Farron quits as Lib Dem leader over faith
Resignation of gay adviser led to fears of coup plot: Vince Cable, Jo Swinson are expected to stand
Tim Farron has quit as Liberal Democrat leader, citing his faith. It followed the resignation of one of his most senior advisers. Lord Paddick claimed he could no longer serve due to Mr Farron’s views on gay marriage, on which he was questioned heavily during the election campaign.
TIM FARRON resigned as Liberal Democrat leader last night claiming it would be “impossible” for him to continue in the role while remaining “faithful to Christ”.
It followed the resignation of one of his most senior advisers yesterday afternoon, as Lord Paddick claimed he could no longer serve because of Mr Farron’s views on gay marriage.
Mr Farron is thought to have decided to leave amid fears his home affairs spokesman’s decision to step down would trigger a leadership coup.
Lord Paddick, formerly one of the country’s most senior gay policemen, said he felt unable to continue in his role because of Mr Farron’s views on “various issues”.
Throughout the election campaign the Liberal Democrat leader was dogged by questions about his attitude to gay sex after he previously appeared to state the practice was a sin.
Mr Farron also faced tough questions about his views on abortion after he previously claimed it was “wrong”. “From the very first day of my leadership, I have faced questions about my Christian faith,” he said last night.
“I’ve tried to answer with grace and patience. Sometimes my answers could have been wiser. At the start of this election, I found myself under scrutiny again – asked about matters to do with my faith.
“I felt guilty that this focus was distracting attention from our campaign, obscuring our message. Journalists have every right to ask what they see fit. 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.
“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.
“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 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. That’s why I have chosen to step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats.”
Mr Farron will continue in the role until next month when Parliament will go into recess and a leadership race will begin.
Jo Swinson, a former minister in the coalition government, and Sir Vince Cable, the former business secretary, are both expected to stand.
Lord Paddick tweeted yesterday: “I’ve resigned as @Libdems Shadow Home Secretary over concerns about the leader’s views on various issues that were highlighted during GE17.”
Sources within the party believed Lord Paddick’s decision to step aside was the beginning of a coup against the leader, who despite increasing the number of his MPS was seen as ineffective during the election campaign.
One senior Liberal Democrat said Mr Farron was “a great guy” but added: “His views are not compatible with being the leader of the Liberal Democrats. He was, on balance, unhelpful during the campaign.”
Speaking in 2007, Mr Farron told a magazine: “Abortion is wrong … Society has to climb down from the position that says there is nothing objectionable about abortion before a certain time.”
In 2015 he was asked if gay sex was a sin and replied “we’re all sinners”. In the run-up to the General Election, he was forced to clarify in Parliament that he did not believe it was a sin.
Lord Paddick declined to comment further following his tweet.