Nick Clegg says there should be a second referendum on Brexit – and under-30s’ votes should count twice.

Despite admitting his ‘time is up’ in politics, the former Liberal Democrat leader also criticised Theresa May as a ‘rather small politician’ for ‘disenfranchising the losing side’ in the EU referendum.

Mr Clegg also attacked the House of Lords as something which ‘would be seen as a form of corruption’ in other countries, despite personally creating dozens of Lib Dem peers.

Nick Clegg, pictured, has called for a second Brexit referendum and said the under-30s vote should 'count twice because it is their future'

Calling for a second referendum, Mr Clegg, who lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour last month, said: ‘It’s only in a very weird world that June 23 (referendum day last year) is a year zero.

‘This idea of a cornucopia where everyone from the US to Papua New Guinea will give us everything we want in terms of trade deals, the £350million a week for the NHS… we know these things are not true already.

‘Surely the public are entitled to say we want to have another look at this. We should reclaim our right, we should take back control of our destiny, we should be free to say whether we think (the outcome) measures up to what was promised.’

He added: ‘We should give every youngster under 30 a weighted vote of twice the value of everybody else, because it’s their future.

'Even more importantly, we should now start reasserting our right to change our mind if we want to as a country.’

Mr Clegg, speaking at the Buxton International Festival in Derbyshire, made the comments about Brexit during a public question and answer session – minutes after saying he planned to retire from politics.

Responding to a suggestion that he should form a new Centrist party in the style of French president Emmanuel Macron, he said: ‘Even by politicians’ standards, it would be an act of singular hubris for me to interpret my defeat at the hands of the electorate as a great thumbs-up or be tempted to form my own party.’

Despite being 50, in contrast to Mrs May, 60, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, 68, Mr Clegg said: ‘You live by the sword and you die by the sword.

‘I have just lost my seat. I don’t think you should cling on to past glories. I like to believe I’ve had a good innings.’

The former Lib Dem leader, pictured, admitted his 'time was up in politics' after losing his seat at the election

Mr Clegg also attacked the Tories’ coalition with the DUP as ‘rather grubby’ and ‘just votes for money’.

In contrast, he said his deal with David Cameron’s Conservatives was ‘a blend of policy ideas from both parties’.

Mr Clegg, who increased the number of Lib Dem peers from 72 to 102 during his years in office, added: ‘We have an unelected second chamber which in other places could be seen as a form of corruption.

‘It could be seen as a way of recycling political patronage.’

He also said the first-past-the-post system for the House of Commons was ‘ludicrously undemocratic’, adding: ‘We had more votes than the SNP in 2015 yet only got eight seats when they had 56.’

He then accused the Government of making ‘fundamental errors’ in the Brexit process by ignoring the will of Remainers.

Mr Clegg said: ‘In a mature democracy, if you have such a divided country, you can’t disenfranchise the losing side. You can’t say to 16.1 million people, “we don’t care what you think”.’

Mr Clegg also admitted that some of his own family’s votes were hoovered up by Labour on June 8 – which he said was on the ‘false prospectus’ that Mr Corbyn favoured a ‘soft’ Brexit.

Speaking at a separate event, he said: ‘I had members of my own family, my nieces and nephews, who stridently voted for Corbyn.

‘When I pointed out to them that he’s a Eurosceptic, they said, “oh, it’ll be fine” and carried on waving their flags at Glastonbury.’