Redcar's shock election winner steels himself for the future
It was one of the shocks of election night - if not THE shock.
; a high profile minister unseated.
Lib Dem Ian Swales must have been floating on air when he discovered what a remarkable result he'd achieved in Redcar.
, and turned a 12,000 Labour majority into one of 5,000 in his favour.
But if that was a bewildering night, what has he made of life since?
Not only an MP, but one unexpectedly sitting on the government benches.
I've just caught up with Ian Swales, who openly admits he's ready for a holiday (he says he's barely had more than one day off since January).
He's honest enough to suggest that he wasn't banking on becoming an MP in May, even though he had hopes of a shock.
And then of course he barely had time to take that in before being catapulted into the centre of .
All of a sudden, he was deciding the future direction of his party and his country.
He firmly believes it was the right choice - you'd hardly expect him not to - even if it may sit uncomfortably from time to time.
But what about the thousands of traditional Labour voters who defected to him last May?
I didn't find it too tricky last May to find Swales supporters who felt they hadn't voted for him to see the Tories in government.
Equally, I found others prepared to give the "new politics" a go, and Ian Swales insists that's still the case.
He says at most 20 people in the town have told him they're disappointed with the Lib Dem decision to join the Coalition.
Many more, he claims, have given him and the new government their whole-hearted support.
He says only one local party member has left to his knowledge, while many more have joined.
But he says the party will also have to fight to keep its distinctive character.
He would like to see a robust and independent party conference in September - one which is prepared to challenge Coalition policies as well as mark the party's successes.
Moreover, he believes it has to begin to develop new policies, consistent with Lib Dem philosophy.
But of course, one issue above all others still hangs over his own constituency.
Redcar's blast furnace is still shut.
Efforts continue to find a buyer for the Corus plant, and .
He's guarded about how close that deal might be, though hopes it will happen.
He has always rejected the idea that he was just the beneficiary of a steel protest vote, and similarly he does not think he'll be judged solely on whether steelmaking returns to Redcar.
Instead, he's dedicating much of his time to finding ways of diversifying the local economy and attracting in new investment.
. It will create hundreds of jobs, and provide £500m of investment.
There are tough challenges ahead though. The Redcar constituency may have fallen out of love with Labour in 2010, but will it be permanent?
If cuts hit the area hard, will Ian Swales be able to defend them?
Labour will go on the attack relentlessly, believing Redcar is naturally theirs.
But of course there have been a number of "one election wonder" Lib Dems who have turned their surprise gains into safe seats by hard work, and delivering the goods.
Ian Swales has some way to go before he can become the next Alan Beith or Tim Farron, but as he prepares to draw breath before the challenges of the autumn, he's determined to prove that the Redcar constituency was right to turn to him.
I'm Richard Moss, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Political Editor for the North East and Cumbria. Welcome to my irreverent - but hopefully insightful - northern take on reporting politics for Look North and the Politics Show.
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