Lib Dems say membership surge directly linked to Jeremy Corbyn's re-election

More than 1,700 people have joined the Liberal Democrats in the wake of the party's annual conference and Jeremy Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader, IBTimes UK has learned.

A party source said some of new members are "directly-linked" to Corbyn's victory on Saturday (24 September), with more than 500 people signing up to the Liberal Democrats over the weekend. The latest membership surge means the Liberal Democrats have more than 78,000 supporters.

Tim Farron, who has backed a second referendum on the EU, recently attempted to woo New Labour voters by praising former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"I kind of see Tony Blair the way I see The Stone Roses, I preferred the early work. Tony Blair's government gave us the National Minimum Wage," he said.

"It gave us working tax credits. It gave us NHS investment and a massive school building programme.

"I disagree with him a lot, but I will not criticise him for those things. I admire him for those things.

"I respect him for believing that the point of being in politics is to get stuff done, and you can only get stuff done if you win."

Farron, reacting to Corbyn's victory over Owen Smith, added: "As Labour fight among themselves the Liberal Democrats will make the case for an open tolerant and united Britain.

"If Labour won't do its job as the opposition to the Conservative Brexit government, we will."

But the party only has eight MPs after a crushing general election and the British public oppose Farron's flagship second EU referendum policy. A poll from YouGov, of more than 1,700 people between 27 and 28 June, showed only 31% of voters backed another ballot.

Labour, meanwhile, has seen its membership swell under Corbyn to more than 500,000 and the latest public figures have the Conservatives at around 150,000.