On the train to Spring conference, as I was chatting with a student, I mentioned I was a Lib Dem. He said: “Aren’t they the party that saved the country, and then got destroyed because of it?”

My first thought was: “Wow! Student opinion has shifted since 2010.” But I also noted that he didn’t realise how much we’ve recovered since the last General Election.

It’s disappointing, but this feeling that the Lib Dems are still on the ropes is fairly widespread.

Those of us closely following politics know all about where we’ve succeeded. Spectacular local council by-election wins, a doubling of membership, widespread acclaim among journalists for our press operation,

We’ve not just seen many new members, but members who do things. One of our newbies even got herself elected as MP for Richmond Park.

We have a highly effective leader, who is perfect for these times. He knows how to speak in ways which connect with people’s emotions. He understands the importance of a simple message. And he sounds like an ordinary person. Strengths that are probably why the metropolitan elite like to sneer at him, but, secretly, maybe are jealous of.

His other great success really struck me at the Spring conference. How united the party is. We have a range of opinion on policy, as we should have. But, whereas in the past there’s been considerable angst between those primarily concerned about social justice and those primarily concerned about a free and vibrant economy, I didn’t see it last weekend. And much of that is down to Tim.

Horrifying though Brexit and Trump are, they’ve given us a cause, and with it a distinctive political identity.

Our opponents could hardly have made worse mistakes. I don’t need to explain the mess they’ve been making. I’ll list a few words and you can fill in the blanks: Cameron, Corbyn, Nuttall, Labour civil war, hard Brexit.

So why aren’t we doing better?

Despite some staggering successes in local by-elections and winning a parliamentary by-election, we’re getting maybe two or three per cent more in the opinion polls than in the 2015 general election. For crying out loud, considering the shower that our opponents are, considering how good Tim has been, why not much, much better?

If you too have been wondering, have a look at this graph. No. It’s not a prediction of the next two years.

It’s history.

In 1979, the Liberal party received 13.8 per cent of the vote. In the following two years, the Conservatives introduced some incredibly unpopular policies, and civil war broke out in the Labour party. Sound familiar?

Yet the Liberal poll rating hardly moved. And then, suddenly, boy, it moved!

The catalyst on that occasion was the extraordinary drama of the formation of a new political party, the SDP, which formed an alliance with the Liberal party.

But why hadn’t there been a shift before?

Most people aren’t interested in politics; if they listen to any news, it might be the occasional minute of headlines on the radio. Today, they know we were almost wiped out in 2015, but they know almost nothing about our progress in the last year and a half.

It can take years for them to register when things go bad, which may mean that Labour’s polling still has further to fall. And it can take even longer to notice when things get better – like the success of the #libdemfightback.

So if, like me, you’re feeling impatient with the polls … don’t be discouraged. Are they taking forever to catch up with reality? Yes.

But, eventually, they will catch up.

* George Kendall is chair of the Social Democrat Group, which is being formed to celebrate and develop our social democrat heritage, and to reach out to social democrats beyond the party. He writes in a personal capacity.