IN the space of five short weeks we achieved the seemingly impossible in East Worthing and Shoreham.

We took a previously safe Tory seat and made it a marginal, increasing the Labour vote by 114 per cent with one of the biggest swings in the country at 19.8 per cent.

At the start of the general election campaign no one gave the Labour Party a chance, neither nationally nor locally.

The constituency had always been blue and the Tory incumbent, Tim Loughton, had been the MP for 20 years.

He felt safe and secure, certain that no one could ever challenge him and I’m sure that the selection of a little known transgender TV presenter as the Labour candidate only added to the feeling that he would increase his 15,000 majority.

I was greeted with love and support. Sure there were still a few transphobic remarks online but nothing like I’d experienced previously.

My gender identity that had hit the headlines around the world seemed to mean nothing to the constituents that I met.

It was never mentioned on the doorsteps, the street stalls or the hustings.

The only people who made it an issue were the press, not the voters.

They listened to the policies, my ideas, passion and belief and they embraced me.

On June 8 nearly 21,000 of them chose to put their mark next to my name on the ballot paper.

  • Sophie Cook was the Labour Party candidate for East Worthing and Shoreham at the General Election