NEW Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson met party supporters in Brecon with less than a week to go before the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election.

She joined the party’s candidate, Welsh leader, Jane Dodds at its campaign office in Brecon.

Speaking with The Brecon & Radnor Express Ms Swinson, a junior minister in the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition between 2010 and 2015, accused new Prime Minister Boris Johnson of wanting a no-deal exit from the EU.

She said: "Let’s be clear Boris Johnson is gearing up to take Britain out without a deal for all that would do to the farming industry here and other parts of the country. The Conservative candidate here will be backing that."

Ms Swinson also said the Lib Dems had been clear in their belief that Britain would be better off remaining in the EU.

Asked if the party had been stubborn and refused to compromise since the 2016 EU referendum Ms Swinson said: "We’re standing up for what we believe in. We have argued why. 40% tariffs on lamb exports would be a massive problem for living and working here in Brecon and Radnorshire.

"We were elected on a manifesto to say we believe being in the EU is the best route and have stood up for what we believed in and I think I find when we speak to people who voted leave they respect that honesty and that straight forward approach."

The party is calling for a further referendum on leaving the EU and Ms Swinson replied "yes, definitely" when asked if she would respect the result of that referendum if it was to leave and added: "And it needs to be a specific Brexit. It should be a specific choice that might be Therese May’s deal and it might be what the Brexiteers chose that to be but not something that can mean different things to different people because that is why we’re in this position. Brexiteers haven’t agreed what Brexit is. Some of them say Theresa May’s deal is the way forward others say they’re not happy with that so there isn’t clarity on what that looks like."

On Saturday former Conservative MP Heidi Allen, who quit the Tories earlier this year to form the Independent Group, which changed its name to Change UK, with a handful of Labour and Tory defectors joined Lib Dem campaign teams in Brecon and Crickhowell.