Jo Swinson criticises Jeremy Corbyn for not working with Remain alliance

She used the visit to pledge £5bn in flood defences funding that could be used by local authorities to improve protection.

Answering media questions she defended politicians making visits to the flood-hit areas as part of the election trail.

She said: “I think it’s important, whether there’s an election or not, when things like this happen, for leaders to come and listen and to understand what is happening in communities.”

She added the issue was neccessary because the climate emergency is making events more common.

Asked about the calls for the Lib Dems to work with Labour following the Brexit Party’s informal alliance with the Conservatives Swinson criticised Jeremy Corbyn for not working with the Lib Dem leadership on the matter.

She said: “I’ve worked with Labour MPs who want to stop Brexit in parliament, but unfortunately the Labour leadership doesn’t want to stop Brexit and when the Unite to Remain alliance was put together they approached the Labour party who said absolutely not.

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“If you look at this election, the Liberal Democrats are the party best placed to win seats from the Conservatives. The Labour party is way down in the polls compared to two years ago. They are going to be struggling to hold onto the seats that they have. They’re not going to be winning seats from the Tories. The Lib Dems can win seats from the Conservatives. A huge number of our target seats are against the Conservatives.”

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But Swinson continues to oppose working with Jeremy Corbyn after the election, telling reporters last week: “I am absolutely, categorically ruling out Liberal Democrat votes putting Jeremy Corbyn into No 10.

She added: “On so many grounds, Jeremy Corbyn is not fit for the job of prime minister”.