Liberal democrats

Jo Swinson favourite to be new Lib Dem leader as Tim Farron quits

After a fairly disastrous general election campaign, Tim Farron has quit as leader of the Liberal Democrats. You can see why: he wanted to pose as the champion of Remain yet for for the first few weeks he seemed unable to move the conversation beyond his views on gay sex and marijuana. His attempt to rekindle the Brexit wars was a complete flop. The LibDems are an unlikely alliance of evangelical Christians and social liberals, and Farron’s appointment embodied a clash that the media delighted in exposing. He said, today, that has decided that the two are impossible to reconcile: “I have found myself torn, living as a faithful Christian and leading a political party

It’s delusional to claim the election result was a vote against Brexit

How deliciously tempting it must be to do as the Times and FT has done today, along with many others since last Friday, and try to interpret the election result as somehow a vote against Brexit – or against the withdrawal from the single market. ‘The notion of a ‘hard’ (to be precise, a dogmatic and ideologically driven) Brexit should be promptly abandoned’, asserts a leader in the Times, echoing the sentiments of Tim Farron, Nicola Sturgeon, Ruth Davidson and many others. How tempting – and how utterly wrong. The claim that the election result somehow undoes last year’s referendum result runs counter to the obvious evidence: that 84 per

Why I’m voting Liberal Democrat for the first time today

From a very early age I’ve been put off by sanctimoniousness; it’s why, I think, I’ve never been attracted to the political Left, which when I was growing up was heavy on the finger-wagging, and why I find a certain style of newspaper column irritating. They remind me of the sour-faced old guys we used to see at church all in competition to see who could look the most serious and disapproving. This whole idea that if you don’t support Labour and the Left you’re not just wrong or misguided but a bad person is what puts me off; this Daily Mash article is depressingly close to reality in my

The Spectator’s complete election guide: what to look out for and when

‘Strong and stable’, ‘weak and wobbly’, ‘coalition of chaos’: you’ve heard enough of the slogans. Now, election day is nearly upon us. Here’s the Spectator‘s guide to what to watch out for on the night as we find out whether Theresa May is heading for a big win – or an historic blunder: 10pm All eyes will be on the joint exit poll from the BBC, ITV and Sky. In 2015, this was the key moment for the Tories with the poll suggesting that the party was heading for a surprise majority. 11pm Houghton & Sunderland South – where Labour upped its majority in 2015 – is likely to be the

Andrew Neil interviews Tim Farron: full transcript

AN: Tim Farron, this election’s about electing MPs to sit in the British parliament, but you’re fighting on a manifesto which advocates UK laws being made in Brussels, having no control over immigration policy and for Britain to stay under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Why? TF: The Liberal Democrats are campaigning in this campaign to trust the people, and we know that people voted to leave the European Union last June. I grew up with, you know, people who voted to leave. I completely respect those who did. Obviously a whole different view. The issue now is how do we move forward? And we know that

Have the Lib Dems learned the wrong lesson from the SNP?

That the Tories would enjoy this general election campaign and Labour would spend it alternating between abject misery and total panic was a given from the moment Theresa May announced she wanted to go to the polls. More of a surprise has been how uncomfortable the Liberal Democrats have looked so far. Tim Farron has spent far too much time defending and then apparently recanting various unpopular beliefs. The party is averaging nine per cent in the polls. One analysis suggests they could end up with fewer than the nine seats they currently hold. What’s going wrong? Aside from Farron’s awkward media encounters over his religious beliefs, the party may

The Lib Dems want what remains of the Remain vote

Tim Farron is in Bethnal Green tonight launching the Liberal Democrats 2017 manifesto. As the party try to keep hopes for a ‘Lib Dem fightback’ alive, the policies on offer appear to be aimed at winning the youth vote. They include introducing an NHS tax, raising £1bn in tax from proposals to legalise cannabis, help to get on the property ladder and bus passes for young people. However, it’s Brexit that lies at the heart of the manifesto — or, to be more precise, the party’s opposition to it. The Liberal Democrats say they would hold a second EU referendum on the final Brexit deal which would ‘give the final say to

Losing here: Why have the Lib Dems stalled in the polls?

Theresa May’s return to Downing Street on the morning of 9 June will surprise no-one, but there is one thing political commentators will be left to puzzle over: just why did the Liberal Democrats do so badly? Tim Farron’s party should be big winners in this general election. If not matching the 62 seats they won in 2005 or the 57 they notched up in 2010 they should at least be going a long way to reversing the collapse they suffered in 2015 as many of their voters punished them for their role in the coalition and for Nick Clegg’s backtrack on his tuition fees pledge in particular. Conditions are

Listen: Vince Cable says he would find it difficult not to vote for Labour MP

Tim Farron has said the Lib Dems won’t be forming a coalition with Labour. But it seems Vince Cable didn’t get the memo. Cable has been taped suggesting that Lib Dem voters should back Rupa Huq, Labour’s candidate in Ealing Central. Here’s what he said: ‘I’ll just give one example – there’s Rupa Huq, who’s the candidate in Ealing. Purely but coincidence I found myself – I think it was on ‘Any Questions’ or one of those programmes in Warwick a few months ago, and I gave her a lift back home to Ealing. We talked for a couple of hours and it was very clear that on almost every

When politicians buy the newspaper front pages, they create fake news

Newspapers everywhere are in trouble, with advertising revenues down about 20 per cent a year. Local newspapers are worst hit and many are on the brink of collapse, sacking staff and pages. But there can be no more depressing sign of their distress than to see newspaper owners selling front pages to political parties. Look at the above pictures: both are designed to deceive the reader and look like genuine front pages. They’re created by Labour and Conservative spin doctors, printed as so-called “cover wrap” adverts. Sure, there’s a blink-and-you-miss-it caveat saying “political advertisement” in the Labour one (left) for the Copeland by-election, there’s hardly any branding at all. The

Local elections: West Midlands win caps off a day of stunning successes for the Tories

The Tories are up 540 seats, have gained control of 11 councils and enjoyed success in the Tees Valley, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and West of England mayoral races. Conservative candidate Andy Street has won the West Midlands mayoral contest. Labour’s vote has plummeted, with the party losing 360 seats as well as control of six councils. Labour’s Steve Rotherham won in Liverpool’s mayoral contest; Andy Burnham won in Greater Manchester. Ukip has lost every seat it was defending. The party has gained one seat across the whole country – in Lancashire, from Labour. The Lib Dems have lost 24 seats but have seen their share of the national vote jump by seven per cent. The SNP are

The Spectator Podcast: Queen of Scots

On this week’s episode, we look at the rebirth of the Scottish Conservatives, ask whether it’s helpful to call Marine Le Pen a fascist, and consider what the future holds for Britain’s opposition parties. First, in this week’s magazine, Alex Massie profiles Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, who has overseen an extraordinary regeneration for her party in the last two years. Are the Tories the Unionist force du jour in Scotland? And can they make significant gains off the SNP, in a country that has had a frosty relationship with their English siblings? Ruth joins the podcast to discuss their campaign, along with Fraser Nelson. As Alex Massie writes in his cover piece: “…the

James Forsyth

Never mind the election – Corbynism isn’t going away

General elections are meant to produce a government and an opposition — ideally, a decent version of both. It is obvious what government this election will deliver: a Tory one with an increased majority. That, after all, is one of the reasons why Theresa May has decided to go to the country three years early. But it is not clear what opposition there will be. What passes for optimism in moderate Labour circles these days is the belief that a shellacking in this election will lead to Jeremy Corbyn’s departure, as the party’s membership sobers up and elects a new and sensible leader. But it is far from certain that

Watch: Tim Farron taken to task by furious Brexit voter

Tim Farron has been doing his best to appeal to Remain voters left fed-up at the outcome of last year’s referendum. The only problem? In doing so, he’s angered those on the other side of the debate. Today, on a visit to Kidlington, he got his comeuppance as he came face to face with one such voter who was furious at the Lib Dem’s Brexit stance. Here’s the video: Voter Malcolm Baker confronts Tim Farron pic.twitter.com/PATPWC0yrR — Sam Lister (@sam_lister_) May 3, 2017 Farron did his best to try and calm the man down by saying that he had lots of friends who voted Leave – and that he didn’t think

Tim Farron: yes, I’ve held talks with Tony Blair. He’s great at coalitions

What is Tony Blair playing at? Our permatanned former Prime Minister recently declared himself to be closer to the Liberal Democrats than his own party due to his position on Brexit. “Unique circumstances demand a unique response,” he said, so Labour voters in certain seats “should cross party lines” and vote for Liberal Democrats – in the cause of Remain. Might the love be reciprocated? Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, was on the Andrew Marr show today and he was asked about whether he had met Blair told discuss such an alliance. He fessed up. “Several months ago I met with Tony Blair at his request. I thought it was

Tim Farron is a Christian, so of course he’s not allowed an opinion

Maybe I’m wrong about this, but I don’t remember the BBC running a documentary 100 days into Barack Obama’s first presidency and kicking him from pillar to post. Interviewing almost exclusively people who hated him, pouring scorn on his every utterance. They did it this week to Donald Trump, though, and even wheeled out Jeremy Paxman to present this travesty of a documentary. Because Jeremy was interviewing exclusively people with whom he wholeheartedly agreed, he didn’t get the chance to put on that famous supercilious expression we all used to love, back when he was good. Shame. With Obama, as I remember, it was a very different approach. The studio

Liberal Democrats’ unlikely alliance: vote Tory, Ukip (or Lib Dem) to defeat Labour

Earlier this month, Tim Farron appeared to cast doubt on the idea of forming a ‘progressive alliance’ where the Greens, Labour and the Lib Dems work together to stop the Tories. The Liberal Democrat leader said that (while he held the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas in high regard) ‘the only plausible route of any kind towards the Conservatives not winning a majority is a Liberal Democrat group’. But was Farron’s issue simply that the suggested alliance was with the wrong parties? Mr S only asks after being passed Lib Dem campaign literature from the Tees Valley mayoral race. The Lib Dem candidate Chris Foote Wood has campaign material which — rather

Katy Balls

Tim Farron sacks David Ward – but the damage is already done

When the snap election was called last week, it looked like plain-sailing for the Liberal Democrats. Tim Farron’s party appeared on course for significant gains by simply appealing to the 48pc and talking about Brexit from a Remain perspective. However, a week on and it’s questions of religion that are proving a headache for the party. After Tim Farron attempted to put an end to speculation over how ‘liberal’ his Christian beliefs are (telling the BBC he does not think gay sex is a sin), his party were swiftly plummeted into another media storm when it transpired that David Ward had been selected as the party’s candidate for Bradford East. The former Lib

Charles Moore

Tim Farron is the victim of a witch hunt

Journalists have hunted down Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, about Christian views of homosexuality. Originally, they asked him the wrong question, doctrinally, by inquiring whether he thought ‘homosexuality’ was a sin. This was an easy one for him to repudiate, since an involuntary disposition is not a sin. I forbore to point this out, since I didn’t want to make their persecution of poor Mr Farron any easier, but by the beginning of this week, they had realised their mistake and began pressing him to state whether gay sex was a sin. (The Times covered this with the surprising headline: ‘Farron shrugs off gay sex row to target veteran’s

David Ward stages a comeback

Today Tim Farron attempted to put a stop to questions over his Christianity, as he declared that he does not think gay sex is a sin. However, just a few hours later and the party have been plunged into another row. David Ward has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Bradford East, where he lost his seat at the last election. The former Liberal Democrat MP is an interesting choice given Farron has said he wants his party to be a ‘warm home’ for Jews left alienated by Labour’s anti-semitism scandal. In 2013, Ward was forced to apologise after saying on his website that he was ‘saddened that the Jews,