Tim Farron quit as leader of the Liberal Democrats less than a week after the U.K. elections

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

Tim Farron quit as leader of the Liberal Democrats less than a week after the U.K. elections saying that he was torn between “ between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader."

Farron, 47, led the most anti-Brexit of the national political parties yet performed disappointingly in a June 8 election that became dominated by the clash between the Conservatives and Labour, squeezing support for smaller parties like his. He inherited a party whose image was tainted from its five years in a 2010 coalition government with the Tories. In the campaign their target voter, the young, flocked to Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn.

“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,” Farron said in a speech to party staffers at the Liberal Democrats’ headquarters in London.

An evangelical Christian, Farron was quizzed during the campaign about his views on whether he believed gay sex was a sin rather than on his socially progressive policies, which included legalizing cannabis.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-14/leader-of-u-k-liberal-democrats-resigns-after-u-k-election

[sandensea]

1. If Labour and the LibDems could only find a way to unite.

The Tories would have a real uphill struggle on their hands, and would be forced toward the center/center-left as a result.

[Ken Burch]

2. In addition to his personal conflicts, the LibDems didn't do very well in the election.

They only took 12 seats(a gain of just four from their disastrous 2015 showing)and their popular vote share dropped slightly.

[karynnj]

3. I think that was his point - that his personal religion became a problem in winning young voters to

their platform. If that was part of the problem - that his being the leader caused his party to be defined by characteristics that were not germane to the party - then he helps the party by stepping down.

At the time of the Brexit vote, much was written about how the people most against leave were the young. This time, the conservatives led by Theresa May, were pro Brexit -- and Corbyn was perhaps for a softer Brexit, but still Brexit. It could be that many of the young were really just voting against Theresa May.

[Denzil_DC]

4. The Lib Dems have often capitalized on being "none of the above" in certain constituencies.

I've tactically voted Lib Dem in my own constituency in the past, since the nearest contender was a Tory, but once a winnable alternative that reflected my own views appeared (the SNP in this case, though it could have been any left-of-centre anti-brexit, anti-Trident party), they lost me very easily.

They gained three seats in Scotland (winning four in all, 12 across the UK as a whole) mainly on the basis of tactical voting.

I don't know any people who vote positively for the Lib Dems nowadays, but apparently they do exist.

[Ken Burch]

5. It's not likely that any large groups of peope will vote positively for the LibDems anytime soon.

I think it will take at least another two or three elections for the memories of Clegg and the Coalition to even begin to fade. And God help anybody trying to organize for them at any university in the UK-they will never be forgiven by the young for the tuition fee betrayal.

[karynnj]

6. Thanks - I likely should have refrained from responding and waited for someone British to give

a better answer - like you. I have never really thought of how I would vote if the US had a Parliamentary type of government.

[Denzil_DC]

7. Please, I wasn't really disagreeing with or contradicting you, just chiming in.

I've seen it pointed out elsewhere that Farron's (comparatively wishy-washy, in public, at least) religion-based attitudes towards issues of sexuality and abortion would make it harder to stand up to the expected DUP/Tory deal, which may be true, but he's been quite lack-lustre as a leader apart from that, and given the Lib Dems' poor showing in the polls, his days were probably numbered anyway.

I don't know if this heralds a switch from the Lib Dems' opposition to brexit. If so, I reckon that would be a tactical blunder, but then they're the Lib Dems ...