As leader of one the country’s main political parties, Tim Farron is firmly in the spotlight this election.

Taking over in 2015, following the Liberal Democrats’ crushing defeat at the polls, the Cumbrian politician was charged with resurrecting the party after its damaging coalition with the Conservatives.

With his party hoping to win back many of its former seats, this election could make or break him as leader.

Mr Farron’s tactic has been to present himself and his party as the alternative to the right and left visions of his two main rivals – trying to claim the more central ground of modern politics.

Keen not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor Nick Clegg, who jumped into bed with the Tories and was subsequently punished for it, with the party losing all but eight of the 57 seats they were defending in 2015, Mr Farron said coalition is not an option this time around.

“We have said no, for two reasons. The leaders of the two other parties have such extreme visions. With all due respect, I cannot see how we can have anything in common with them,” he said.

“Also people deserve to have a clear choice, not become a proxy for someone else to get into power. If you vote for us, you get us.”

Mr Clegg’s downfall came after his party allowed David Cameron to push through unpopular policies, such as the bedroom tax, and most controversially a hike in tuition fees that he had previously promised to scrap if elected into Parliament.

But Mr Farron, who is defending his seat in Westmorland and Lonsdale, insists he would never do that.

“I voted against them (tuition fees). It probably cost me a ministerial position but you have got to keep your word. That’s one of the things I am very careful to do,” he explained.

This time around one of the main issues dominating the election agenda is Brexit. A strong remain supporter, Mr Farron was quick to present the Lib Dems as the party opposing Mrs May’s hard stance on Brexit – a move that attracted the interest of other remainers.

But with more than half the country voting to leave, that could be a huge gamble when trying to win over the electorate.

He stressed he is not going against democracy, and would continue with the negotiations to leave unless the public said otherwise.

“First of all, you should always be true to your convictions. In any principled position there’s always a risk. You can go around chasing popularity but it always trips you up in the end,” he said.

Asked to explain exactly where he stands on Brexit, he said: “I do respect the result of the referendum result last year. But I use the analogy of getting into a taxi without telling the driver where you are going. You could end up anywhere.

“The point is we haven’t agreed a destination. That is going to be stitched up in smoke-filled rooms by politicians.

“That deal is going to affect the cost of our shopping, our environment, travel plans, farming exports. Theresa May is asking you to get into that taxi and the driver could take you anywhere. I believe that destination should be put to the British people.”

“There are two groups of people who can sign off that deal, either the politicians or the people. We are the only party saying we trust the people to decide.”


Mr Farron believes the Lib Dems have rebuilt significantly in the past two years, and said it is now offering a real alternative to Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn.

He said the recent local elections, which saw the Lib Dems’ vote share rise by seven per cent, show that people are once again identifying with them. Yet despite that, Mr Farron states very bluntly that he believes Mrs May will return to Number 10.

However he said that even some lifelong Tory voters are not that happy about the prospect of her winning a bigger majority than the one Margaret Thatcher had in the 1980s.

“It feels as though the Conservatives are going to win with an absolute landslide,” he said.

“I am now increasingly coming across people who have voted Conservative, but are offering to vote for us this time. That’s because they are quite concerned Britain could become a one-party state.

“It’s very clear Labour are the least effective official opposition ever. That puts us in a very strong position.”

He said his message to voters is that, should the predicted landslide materialise, they would be “taken for granted”.

“That’s how it felt for me growing up in the north west in the 1980s. it felt like we didn’t matter to them,” he said.

Mr Farron said his priorities will include funding hospitals and social care, and to that he would put a penny on income tax.

But would most people be willing to pay extra? “We are going to ask them. On the ground people are telling us yes, as long as it is ring-fenced and not a penny will go elsewhere,” he said.

Despite his attempts to highlight the Lib Dem’s manifesto, Mr Farron was singled out early in the election campaign for his views on gay marriage, facing repeated questions about whether he thinks gay sex is a sin.

He said that regardless of the negative press attention, there is no issue on his part. “I voted for equal marriage. If I’m honest with you I think there seems to be such an interest because I’m a Christian.

“I think it’s right that you’re allowed to say your personal faith is your personal faith. I feel we have done enough talking about that.

“I believe in equality. That’s one of the reasons I got involved in politics in the first place, and that remains,” he said.

Often presenting himself as having a good sense of humour, does the media’s attempts to pursue issues like that annoy him?

“My view is if you want to do this, do not complain about it (media interest). He added that his approach is very different to the “closed approach” of Theresa May, stressing that he is happy to be interviewed without any pre-agreed questions or strict rules. “If you want to lead the people it rather helps if you like the people,” he added.

But does his famous sense of humour stretch as far as the recent claims he had a poster of Margaret Thatcher on his wall as a teenager?

Mr Farron is again happy to talk about it, dismissing any claims that he was a young Tory. “My bedroom was full of really random pictures. That was my 14-year-old mind,” he said.

He rhymed off the names of various politicians – David Steel, David Owen, Ronald Reagan, Michael Foot – that had been displayed in his childhood bedroom, but also other icons of the time, such as Neil Armstrong, Morrissey and even Gary Lineker.

“Why did I have a picture of Thatcher on my wall? I was really interested in politics and the big issues of the time. Politicians were interesting people to me. I loved Spitting Image. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Thatcher’s Spitting Image character on my wall actually,” he added.

Mr Farron is facing opposition in his constituency from a mysterious independent candidate known as Mr Fishfinger.

Widely believed to have been put forward by “leave” campaigners in opposition to his Brexit stance, Mr Farron has taken the news in good spirits, describing it as “fishy” that Ukip had stood down in his constituency, but Mr Fishfinger had arrived.

The Lib Dem added: “Whilst I am intrigued by the Fishfinger, I’m much more of a chips and mushy peas man myself.”

  • The other candidates standing in Westmorland and Lonsdale are James Airey (Con) and Eli Aldridge (Lab).