The shock Liberal Democrat win in Richmond Park was due to campaigning "exclusively about Brexit" according to MP Tom Brake.

Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, congratulated newly elected Sarah Olney on her by-election upset saying “It’s great to have a friend in London”.

Ms Olney clinched the seat by 1,872 votes and overturned Zac Goldsmith’s 23,000 majority.

The by-election was triggered after Mr Goldsmith quit the Conservatives whenTheresa May’s Tory Government backed the third runway at Heathrow.

MORE: Huge shock as Sarah Olney defeats Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park and North Kingston by-election

Mr Brake claimed the victory was due to the majority of Richmond Park residents’ voting in favour of remaining within the European Union, unlike Mr Goldsmith who wanted to leave.

He said: “The propelling reason why we won, without a doubt, was Brexit. There was strong evidence that Zac wanted to leave and had taken a strong stance on that and we focused exclusively on that in the final days leading up to the by-election.

“I won’t be telling any of my colleagues to prepare for government on the back of that result, but it does signal that we are back in the game.”

MORE: Richmond reacts to Sarah Olney's shock by-election win over Zac Goldsmith

But the Carshalton and Wallington MP questioned what influence Mr Goldsmith would have as an independent.

He said: “Zac made a prominent pledge and I respect him for calling the by-election, but it’s not clear what he was hoping to achieve standing as an independent.

“His influence to influence the outcome of the Heathrow expansion was completely stripped from him the moment he decided to stand as an independent.”

Following Ms Olney’s win the Lib Dems doubled its presence in London overnight from one MP to two.

However, Tim Farron’s Lib Dems remain the fourth largest party in Parliament with only nine MPs, compared to the Tories 328 majority.

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