CHANGE UK leader Heidi Allen was berated for showing “bizarre” behaviour by her colleague today, after suggesting that her party’s supporters should vote for the Liberal Democrats.

The new pro-EU party’s Brexit spokesperson Anna Soubry criticised her fellow Tory defector on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme — after the party of breakaway Tory and Labour MPs failed to gain any MEPs in the European Parliament elections.

She said: “I think it is rather bizarre for an interim leader on the eve of a poll to tell people essentially not to vote for their party.

“You do not stand candidates and then say to people ‘we are going through a complete farce, please don’t vote for them.’”

When asked if her party would ever do a pact with the Lib Dems she added: “For goodness’ sake, this is a long way down the line. You’ve got to have your own policies first of all, before you can go into any form of negotiations with any other party to do pacts,” she said.

Change UK secured just 4 per cent of the vote after rushing to register as a party in time for the European contest. It was unprepared, having no policies, and having only published a list of “values.”

The party — whose full name identifies it as The Independent Group — initially rejected any suggestion that it could work with the Lib Dems. Labour defector Chris Leslie said that the party, which joined the Tories in a coalition government in 2010, would come “with baggage.”

Change UK’s MPs appeared to be more enthusiastic about the idea as last Thursday’s polls approached.

Ms Allen has previously revealed that she offered to quit as a result of the internal row over whether to support Lib Dem candidates outside London and south-east England in a bid to fend off Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party.

She said: “had it been left to me, I would have absolutely advised tactical voting.”

Ms Allen also suggested that Change UK could form a single centrist party with the Lib Dems.

Change UK MP Chuka Umunna said that the two parties should form a pact not to stand against each other’s candidates in the next general election.

Ms Allen said she would go “one step further” than her party spokesman Mr Umunna, and suggest that the two parties be “in the same vehicle.”