It seemsthe sky is the limit for the Liberal Democrats at the moment, as unbridled optimism sweeps overthe partys annual gathering.

After years in the wilderness, the Lib Dems are on the up and they are clearly feelingjubilant.

Chuka Umunna, one of the partys recent converts, claimed itcould win 200 seats in the next election, while Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat leader, said she was aiming for a slightlymore moderate100 seats.

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Thepartys ranks were bolstered by former Tory MP Sam Gyimah on Saturday, who became the sixth MP to defect to the Liberal Democrats in recent months.

He joins ex-Conservatives Sarah Wollaston and Phillip Lee, as well as former Labour MPs Luciana Berger, Umunna and Angela Smith in moving over to Jo Swinsonsnewly energisedparty.

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But it remains to be seen whether this momentum can be turned into votes at an early general election.

Recent opinion polls tend to put the Lib Dems in third place behind the Tories and Labour, with the latest survey by Opinium putting the party on 16 per cent.

If the party wants to make serious gainsit will need to consolidate the Remain vote, which has been fragmented since the referendum.

The Lib Dems unashamed support for Remain has contrasted positively with Labours equivocation. ButJeremy Corbyns party is nowshifting towards a more pro-EU position.

So Swinson has gone even harder, telling the party faithful in Bournemouth that the Lib Dems would revoke Article 50 without a referendum if she was inDowning Street.

The move has caused fury amongBrexiteers, who deem it undemocratic, as well as ripples of concern among advocates for a Final Say referendum.

But Swinson is gamblingthis will play well for her Europhile base. The Opinium poll found55 per cent of Remain voters supported cancelling Brexit, and only 26 per cent support extending the Brexit negotiations and putting a revised deal to a public vote.

The pledge is designed to offer a distinctive message from Labour,in advance of its annual conference in Brighton this weekend.

Labour has already shifted towards supporting a referendum on any deal and pro-EU activists will be piling the pressure on Corbyn to commit to campaigning for Remain.

The problem for the Lib Dems will be transforming the energy and optimism into Westminster seats.

Veteran pollster Sir John Curtice said there wereonly 22 constituencies where the Lib Dems came within 25 points of the winning candidate in 2017, which he himself describes as a generous definition ofa marginal seat.

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Of these seats, plenty were in Leave areas and would involve taking on the Tories, who are starting to hoover up the Brexit Party vote.

The Lib Dems and Labour could end up scrabbling over the same voters in pro-EU areas leaving the way clear for the Conservatives.

An upcoming election will undoubtedly be a Brexit election, but the Lib Dems will want to think carefully about what else they stand for, if they want to win big.

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Can the Liberal Democrats turn momentum into votes? - The Independent