The Liberal Democrats are self-aware about their party's collapse.

One event at this year's conference is titled: "Will 2080 be the year we get the next Lib Dem minister?"



And with only eight MPs - having lost 48 at the last General Election - this gathering on the Brighton seaside is inevitably a search for relevance.



Their boundlessly chirpy leader Tim Farron attracted some chortles on Sunday when he declared that his party was in a "very, very good place".



But the party, which has doubled its membership in two years from 40,000 to almost 80,000 - its largest ever - is upbeat, because it believes it has two big opportunities.

Image: #LibDemFightback. Will it catch on?

Image: Tim Farron working the crowd in Brighton

:: Lib Dems to make EU return an election pledge

The Liberal Democrat leadership, membership and a majority of the electorate (70% backed Remain, according to an Ashcroft poll) are firmly pro-European.



Mr Farron believes this will make his party the only united voice during the Brexit negotiations backing full single market access and a liberal immigration policy, with Labour more divided on these issues.



He spoke of feeling a "sense of bereavement" when Britain voted to leave.

Image: Nick Clegg returns to centre stage - as Brexit spokesman

Party policy is for a second referendum on the final deal the Government strikes - arguing that this is not ignoring the wishes of the electorate because people weren't given any detail of what they were voting for on 23 June. Party members are expected to overwhelmingly endorse it on Monday.



During those talks, Mr Farron says he will push for the best deal, which in his party's view is as close to the status quo as possible.



As well as attracting some of the disgruntled 48% of Remainers, Mr Farron has made a direct pitch for Labour voters who feel the party has "gone down a populist, unelectable route".

He said in an interview on Sunday: "The opportunity for us is enormous. And if Labour won't oppose the Conservative government, we will".



Image: On sale: Nick Clegg's new book

Fantasy? Maybe not. The Lib Dems lost swathes of seats in their South West former heartlands in 2015 to the Conservatives.



Lib Dem MPs spoke of knocking on doors and being told by former supporters that they must back David Cameron in order to prevent an alliance between Ed Miliband and the SNP.



They hope that if a Conservative victory in 2020 looks like a shoo-in, as the polls currently suggest, their voters will be more likely to want a Lib Dem MP in Parliament to provide strong opposition.



The party has won 13 council by-election seats in the past four months - many of them in Cornwall as well as Labour-held Sheffield - and they believe these areas will be the start of a slow recovery.


Image: Quieter than years gone by: the press room at the Lib Dem conference

Expect plenty more from Mr Farron in the coming months about the "tragedy" of Labour's lurch to the Left and his - some would say new-found - admiration for Tony Blair's domestic policies.

Lib Dems privately admit they have no chance of getting a Labour MP to defect. Their party is too small and Mr Farron, unlike some previous leaders, is not much admired by Labour MPs.

But they do believe moderate Labour voters are a potentially deep well of support.