member, Patrick, became my Organiser and enabled me to build networks within the local community.

The magnificent Baroness Lorely Burt, Jock Gallagher, Bhanu Dhir and the Regional Campaign Team championed me and buoyed up the West Midlands candidates in what was a very difficult battleground.

I gained a marvellous friendship network in the Solihill Campaign Team. We exchanged mutual assistance. Key members of the team, Richard and Helen hosted and welcomed me.

I even got the stamp of approval from Margaux, my hosts’ cat – despite the fact that she initially sought to imprison me in my bedroom by sprawling herself across the landing outside. This presented me with a moral dilemma, as I’d have had to step on her to get down the stairs. Margaux didn’t seem to care that I was meeting Tim Farron. However, she finally relented by shifting an inch, which allowed me to manoeuvre past her by inelegantly plastering myself to the wall…I’m taking this as her eventual acceptance of me!

My campaign was underpinned by my children’s schools and my family, friends and staff who took the pressure off numerous aspects of my domestic, personal and business life during my campaign. Many, including my Church family, upheld me in prayer.

On election night, I saw the statistics for our efforts in black and white. I must admit that, initially, I was disappointed that I hadn’t achieved some of my goals for Walsall North.

But, as my friend and colleague, Ade Adeyemo told me early on in my campaign, a great political candidate is also a great leader. And great leaders view apparent failure as merely a watering hole on the journey to success.

I don’t just want to be a leader. I want to be a great leader.

So, with the endorsement of my Agent, Roy and my Chair, David, I intend to continue in my roles as Spokesperson on Brexit for the West Midlands and Parliamentary Representative for Walsall North for the foreseeable future.

For me, that means continuing to meet with, advocate and campaign for charities, community organisations and local people, both within Walsall North and the wider West Midlands region. It also means continuing to walk with fellow candidates on their paths to standing for Councils and Parliament.

I’ll end by sharing a story. On the night of the election, a key member of a ‘rival’ team came up to me, gave me a hug (and a kiss!) and, speaking on behalf of his peers said, “We all judged you before we’d even met you, but, now that we know you, we want to tell you how much we respect you.” I’ve had many such conversations with opposing parties and voters alike.

It’s incredible to think that, through my hard work, conduct and attitude towards others, I can have an impact like that on the ‘opposition’. Can you imagine what I could do within a community? But I can’t do it alone.

If that’s the way that you’d like to ‘do’ politics, I invite you to join me.

Whilst my 2017 Walsall North statistics weren’t great, they didn’t take into account the fact that my aims in politics aren’t just about winning a seat. And, most importantly, they aren’t just about me. My political journey isn’t faltering, halted or over. It’s only just beginning.

So, if you’d like to journey with me, here’s the foundation I’m building on:

“We’ve already won – in so many ways.”

* Isabelle Parasram is the Vice President of the Liberal Democrats.