The Liberal Democrats are lucky to have two very talented leadership contenders out of their small pool of MPs. You only have to look at the uninspiring Labour leadership campaign to see the difference, despite the significant contrast in MP composition. I will argue very strongly for Tim Farron to be the next leader.
If you trawl through my blog archives, you’ll see that I’ve touted Tim Farron as a future leader in the past. I was always mindful of a backlash at the 2015 General Election (although not to the extent which we saw), and I viewed Tim as the best man to rebuild the party. The Coalition was always a difficult period for the party, and it’s been incredibly difficult for everyone associated with the party to keep plodding on; that’s why Tim shines for me. As the President of the Liberal Democrats for most of the Coalition, Tim struck the balance perfectly for me; he was proud of our achievements and prepared to shout about them from the rooftops, but he wasn’t afraid to be vocal or to vote against what he thought was wrong. When the public’s (and to an extent the party’s) perception was that Nick Clegg had ‘gone native’ with the Conservatives, it was crucial that Tim maintained our identity. That’s not meant at all as a dig at Nick Clegg, and you’ll know from a recent blog entry how much I admired him. However, the party needed someone during those tumultuous years to keep the party rooted in its principles, and Tim did just that. Whenever he gave a speech at Conference or appeared on Question Time, he was always incredibly engaging. He’s an eloquent speaker, but he’s relatable and good at using humour, too. Like the late Charles Kennedy, he has a knack for engaging people who either don’t vote for the party or who aren’t interested in politics; this cannot be understated.
Tim’s constituency work is another considerable strength. He turned a previously safe Conservative seat in the Lake District (Westmorland and Lonsdale) in to one of the few Lib Dem strongholds. On a personal level, I know a staunch Conservative who’d never vote for the Lib Dems nationally, but does so locally in the Lakes due to the casework done by Tim. Furthermore, Tim is ‘untainted’ with the kind of policies which were inevitably levelled against the party; tuition fees (“It was never about fees; it was about trust”), the bedroom tax and increasing VAT. This isn’t to say that Norman is unprincipled, but it does offer a quick rebuttal for Tim in the event of old arguments rearing their head again. Despite this, Tim hasn’t gone down the route of washing his hands of all responsibility. Many of the 2010 Labour contenders were quick to distance themselves from the winning formula of Blairism (rightly or wrongly), despite having been involved with the Blair project in most cases. Both Tim and Norman have reiterated the correct assertion that forming the Coalition in 2010 was the right decision, rather than going for a ‘pleasing everyone; pleasing no-one’ stance of “ok, you’re right; we shouldn’t have done it”. As Tim pointed out in the hustings debate hosted by Victoria Derbyshire, a party should be ashamed of itself if it doesn’t try to win and gain power.
In some leadership campaigns, there is a preference for a particular candidate simply because of the paucity of suitable alternatives. In my opinion, the only sensible choice for the Labour leadership is Liz Kendall, and that in part is due to the uninspiring candidates on offer (Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn). However, should Tim sadly lose the contest (which is highly unlikely), I would still be delighted with the next choice; Norman Lamb. A lot of credit is due to Norman for his work on mental health as a minister during the Coalition, something which helped to significantly shape our NHS policy in the 2015 manifesto. I still want Norman to play a significant role under a prospective Tim Farron leadership platform, and would even go as far as to recommend that he should be the deputy leader of the party. Norman is clearly passionate about Liberalism, and I don’t want us to lose his talents.
On a personal level, a key thing for me is that Tim is a fellow Christian, and he’s not afraid of saying so. I must clarify that this isn’t a deal breaker in my choice of leader; I strongly supported Nick Clegg, who is an atheist (although he has since stressed that he leans more towards an agnostic viewpoint now, and he attends church with his wife Miriam). However, it is immensely encouraging to see another Christian in politics. Tim has written for the ‘Liberal Democrats Do God’ compilation of essays edited by the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum, and he is right in stressing that “we must never seek to legislate to force people who are not Christians to live as if they were”, despite the Bible saying many things that “society will feel uncomfortable about with regards to personal morality”. The Bible calls for Christians to engage with politics, and I find it reassuring that a prominent MP is doing likewise. There’s a common perception that Christianity and Liberalism don’t mix, but I think Tim makes a strong case for suggesting that the two are not incompatible.
From what I’ve seen of the debates between Norman and Tim, they have been pretty respectful. Whilst Tim has the upper hand on issues such as tuition fees, he hasn’t stuck the knife in or laboured on the point. Similarly, Norman has said that he respects Tim’s faith viewpoints. However, I find it sad when some members have criticised Tim for his faith standpoints. I don’t think Tim’s views on abortion or gay marriage should disbar him from the leadership, neither would those views in any way affect how competent he would be as a leader. For the sake of clarity, on gay marriage Tim did not vote for it on the third reading of the bill, but did so on the second reading. Tim and Norman’s differing views on assisted suicide also should not be deal breakers for either candidate.
I’m told that 20,000 people have joined the party since the General Election, which is remarkable. It’s vital that the new leader makes sure that these new members are engaged and kept on board, but also that the existing membership is maintained. After a crushing defeat in 2015, the party needs to rediscover its identity, rebuild and fight for liberal values. Tim is best placed to do just that.
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