Jo Swinson, the favourite to become the next Liberal Democrat leader, has called on remain supporters from across the political spectrum to join her party as the “obvious rallying point” to stop Brexit, as she ruled out coalitions with either Labour or the Tories at the next election.

As the Lib Dems topped a national poll for the first time since 2010, Swinson said her party had the “wind in [its] sails” and she believed it could be the main vehicle for keeping the UK in the EU while working with other pro-remain groups.

Swinson, who formally announced her leadership bid on Friday, called on remain voters from other parties to make the Lib Dems their permanent home, warning Labour supporters in particular that there was not much time left to stop Brexit.

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“There isn’t the luxury of time to hope and pretend Jeremy Corbyn is going to have some kind of conversion to this when he is talking about maybe possibly having discussions at party conference in September,” she said, criticising Labour’s refusal to start campaigning now for a remain position in a second referendum.

“Get real, Jeremy. We needed you. Frankly, had you campaigned properly in the

referendum in 2016 and not gone on holiday in the middle of it, we might not be in this mess in the first place. You have equivocated and sat on the fence for so long you must have splinters. You have let people down.

“But there are plenty of people in that movement who also share our passion for social justice and building a better future and making sure our economy is reshaped [and tackling the climate emergency].”

She thanked Labour supporters – such as Blair-era veterans Alastair Campbell and Charles Clarke – who backed the Lib Dems at the European polls, saying it must have been difficult for them.

But she added: “We are now the obvious place for remain supporters to coalesce. I would encourage anyone who shares our liberal values in or outside parliament to join our party and join our liberal movement. Our door is absolutely open.”

The Lib Dem deputy leader, who is the firm frontrunner in the race to succeed Vince Cable, would be the party’s first female leader if she is elected in July rather than her rival Ed Davey.

Q&A How do Liberal Democrat leadership elections work? Show Hide The Liberal Democrat leader is chosen by party members in a postal ballot. To become a candidate, an MP must secure nominations from at least 10% of the Liberal Democrat MPs in parliament, and from at least 200 members from more than 20 local parties. The ballot is usually carried out using the single transferable vote system. Voters rank their choice of leader in preference. After the first preference votes are counted, if no candidate has over 50% of the vote, then the second preference votes of those who cast their vote for the least popular candidate are reallocated, and so on, until somebody has a majority. In the 2019 race however, only Jo Swinson and Ed Davey are running, so the ballot will be a straight head-to-head contest.

The next leader will take over the party at a momentous time for the Lib Dems after they came second in the European elections and appear to be experiencing a surge in remain support, topping a YouGov poll for the Times with 24% of the vote on Thursday.

Warning the main parties not to underestimate the Lib Dems just because they have had a few difficult years, she said: “I really want to stop Brexit. I believe it is possible.”

Swinson said she was passionate about working with other groups and alliances to stop the UK leaving the EU through a second referendum, or revoking article 50 if there is an imminent danger of no deal. However, she said she could not contemplate teaming up with either Corbyn’s Labour or a Brexit-led Tory party in a coalition after an autumn general election.

Asked about those who may worry the Lib Dems could join with the Tories again as they did in 2010, she said she would “certainly not” allow that with a pro-Brexit leader in charge.

“You just look at what is one offer from the many people joining the Conservative leadership contest every day. The frontrunners are committed to a type of politics which is hugely damaging. It is not in the mainstream. It is not where most people are. Boris Johnson is like if you sent Donald Trump to Eton,” she said.



Pressed on whether the Lib Dems could enter a coalition with Corbyn’s Labour to stop Brexit, she said: “He is another Brexiteer, frankly. That is the only possible conclusion

you can draw. He had a drubbing in the European elections and council elections and he still chokes on his words about a second referendum. The only possible way to understand that is that he is a Brexiteer. That is going to hurt the people he is supposed to stand up for. So, no.”

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While pacts with the main parties are out, Swinson said she was open to working with the other remain parties – such as the Greens, Change UK, the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru – amid disappointment about the fragmentation of the vote at the European elections among some pro-EU supporters.

She said the Lib Dems could be open to pacts in some local areas at a general election where there is large support for a pro-remain MP, such as Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion. However, she had a sobering message for the Change UK MPs, whose party only reached a few per cent of the vote at the European elections.

Asked if the Lib Dems could stand back in either Chuka Umunna’s Streatham seat or Heidi Allen’s in South Cambridgeshire, for example, she said: “We topped the poll in the European elections in Lambeth where Streatham is and in South Cambridgeshire. The message from this is: if you want to stop Brexit, the way to do this is vote Liberal Democrat.”

Despite ruling out a Tory pact next time around, Swinson stood up for her party’s decision to enter David Cameron’s coalition, in which she served as a minister, saying that the Lib Dems had a good influence on that government even though there were difficult policies to have been part of.

On Nick Clegg’s broken promise not to raise tuition fees, which angered huge numbers of young people who had voted Lib Dem, she acknowledged the party had “made mistakes”.

“We do need to reflect and learn but we did do a huge amount of good as well,” she said. “I think our stance on Brexit has perhaps been one of the most powerful things in helping people to recognise the values of the Liberal Democrats.”