The Lib Dems have gained more than 2,000 members since the party’s good showing at last week’s local elections.

Vince Cable, who will soon be stepping down as party leader, has said the gains of over 700 council seats showed the party was now “fully recovered” from its 2015 general election collapse.

The Lib Dems now have 1,350 councillors control of 18 councils in total.

Ahead of the European elections later this month, Lib Dem Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said the growth in its more than 100,000 membership proved the party was the “strongest party for Remain”.

“Every Liberal Democrat vote is a vote to stop Brexit,” he said. “This surge in membership shows that more and more people have had enough of the national embarrassment Brexit has become.”

The party is in competition with Change UK, the new party formed by The Independent Group of MPs, and the Greens for the pro-EU vote.

Cable is also aggressively targeting the pro-Remain Labour vote. “Jeremy Corbyn must come out of hiding,” he said this morning while launching a new campaign poster in the Labour leader’s Islington constituency. 

“He is totally out of line with his party’s MPs, members and supporters with the continued prevarication on a People’s Vote,” Cable said.

“One of the clear messages of last week is that the electorate are unforgiving of fudge and dishonesty over Brexit.”

The UK looks all but certain to have to take part in the European Parliament elections on May 23.

Theresa May had hoped to avoid having to stage the vote, in which the Tories are expected to get a drubbing, by passing a Brexit deal.

Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is hoping to top the poll. He has claimed the new party already has 88,000 members.

Speaking at a press conference today, he said former Tory donors were in talks about providing the “big bucks” needed to fight a general election campaign.