As the election draws to its frenetic close, the country is faced with a stark choice. The current favourite to be prime minister is a man who lied to the Queen, lied to the country and has repeatedly lied to you during this campaign. A man who refused to look at a photo of a child forced to sleep on the floor of an A&E unit, instead grabbing the journalist’s phone and pocketing it to try to avoid the reality of what his party has done to the NHS.

And that is before we get into the contempt he has shown to people whose job it is to hold him to account. Boris Johnson is a man who treats media scrutiny like most of us treat a trip to the dentist.

That is the man who could be our prime minister on Friday morning. But there is still time to stop it and keep open the option of stopping Brexit. Because make no mistake, if Johnson gets a majority then he will use that as a mandate to push through his Brexit deal. But like so many other things in this election, even that deal is a facade. The Conservatives have admitted that they will continue planning for a no-deal Brexit because that is what we face at the end of 2020 if we can’t negotiate a trade deal in record time.

In so many seats around the country, it is the Liberal Democrats who are best placed to make sure that the Conservatives don’t win. Our broken voting system means that tactical voting has always been part of the calculation people make on polling day, and I know from travelling around the country that there are thousands of people who are voting Liberal Democrat this time because that is the best way to stop the Conservatives winning a majority.

During this campaign, I’ve never shied away from scrutiny. I’ve done every one of the leaders’ debates, interviews with all the broadcasters, the infamous Andrew Neil interview that the PM dodged and multiple phone-ins with members of the public. And in many of those, I’ve been asked about our record in government. And I’m always happy to answer questions about that. It might not be fashionable in our modern era of fake news and dodging scrutiny, but it is the job of politicians to face up to criticism and reflect on it. I won’t ever shy away from answering the tough questions people want to ask, because that is part of my job as a political leader, even if Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn think that answering for their actions is beneath them.

Play Video 1:13 Jo Swinson accuses Boris Johnson of 'dog-whistle' attacks on migrants – video

I will always be incredibly proud of so many things we delivered in coalition. Cutting taxes for the lowest paid, introducing same-sex marriage and putting more money into our school system to support the poorest pupils. Stepping in at a time of national chaos and providing five years of stable government is a decision that was right for the country, even if it ended up costing the Liberal Democrats politically.

There is no doubt we made mistakes in coalition, and I’ve been open about that. Whether on the bedroom tax or tuition fees, there were battles that we did not win, and I wish every day that we had won more of them because I know the effect that losing those battles had on people’s lives.

But if you want to end austerity and tackle the injustices that our society faces, then putting Boris Johnson into Downing Street is not the way to do it. Brexit will be austerity on stilts, damaging our economy and our job prospects as we cut ourselves off from our closest trading partner. It will starve our NHS of cash and make it harder to invest in our schools.

It is why so many leading business figures are backing the Liberal Democrat plan for a brighter future, as they know the best economic future for our country is one where we remain in the EU and enjoy all the benefits that brings.

Tomorrow we face a choice about the future of our country. Boris Johnson wants to pursue a path that will damage our economy, make us weaker on the world stage and undermine our vital public services. But your vote can stop him doing that. Your vote can deprive Boris Johnson of a majority, and keep open the option of stopping Brexit and building a brighter future that the Liberal Democrats offer.

• Jo Swinson is leader of the Liberal Democrats