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Liberal Democrats, still reeling from the shock of near-annihilation in May’s election, gather tomorrow at Bournemouth for our conference.

After licking our wounds and lamenting the injustice of the harsh punishment we suffered for giving the country stable government during its worst economic crisis in 150 years, our fightback has started.

All is not lost. With the Tories now showing their true right wing colours free from our restraining influence, and Labour heading left under its new leadership, a huge political space has opened which we alone can realistically fill.

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So, street by street, ward by ward, constituency by constituency, we must rebuild as a political force and seize that ground.

The need for a liberal force in politics has never been greater. We must reinvent a liberal agenda on every front.

(Image: PA)

Socially, we must fight unfair benefit cuts which hit the weakest and undermine the working poor.

We must expose the chicanery of a “living wage” which will barely match the existing “minimum wage” if inflated in line with past trends.

Economically, we campaign unequivocally for Britain’s membership of the world’s largest market, the European Union, and for global efforts to liberalise trade fairly.

Both Tories and Labour have authoritarian tendencies which risk civil liberties on the altar of security fears: we alone can strike the right balance between them.

We must protect public services from Tory vandalism.

After inflicting damage on ourselves through the student fees disaster, we must re-establish ourselves as leaders in the politics of education, with the 14-19 sector ripe for a fresh start.

(Image: 2015 Getty Images)

The 2010 promise to be the greenest government ever is dead in the Tory agenda of 2015. Britain’s traditional internationalism looked severely lacking during the refugee crisis.

Tim Farron, our new leader, has an immense task on his hands.

But we remain a national force with experienced campaigners throughout the land.

And, bolstered by an influx of new members, we are determined to return strongly to the political centre-stage.

In the national interest, it just can’t come quickly enough.

Sir Nick Harvey is the Lib Dems' former Defence Minister