Tim Farron praises Blair as he targets Labour voters

Tim Farron has used his big conference speech to tell Labour voters only the Lib Dems can provide "strong opposition" to the Conservatives.

Mr Farron praised some of the policies of ex-PM Tony Blair, saying Labour had "left the stage" under Jeremy Corbyn.

He accepted it was a "big ask" for Labour supporters to join the Lib Dems.

But "as we stand on the edge of those horrific realities, Brexit and a Tory stranglehold on Britain, the biggest risk is that you don't", he added.

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He said that despite opposing Mr Blair on Iraq and the introduction of ID cards, he admired him for investing in the NHS and creating the national minimum wage - joking that like with rock band The Stone Roses, he "preferred the early work".

"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," he said.

Mr Farron, who walked around the stage rather than standing behind a lectern during the speech which closed the Brighton conference, said he would be open to working with Owen Smith if he manages to beat Mr Corbyn in Labour's leadership contest.

But he said Mr Corbyn was "obsessed with re-fighting the battles of the past" saying the Labour leader had refused to work with him during the EU referendum campaign.

"There is a hole in the centre of British politics right now that is crying out to be filled by a real opposition," he said.

Analysis

by Eleanor Garnier, BBC political correspondent

Tim Farron made a "blatant pitch for the centre ground"

It was an explicit pitch, one Tim Farron himself admitted was a big ask, as he appealed directly to Labour voters to switch allegiance and back the Lib Dems.

The leader's speech was passionate and bold and at times emotional. Tim Farron took risks too, telling his audience, many of whom opposed the Iraq War, that he admired some of the early policies of the former Prime Minister Tony Blair. It was a blatant attempt to seize the centre ground.

Delegates here have celebrated the surge in Lib Dem membership. It now stands at around 77,000, the highest figure since the 1990s. But that increase hides the huge task the Lib Dems face to rebuild their parliamentary representation at Westminster, where they have just eight MPs.

Mr Farron said "premier league people" like Labour MPs Yvette Cooper, Caroline Flint and Chuka Umunna were campaigning to become chairman of the Home Affairs Committee.

"Shouldn't that be their leadership contest?" he asked.

"What are these people doing, jostling for position in a sideshow? They should be centre stage.

"The government needs an opposition, and that means progressives should be prepared to put our differences aside in order to hold them to account."

He pledged to take the Lib Dems "from a handful of seats to dozens of seats, from the fringe to the centre, from irrelevance to importance", saying such a revival was the only thing standing between the Conservatives and winning another majority at the next election.

Tim Farron said his mission was to restore the Lib Dems as one of the "great parties of government"

Tim Farron was given a standing ovation at the end of his speech

Mr Farron also accused the government of letting down business, saying it was pursuing "nationalist protectionist fantasies of the Brexit fundamentalists".

And he said he was "ashamed" by the government's actions on the migration crisis, accusing it of taking the "bare minimum" number of refugees

Mr Farron also said his party was prepared to raise taxes to fund an NHS "that meets the needs of everyone".

He said more money was needed to put the health service on a sustainable footing and ensure that patients, now and in the future, can get the treatment and care "that they deserve".

"We need to face the hard truth that the NHS needs more money - a lot more money - not just to stop it lurching from crisis to crisis but so that it can meet the needs and the challenges it will face in the years ahead," Mr Farron said.

The party has put together a panel of senior doctors and experts to examine the case for a "dedicated NHS and care tax".

Mr Farron told conference: "If the only way to fund a health service that meets the needs of everyone is to raise taxes, Liberal Democrats will raise taxes."

The Lib Dem leader recalled his own experiences battling for a better home for his grandfather, who had Alzheimer's, and called for a merger of NHS and care services.

"We all deserve to know that, no matter what happens, we will be cared for properly and treated with dignity and respect," he said. "It's not civilised to let people slip through the net."

He added: "If the great Liberal William Beveridge had written his blueprint today, when people are living to the ages they are now, there is no doubt that he would have proposed a National Health and Care Service.

"So let's today decide to do what Beveridge would do. Let's create that National Health and Care Service."

On education, the Lib Dem leader said the current system was not focused on developing young people for later life but rather "on getting them through the wrong kinds of tests".

He said he wanted schools to be places "where children are inspired to learn, not stressed out by tests".

"So I want to end the current system of SATs in primary schools that are a distraction from the real education that professional teachers want to give their children; that weigh heavy on children as young as six and add nothing to the breadth of their learning."

He also attacked the government's plans to expand grammar schools in England.

"What are we doing, in 2016, threatening to relegate 80% of our children to education's second division by returning to the 11-plus?" he said.

Second referendum?

Mr Farron has made calls for another EU referendum a key part of the Lib Dems' pitch, and a central theme of its conference, while insisting he respects the Brexit result.

On Monday party members endorsed a proposal for a referendum on the terms of the final Brexit deal negotiated by the government, with the option of remaining in the EU.

Mr Farron said it was time for Theresa May to "act like a prime minister" and set out the government's plan for Brexit.

He added: "The Liberal Democrats have a plan. We know what we want and we know where we want to take our country. When Theresa May does agree a deal with the EU, we want the people to decide."

To loud applause he said: "If we trusted the people to vote for our departure then we must trust the people to vote for our destination."