Brexit news Latest: Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson says David Cameron 'cannot be forgiven' for calling EU referendum
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson speaks at a question and answer session at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference at the Bournemouth International Centre.
Catherine Finnecy, a Chelmsford councillor, berated Ms Swinson during her answer and told the PA news agency afterwards: "She stood up there defending a Ukip policy and claimed it was liberal.
"Jo and Alistair (Carmichael, chief whip) have been defending it to everyone but it is highly offensive."
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson participates in a question and answer session during the Liberal Democrats autumn conference at the Bournemouth.
PA
Day two of the conference featured an emotional goodbye to Sir Vince Cable, the party's former leader who has announced he will stand down as an MP at the next election.
In what looked like his final speech as a party MP, the 76-year-old drew a standing ovation as he called for the party to be a "broad church", in response to Labour and the Tories who, he argued, are drifting away from the centre ground.
Sir Vince predicted more MPs would defect from major parties to join the Lib Dems, and accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of treating Brexit "cynically".
Sam Gyimah, a former Tory minister, became the sixth MP to switch allegiance to the party this year and some polling companies predict the Lib Dems could take as much as a fifth of the vote at the next election - up from just 7% in 2017.
The Twickenham MP and former cabinet minister told delegates: "Within the next few weeks and months I hope and expect that the trickle from both sides will become a flood. Something big is happening here."
There was support from leading members of the party to revoke Article 50 if Ms Swinson is elected to Number 10.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson during the vote to rescind article 50 at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference at the Bournemouth.
Getty Images
Brexit spokesman Tom Brake told the conference: "We will put an end there and then to the Brexit nightmare that is dragging the country down and tearing us apart."
He said most voters now know "in no uncertain terms" that a vote for the Lib Dems is to "unequivocally" stop Brexit.
Chuka Umunna told the conference the newly approved policy would reinforce the party's "unequivocal" message on Brexit.
But James Cleverly, chairman of the Conservative Party, predicted the Lib Dem stance would lead to "more delay, division and uncertainty".
"Despite calling herself a democrat, Jo Swinson's mask has slipped and we now know that she wants to overrule one of the largest democratic votes in British history, cancelling Brexit," the Braintree MP said.
Lib Dem members also voted in support of moves to invest £1 billion in further education colleges.
Additionally, they approved using money saved from abandoning Brexit to raise spending on mental health staffing and a commitment to ensure that 100% of children and young people with diagnosed conditions get NHS treatment by 2025.
The NHS motion also committed to delivering flexible working to NHS staff and addressing contractual issues that deny many junior doctors access to shared parental leave.
