American president elect Barack Obama had a helping hand from an unexpected supporter on his way to election victory.

Maidstone GP Dr Rav Seeruthun was among those celebrating Mr Obama’s win after playing a part in his election campaign.

Dr Seeruthun, who is also Labour's prospective Parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Maidstone and the Weald, travelled to America to help persuade voters to turn out for Mr Obama.

Along with Labour's PPC for Ashford Chris Clark, Dr Seeruthun spent two weeks before the election in the key swing state of Florida as guest of the Hillsborough Democratic Party and Susan Smith.

The two were tasked with knocking on doors in the 90-degree heat, telephoning hundreds of voters in the Tampa area and standing outside polling stations in the two hour queues for early voting.

Dr Seeruthun said: “The first day we arrived they asked us to knock on 250 doors.

“The people were really friendly and kept inviting us in, which was great but a bit of a problem when you have so many homes to get round.

“They liked the fact that we were British because it gave them the global perspective on the election.”

During their stay, the two Britons met lawyers working for the Democrats in Florida and admitted being astounded by how complicated the ballot was - with more than four sides of A4 paper.

Dr Seeruthun described helping Barack Obama become the first black President of the United States as an “absolute privilege”.

He said: “We have been doing everything we could to help this happen. We were lucky enough to see Obama and Bill Clinton speak together in Orlando.

“It was amazing to see the make up of the crowd, all ages, all races, all chanting 'yes we can’.

“Obama is an inspirational figure and the right man for America and the world. I remember doing speeches about Martin Luther King at school, and never thought that in my lifetime this would happen.”

To read more about the pair’s experiences in the United States, click here

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