Tim Farron quits as Lib Dem leader over Christian faith
3 min read
Tim Farron dramatically quit as Liberal Democrat leader tonight saying he found it "impossible" to be the boss of the party whilst holding his Christian views.
In a shock announcement less than a week after the general election, he said he was "torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader".
The Lib Dems had a disappointing election, only managing to increase their number of MPs from nine to 12.
During the campaign, Mr Farron faced repeated questions about views on homosexuality and abortion.
At a speech at the Liberal Democrat headquarters in London tonight, he said British people were “kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society”.
He said some of his answers on the campaign trail “could have been wiser”, an apparent reference to his initial refusal to make clear whether he believed gay sex was a sin.
An interview from 2007 in which he said he believed abortion was wrong also caused further controversy - although Mr Farron said he had since changed his mind.
“The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader,” he said tonight.
“A better, wiser person than me may have been able to deal with this more successfully, to have remained faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment.”
He added: “To be a political leader - especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 - and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me.
“I'm a liberal to my finger tips, and that liberalism means that I am passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believe different things to me.
“There are Christians in politics who take the view that they should impose the tenets of faith on society, but I have not taken that approach because I disagree with it - it's not liberal and it is counterproductive when it comes to advancing the gospel.
“Even so, I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in. In which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society.”
PADDICK QUIT
Mr Farron's announcement came just hours after Lib Dem peer Brian Paddick quit the party’s front bench in protest at his leader's views on homosexuality and abortion.
Mr Farron will stay on until parliamentary recess begins next month, at which point a leadership election will be triggered.
Returning MPs Vince Cable and Jo Swinson have been tipped as most likely to face off for the top job.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
