Former business secretary Sir Vince Cable has urged perturbed Labour MPs to join forces with the Liberal Democrats in a new alignment of centre-left parties against the Conservatives.
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Lib Dem activists will gather in Bournemouth today for their United Kingdom conference and Brecon and Radnorshire AM Kirsty Williams argues a “huge space” has now opened up for the party now that Mr Corbyn has taken the helm of Labour.
Mr Farron, who has been in contact with disaffected Labour figures since Mr Corbyn’s election, played down suggestions of defections to his party, saying “we are not talking about that at all”.
According to a poll for the Independent, 37% of Labour voters say they are less likely to back the party at the next election after his victory.
The Lib Dems saw their 56 MPs were reduced to just eight during the General Election, sparking Nick Clegg’s resignation.
The theme of the conference, summed up in a Twitter hashtag, is LibDemFightback, .
The Lib Dems have experienced a surge in membership since the general election, growing by 10 per cent to 50,000 in the 72 hours after 7 May alone.
Image copyright PA Image caption The Lib Dems are targeting Labour voters dismayed by Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
He is expected to say at a rally this evening: “Britain is teeming with liberals, some of them are not yet in the Liberal Democrats. Let’s win again”.
“We will make our mark in Westminster and in Holyrood, the National Assembly in Wales, the London Assembly and the European parliament – We have dozens of Parliamentarians who will stand up for decency, liberalism and common sense”.
He told activists: “If Labour aren’t interested in standing up to the Tories and providing a credible opposition, that’s their funeral”.
She added: “Liberal Democrats, I think, now have an opportunity to be the voice of serious opposition to the Tories and we can legitimately oppose Tory spending cuts because we offer a credible economic alternative to addressing the deficit…” Radical and liberal, and responsible, too.
Opening the conference, the Lib Dem president, Baroness Brinton, paid a warn tribute to Charles Kennedy, the former leader who died less than a month after he lost his seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber in the Highlands. “When the tectonic plates of politics move, they sometimes move immensely quickly – that is what is happening now”.
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“These are momentous and historic times, history calls us, we will answer that call”.
