OPINION - I sobbed into a glass of wine while my phone melted down: what it was like to lose in the Tory wipeout

“Don’t let them see you cry,” is the kind advice from my Labour opponent. We’re standing in a small huddle; gathered around the Returning Officer as she briefs us on the votes counted in my former constituency of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe. The worst has happened; I’ve lost my seat. To the Liberal Democrats. After four and a half years, and six weeks of the campaign, I’m about to lose my job on live TV.