The Liberal Democrats have begun discussions with the family of Lord Ashdown about how best to commemorate the life of the former party leader, who died on Saturday at the age of 77.

Party sources said it was still “too early” to decide whether there should be a bust or statue of the ex-special forces captain, who was MP for Yeovil from 1983 to 2001, or whether another form of lasting tribute would be appropriate.

The peer, who led the Lib Dems from 1988 to 1999, was described as a “towering political figure” by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Support is already growing for a permanent memorial to Lord Ashdown, whose greatest achievement was almost certainly his four-year term as the international high representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, when he helped rebuild the country after its civil war.

A 1995 portrait of him already hangs in Parliament, and while busts in the Palace of Westminster are reserved for former prime ministers, a memorial in his former constituency is one possibility that will be discussed with his widow, Jane, and two children.