Jo’s first email to party members as leader.

I love this party - and honestly if you’d told me when I first joined at the age of 17 that I’d one day get the chance to write you this message, as the party’s new leader, I’d never have believed you.

The first thing I want to do is say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in this election, and especially to my good friend Ed Davey.

Over the last seven weeks Ed has shown the country what an outstanding politician he is; energetic, passionate and thoughtful. We’ve debated and challenged each other in the way the contest deserved, but always in a spirit of friendship and unity. The contrast with the Conservative Party couldn’t be starker.

I also want to pay tribute to Vince Cable, whose leadership has put us in an exciting position to have a real impact on British politics.

And I want to pay tribute to all of you, who not only have challenged and tested us over the course of the contest, but whose hard work has ensured the party I'm now so proud to lead is looking at a much brighter future than many predicted just six months ago, ready to take on the challenges ahead.

The first of those is, of course, stopping Brexit. And as your new leader, it's the task that is absolutely at the top of my agenda.

When I say Bollocks to Brexit I mean it. This isn’t a normal political issue - this is about the fundamental direction of our country for generations to Brexit, in any form, is a disaster for our country and we’ll do everything in our power to stop it.

The path to stop Brexit starts by winning the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, so that we can get Jane Dodds into Parliament and get add another MP in favour of a People's Vote to our cause.

We are at a pivotal moment. Our country needs a strong, liberal movement more than ever, and that is what we are going to build. This is only the country of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson if we let it be, and we all know that Britain deserves better than both of them. Their narrow-minded nationalism can be beaten - and the people who are going to beat it are the thousands of you reading this message and the thousands more who are going to join us along the way.

Only the Liberal Democrats have the values, the ideas and the sheer bloody determination to stand up to those who are doing so much to damage our country. This is our time.

The road ahead will be hard, but anything that is ever worth doing is hard. I know that together we can take this party further than we have ever been and make the Britain the open, positive, liberal country that we all believe in.

Thank you,

Jo Swinson MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats