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The Liberal Democrats told us why one pro-EU voter is joining their party every minute

Britain Reacts To The EU Referendum Result
Britain Reacts To The EU Referendum Result

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Many young people have been left feeling angry and dispossessed after Britain voted for a Brexit but this, in turn, has led to thousands of youngsters joining the Liberal Democrats, says a spokesperson for the pro-EU political party to Business Insider.

Three quarters of 18-to-24-year-olds voted for Britain to remain in the EU in the recent referendum, according to polling data from YouGov.

However, the nation ended up voting 51.9% to leave the EU.

In the immediate aftermath, Britain's ruling party, the Conservatives, and the UK's main opposition Labour, fell into disarray.

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Both are focused on internal factionalism and leadership elections after Tory Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation and Jeremy Corbyn for Labour lost a vote of "No Confidence" in his leadership.

However, due to the fractures in Britain's main political parties and young people resenting the potential loss of economic and social opportunities as part of being part of the EU, the Liberal Democrats have registered more than 10,000 new members.

The Lib Dems were knee-capped at the 2015 election — shrinking from 57, to just 8 MPs in parliament. Its leader Nick Clegg also stepped down and Tim Farron was elected to take his place. 

Lorely Burt
Lorely Burt

Dan Kitwood / Getty ImagesBut now, the Lib Dems are "more relevant" than ever in the event of the Brexit, said Liberal Democrat Business spokesperson Lorely Burt to BI.

"It’s no secret that young people voted to remain by a ratio of 3 - 1 and there are a lot of very angry young people out there," said Burt, who was made a life peer after she became one of 49 Liberal Democrats to lose their seats in 2015.

"It’s their futures that have been put into jeopardy. There are European programmes that we have participated in for so many years, like for example the Erasmus programme, in which we will be campaigning to be allowed to remain.

"People have been joining the Lib Dems at a rate of one a minute since the result. Yesterday we passed the 10,000 mark. There has never been a time when our party has been more relevant."

A progressive alliance with moderate Labour MPs?

The Labour party is currently in the midst of a vicious coup to remove Jeremy Corbyn as leader. However, as Corbyn's support among the party membership is still strong, he may be able to hang on as leader.

This will leave the 172 of Labour's MPs who expressed their opposition to Corbyn deeply unhappy. There have been suggestions that some moderate Labour MPs may defect from their party. If this happens the Liberal Democrats could offer the most obvious haven.

"Goodness knows what’s going to happen, but yes I do think that there are opportunities for progressives to find a home if the Labour party breaks up," Burt said.

"I wouldn’t rule out that there might be some kind of a progressive alliance, but that would be an alliance of Liberal Democrats. I don't want to see the Liberal Democrat brand diluted."

She added: "We don’t want Labour to break up. We want there to be a strong opposition to what the Conservatives are doing to this country at the moment."

Anti-Brexit Protestors Gather At Parliament
Anti-Brexit Protestors Gather At Parliament

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

"We wouldn't rule out a future coalition"

The Liberal Democrats' role in the coalition government of 2010 — 2015 is often cited as an important reason for the party's decline. However, in spite of this, the party remains prepared to do the same again, even with the Tories.

"We wouldn't rule out a future coalition," said Burt.

"We are not a party that wants to stand on the outside. We demonstrated that in the coalition. We put our country before our party and we made a real fist of it."

"If the country needed someone to get in there, roll there sleeves up, and get their hands dirty. I would say that we’d be willing to do that."

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