The Liberal Democrats could campaign for Britain to rejoin the European Union within a few years of Brexit, a senior MP has told BuzzFeed News.

Tom Brake, the Lib Dems’ Brexit spokesperson, said the party would seriously consider whether to reapply for membership of the EU even if there is a Leave vote in a second referendum.

He said the only way to get back in was to launch negotiations with the EU “in the same way that Albania is having discussions” about joining as a new member.

Party leader Jo Swinson officially backed revoking Article 50 earlier this week, which would effectively cancel Brexit, in an attempt to brand the Lib Dems the most pro-EU party ahead of an imminent general election.

But it has not been clear what position the party would take if Britain does leave the EU, either with a deal, no deal, or after a Leave vote in a second referendum.

Swinson told the BBC in July that she would not vote for Brexit in Parliament even if the public voted Leave again, saying it would not “change my fundamental beliefs”.

Now Brake has opened the door to Britain rejoining the EU within five years of the second referendum, which is likely to spark controversy among Brexiteers who believe a “people’s vote” should be respected.

In an interview with BuzzFeed News ahead of the Lib Dem conference, Brake dismissed claims that Britain could overturn the referendum result within months.

He said: “If we’ve left, we have left. And the only way we get back in is by launching negotiations with the EU in the same way that Albania is having discussions with the EU about joining as a new member.

“What there could be of course — and this is something that as a party we would have to discuss — if we get to third-party status, then I’m sure within the Liberal Democrats there will be discussions about should we try to rejoin, should we not try to rejoin, should we investigate with the EU what the terms of joining the EU might be.

“I’m sure we’d want to have a discussion if we have left about what would the future relationship look like and could it at some point include reapplying, or applying like Albania is to join the EU, because who knows what happens in 10 years’ time?

“In 10 years’ time, the Russians might be breathing down our necks. Not just flying sorties over the UK once a month — we may feel like we needed that security of being part of a wider partnership. Or the UK’s ambitions of being a global trading power may have fallen down because the trade deals we’ve had with the US, China, and India — they’ve walked all over us and our trade has been badly damaged.

“So at some point in the future, who knows, we might want to consider joining, but that’s not going to be by having another referendum — that will be five, 10 years time, having looked at what conditions might be imposed on it, and as a party we might decide that’s something we definitely don’t want to do.”