New Lib Dem leader insists party can recover lost ground

The

new leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has insisted that the party, left battered after five years in coalition with the Conservatives and with just eight MPs left in the House of Commons, can restore its fortunes.

Surprisingly, 34,000 members – just 56 per cent of the party’s total numbers – voted in the leadership election, dividing by 19,137 votes to Mr Farron, as against his only challenger, Norman Lamb, who secured 14,760.

Setting out a positive agenda, Mr Farron, who is just one of eight MPs across all parties who were elected with more than half of the vote in their constituencies, declared: “This is a liberal country. Our job now is turn millions of liberals throughout the UK into Liberal Democrats.”

Congratulating his successor, Nick Clegg, who was annoyed by Mr Farron’s criticism of the coalition with the Conservatives, struck a conciliatory note, saying: “It’s a tough job, but the best in politics. I know Tim will do us proud.”

An evangelical Christian, Mr Farron, a superb communicator with a frequently impish sense of humour, was praised by party members during the coalition years for never being afraid of defending the party’s honour.

Farron is a natural left-wing politician, who is likely to adopt positions on key political issues, such as opposing the Conservatives’ plans to cut child tax credits for families with more than two children that will make life uncomfortable for the Labour Party.

Heartland disappeared

Nevertheless, he faces major challenges. The Lib Dems had 59 seats under Mr Clegg and its heartland in the West Country has disappeared in the face of Conservative gains in May.

Meanwhile, the party’s membership has changed substantially too.

Many left-leaning members, mostly those who came from the Social Democratic Party in the 1980s, left during the coalition years, complaining that Mr Clegg had taken the party to the right.

The proposed European Union referendum will, however offer the Liberal Democrats – the most Europhile party in British politics – a platform and an opportunity, given that the Conservatives and Labour will have to cope with far more internal divisions on the issue.