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Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson tied herself in knots on – saying she would cancel Brexit if elected PM but would refuse any demand for a second IndyRef.

She sparked further controversy by saying she would never back Jeremy Corbyn in the event of another hung parliament.

At her election campaign launch on Tuesday, Swinson claimed the Lib Dems were the only party standing to keep the UK together.

But she could not answer how the party would bridge Britain’s Brexit divide.

(Image: Reuters)

She announced that a majority Lib Dem Government at Westminster would be enough to cancel the Brexit referendum. But she has struggled to explain how she would refuse demands for a second independence referendum on Scottish independence if the SNP win most Scottish seats.

Asked the question again on Tuesday, Swinson deflected on to the damage a second independence campaign would cause. She said: “Let me see explain how I see the difference. We are currently in a gridlock on Brexit. Politics is focusing on precious little else and it needs to be resolved.

“We believe the best way to do that is stop Brexit and end that chaos and that would resolve the issue, either through a Liberal Democrat Government revoking Article 50 or a people’s vote that puts a specific Brexit deal to the public.

(Image: PA)

"What the SNP want is to take the chaos of Brexit and add more chaos to the mix.

“We know what the IndyRef was like in 2014 and the uncertainty it caused for business and investment and the impact it had on people’s jobs and lives.

“That would add new, extra uncertainly which is frankly the last thing Scotland needs right now. That’s why I will not be supporting an IndyRef.”

Swinson presented herself as a defender of the Union and a prime minister-in-waiting.

She said: “There is the SNP who are trying to break up the UK and the Labour Party aiding and abetting them in that and the Conservatives undermining the relationship with Northern Ireland.

“These are dangerous times.” Swinson dismissed questions on what the Lib Dems would do in a hung parliament but “absolutely, categorically” ruled out backing Jeremy Corbyn in a confidence vote.

Swinson said she is offering a Lib Dem Government and said Brexit made December’s election hugely unpredictable.

She said she believed her party, polling at about 15 per cent, could win a majority.

Swinson said: “I never thought I’d stand here and say that I’m a candidate to be prime minister. But when I look at Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, I am absolutely certain I could do a better job than either of them.”

Swinson also contradicted herself when she spoke about her concerns about people on benefits.

During her time in the Tory/Lib Dem coalition Swinson voted for cuts to benefits payments including the notorious Bedroom Tax.

She said in her speech that she thinks “of constituents I’ve seen in my surgery having to wait five weeks to get their Universal Credits payments, relying on charity and goodwill of neighbours to make ends meet in the interim”.

Swinson said her vision was for a country where the “most vulnerable can always get the help they need with no judgement or sanction”.