LIBERAL DEMOCRAT leader Jo Swinson insisted she can be the next prime minister as she formally launched her party’s election campaign yesterday. 

The East Dunbartonshire MP said that Brexit has made politics unpredictable and that her party – which is polling at under 15 per cent – could win a Commons majority in the election.

Speaking at a campaign launch in Westminster, Ms Swinson said: “Don’t let anyone tell you what has to happen. Change is possible, and you get to choose.

“I never thought I’d stand here and say that I’m a candidate to be prime minister.

“But when I look at [Prime Minister] Boris Johnson and [Labour Party leader] Jeremy Corbyn, I am absolutely certain I could do a better job than either of them.”

Ms Swinson labelled Mr Corbyn a “threat to our national security” and said that she did not trust him to give nuclear submarine commanders the authority to use nuclear weapons on his first day as prime minister.

She was previously an opponent of nuclear weapons, writing in 2010 that “we have a responsibility to work with other countries to promote international nuclear disarmament.”

Ms Swinson also declined to answer a question on what she would do if the Lib Dems held the balance of power, fuelling speculation that they may consider forming another coalition with the Tories.

The launch comes as the Lib Dems face accusations of deceiving voters by publishing leaflets that misrepresent the electoral viability of their candidates.

The leaflets feature data collected by Flavible, a private data company not affiliated to the British Polling Council, and suggest that the Lib Dems are likely to win in Tory constituencies where they have no record of success and where Labour is the closest challenger by a sizeable margin.

Labour national campaign co-ordinator Andrew Gwynne said: “The Lib Dems have no credibility and should apologise for trying to mislead voters.

“The last time Jo Swinson and her party were as close to the Tories as these charts claim, they were in government voting for the bedroom tax, privatising the NHS, tripling tuition fees and cutting taxes for the super-rich and big business.”