Top Lib Dem warns she may defect to ‘honest’ Corbyn

“I’m talking about the massive majority of people in this country who are voters but aren’t elected to any particular office, many of whom consider themselves to be supporters of the Tories or perhaps Labour”.

Mr Farron believes that his party would be able to take advantage of a “vast space” in the centre ground caused by Labour’s election of left-winger Mr Corbyn and David Cameron’s policies since taking office without the restraints imposed on him by the Lib Dems.

Lady Tonge, a former MP for Richmond Park, quit the Lib Dem parliamentary group in 2012 after refusing to apologise for saying Israel “is not going to be there forever”; however, she remains a member of the party.

“For Corbyn to win my vote he would have to maintain these views and not allow them to be softened or shaped by the more central members of the Labour party, and uphold them in their manifesto”. I think they are some of the most honest people you could come across.

At the party’s autumn gathering, Farron said: ‘The message here is very clear: we have the biggest space in politics open to us for a generation’.

Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, said there was “absolutely no chance of defections” and claimed Mr Farron was making “mischief”.

“It’s great to be welcoming the Liberal Democrats again and we’ve been working closely with the organisers to deliver the best possible experience for the 4,000 or so delegates who’ll be visiting us”.

“My sense is that there are liberals in other parties who are not yet Liberal Democrats”.

It is now four months since the party were trounced at the polls both nationally and locally, with Mr Clegg’s replacement Tim Farron poised to take centre stage over the coming days.

“And unless it is in some way effectively unified, the Tories will just have a monopoly on power”.

Mr Farron said: ‘We’re not tacking either way – we are liberal.

“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”.

But Mr Farron has played down suggestions that “moderate” Labour MPs are ready to defect to his party, which is still reeling from losing all but eight of its MPs in May’s general election. “Our duty is to claim the mantle of the credible progressive alternative to the Tories”.

He told the Centre Forum-hosted event his new book, After The Storm, was part of his contribution to the “Lib Dem fightback” which is the theme of the conference.

Lib Dem activists previous year rejected proposals to allow the development of new runways away from Heathrow despite pleas from the party’s hierarchy.