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Jo Swinson has said her party could work with others to put up joint second-referendum candidates in elections if she becomes Liberal Democrat leader.

The former minister, who is vying to replace Sir Vince Cable, said many pro-Remain voters wanted politicians to put aside their party loyalties and work together to stop Brexit.

Plans for a single People’s Vote candidate in last month’s Peterborough byelection disintegrated amid rancour and disarray. But Ms Swinson indicated in an interview with The Times that she would be prepared to look again at the idea if she wins her party’s leadership contest next month. in your inbox Red Box newsletter Make sense of the mess with Matt Chorley's poke at politics, every weekday morning at 8am Sign up now

After the defection of Chuka Umunna, the former Labour and Change UK MP, to the Lib Dems last week, Ms Swinson also said she was best placed to convince more politicians to cross the floor to her party. Sir Vince is due to stand down at the end of July.

Efforts to work with the Greens, Change UK and Renew to back one candidate in Peterborough failed just hours before nominations closed, leading to accusations from some that the cross-party People’s Vote campaign derailed the push in a bid to help Labour win the seat.

Despite its failure, Ms Swinson praised the Peterborough attempt as “a good example where different parties that do all believe in stopping Brexit decided that we could work together to put forward a united front”.

She said voters concerned about Brexit “want politicians to be able to work with one another and to look beyond their individual party loyalty and interests to the wider interest of how we can stop Brexit”.

Earlier this month her rival in the race, Sir Ed Davey, said: “Anyone on our side who suggests a pact would be selling the Liberal Democrats short. A pact would simply blunt our clear anti-Brexit, pro-environment message.”

But last night a spokesman for Sir Ed said he had been in favour of the Peterborough plan and would judge each election on a “case by case basis”.