Lib Dem leader still confident of gaining seats in Yorkshire – despite local election losses

THE LIBERAL Democrat leader Tim Farron has dismissed suggestions that the party’s pro-EU stance is proving a turn-off to voters in the region, despite suffering losses in last week’s local elections.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post on the first day of the party’s general election battlebus campaign, Mr Farron said he remains confident the Lib Dems can still make gains in target seats like Harrogate and York.

His comments follow last Thursday’s council and mayoral elections, which saw the party lose 28 councillors nationally, including in Norton and Knaresborough in North Yorkshire.

But while many suggest this points to a Tory landslide next month, Mr Farron believes it will act as a wake-up call to voters about the dangers of handing Theresa May a “colossal” majority.

“I think what people across Yorkshire will now be very aware of is that last Thursday’s results show we are heading for a very large Conservative majority,” he told this paper.

“And I guess what is now beginning to occur to people is... what it will be like if Theresa May gets a majority bigger than the ones that Margaret Thatcher had in the 80s and what that would mean for your family, your school and your hospital.

“It’s a rare thing – almost a unique thing – that people get a crystal ball moment ahead of a general election where you get to see in advance what you’re about to get.

“So the question [for voters] now is: do you want people who will fight your corner so the Conservatives don’t take you for granted?”

The party has listed five target seats in Yorkshire for the June 8 general election, including the pro-remain constituencies of Harrogate and Knaresborough and York Outer.

But after suffering a net loss in Knaresborough and Harrogate last week – and losing six council seats in its Brexit-backing heartlands in the South West – there are concerns that the party’s fiercely pro-EU stance is not playing well with voters.

Mr Farron yesterday dismissed this suggestion, pointing out that the party’s overall vote share actually increased by seven per cent compared to 2013. He added that “the Liberal democrat view... that the people should decide the final deal and not the politicians” was “strongly popular”, and the more voters are made aware of it “the better it is for us”.

The Cumbrian MP also denied suggestions that his party risks falling foul of the same “tax and spend” accusations levelled at Labour after announcing a series of ambitious manifesto pledges over the weekend.

Proposals include a fresh commitment to the pensions triple lock and a promise to invest an additional £6bn in the NHS.

Mr Farron argued that the NHS spending will be funded through a “fair and progressive” increase in income tax. He added that the party’s determination to keep Britain in the Single Market means it can work from the assumption of higher tax revenue.