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Lib Dem ex-leader Jo Swinson could be parachuted into the House of Lords after leading her party to general election humiliation.

She claimed she could become Prime Minister on December 12 but instead she lost her own seat as the party sunk from 21 MPs to just 11.

Acting party boss Sir Ed Davey said he wanted her “back in Parliament as soon as possible”.

She could make a swift return to Westminster if the Lib Dems nominate her to become a Baroness in the Dissolution Honours List.

Sir Ed, who lost to Ms Swinson in the race for the party leadership last summer, told Sky News: “The whole party is deeply upset and disappointed.

“Jo was a friend and a colleague and I want her back in Parliament as soon as possible.

(Image: Matthew Horwood)

“She has so much to offer British politics and our thoughts are with her and her family but we know that she has a bright future and we thank her for what she did.

“I hope that we can ensure that what she argued for and her legacy on the Brexit issue can continue because Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose Brexit in Parliament.”

Sending her to the House of Lords, where peers pocket £305-a-day just for turning up, would be seen as a reward for failure.

Ms Swinson was initially boosted by welcoming eight defectors and winning a by-election in July.

But she was mocked for her claim her party could win hundreds of seats and she could walk into No10.

She switched the Lib Dem Brexit policy away from demanding a second referendum and instead vowed to scrap EU withdrawal altogether if she became PM.

(Image: WPA Pool)

Asked if he would stand again for the Lib Dem premiership, Sir Ed said the party would “review the General Election properly”.

He added: “We’ve got to focus on ensuring we learn the lessons properly in a quite a deep, profound way.

“One of the lessons I have to say is it can be very difficult for the Liberal Democrats to make progress when there is a hard-left leader of the Labour Party - we found that in 1983 with Michael Foot, we found it in spades in 2019 with Jeremy Corbyn .

“If you look at the Conservative leaflets in Liberal Democrat constituencies, it wasn’t so much ‘get Brexit done’ they were talking about, they were saying if you vote Liberal Democrat you’ll get Jeremy Corbyn and that fear factor was a massive issue in the General Election.”