Luciana Berger, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Finchley and Golders Green who quit the Labour Party in February over anti-semitism, has a mountain to climb in this week’s general election. Margaret Thatcher’s old constituency has always been a two-horse race between the Tories and Labour. The Lib Dems came third with just 6.6% of the vote in 2017. This, though, is an election where political ground could shift like sand. At least two polls have put Berger ahead of Labour, in second place behind the sitting MP Mike Freer — a whip in Boris Johnson’s government.

Berger is banking on Tory remainers putting Brexit and disaffection with Boris before party loyalty — 69% of voters in this northwest London constituency backed remain in the 2016