Farron in bid for role as leader of the opposition
THE Liberal Democrats won a single Welsh MP in 2015 having lost a bastion in the Welsh capital to Labour and seen former rural heartlands turn blue.
But the party’s UK leader is refusing to give up on Wales and will campaign in the nation tomorrow.
Tim Farron does not pretend they stand a chance of winning the election – but he is using the contest to audition for the role of leader of the opposition.
Mr Farron argues that even people who want Theresa May back as Prime Minister should consider voting Lib Dem so the UK can have a strong opposition and local MPs who won’t “just tug their forelock to the Conservative whips in Westminster”.
His party had just nine MPs on the day parliament was dissolved but he is in the fight of his life to engineer a comeback.
Here are six things he told us while out campaigning:
1. A Tory landslide is on the way so vote for a strong opposition...
Mr Farron says Theresa May is “obviously” going to win a landslide in the light of last week’s local election result. He said: “It’s a rare thing that the people of a country get advanced warning of the election result they’re going to get five weeks’ beforehand.”
On the campaign trail he is encouraging people to imagine life in the UK if Mrs May has a majority of Margaret Thatcher proportions and trying to stir fears their communities will be “taken for granted”.
He said: “Even people who would like to see a Conservative Government, now is the moment for you to remember you’re gonna get that anyway. The question is: Do you want that Government to be held to account by a party that’s united, that’s got a clear alternative vision for the country?”
2. He wants to stand at the despatch box opposite Theresa May...
The party has ruled out coalition pacts or other arrangements with Labour or Conservatives which effectively stamps on any possibility of Mr Farron taking on Nick Clegg’s former role as a Deputy Prime Minister.
Instead, he wants the job that Jeremy Corbyn has held as Leader of the Opposition. He said: “In this election it’s so important Britain [has] a decent opposition. There is a gaping hole where an opposition should be, a vacancy for leader of the opposition, and I am bidding for that role...
“You don’t know to agree with everything that I say or stand for to agree that Britain needs a strong opposition and the only party across the country that’s actually got the fire in their belly and the self-belief to do it is the Liberal Democrats.”
3. He insists the country should have an opportunity to stay in the European Union...
Mr Farron wants the country to have the “final say” on Brexit and argues that if it is rejected the UK should be “entitled to remain” in the EU.
He said: “That deal should not just be imposed on us... At the moment, nobody knows what the deal is going to look like because it’s not been written yet. And, given that, is it right that the bureaucrats in Brussels and the politicians in Westminster should stitch up your future or should the people decide?”
4. The campaign to win ‘home rule’ for Wales is not finished...
Warning of the consequences for Welsh self-government under the Conservatives, he said: “We all know the party that’s been most opposed to home rule in practice or in theory over the decades [is] the Conservatives. It’s not a priority for them and is a priority for us. Our ambition would be to roll out home rule properly, finish the job and treat Wales as the proud nation it is.”
5. The Lib Dems are intent on holding Ceredigion and winning back former Cardiff and Powys strongholds...
The party lost Cardiff Central to Labour in 2015 but aMr Farron said: “I think we’ve always assumed nothing and fight for every vote and all the rest of it but I take the view it is absolutely a strong place for us.”
It will also be fighting for Brecon and Radnorshire (lost to the Conservatives in 2015) and Montgomeryshire (which turned blue in 2010)
A priority is keeping hold of Ceredigion, which Plaid Cymru has in the Assembly, and has been represented by Welsh Lib Dem leader Mark Williams since 2005.
Mr Farron said: “Everybody knows Mark Williams. There is nobody in Ceredigion who does not know somebody who has been helped by Mark Williams. He is an absolutely legendary constituency MP... People are just overwhelmed by the fact they have the best MP they’ve ever had. My guess is, talking to people locally, they’ll want to keep him.”
6. People of faith have a natural home in the Lib Dems...
Mr Farron – one of the highest profile Christians in contemporary politics – was repeatedly asked his views on homosexuality during the early stage of the election and eventually said he did not think gay sex was a sin.
He insists believers should find a “home” in the Lib Dems. He said: “The roots of the Liberal party are very much [in] nonconformist Christianity – the Quakers, the Methodists and so on.”