Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has warned that Jeremy Corbyn's election has left Britain without a "strong, electable, credible opposition" to the Conservatives. He vowed to seize the "opportunities" created by Corbyn's landslide victory in Labour's leadership contest, saying: "I'm going to grab 'em."

In his first interview since Corbyn's win on Saturday, Farron also declared that the Lib Dems could soon be the only political party arguing for Britain staying in the European Union. But he said he wasn't expecting any defections from Labour or a full-blown 1980s-style split any time soon.

"Obviously the developments worry me because I think it weakens the opposition to the Conservatives and we need to have a stronger opposition," he told BuzzFeed News.

"Healthy democracy needs a good, strong, electable, credible opposition with a separate and distinct vision that can buy in from a very large section of the population – and it would appear that Labour isn't that now. I want us to be that.

"I think there is clearly a very big space in British politics for a party that is progressive, that is moderate, that is responsible, that is electable, and that is liberal – and that's us. So, yeah, I'm aware of the opportunities we now have and I'm going to grab 'em."