Tim Farron
Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale in 2005 and is the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[1] Before entering politics, he worked in higher education.[2]
Tim Farron
Farron was the president of the Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2014.[3][4][5] He was the Liberal Democrats' shadow foreign secretary in 2015 under Nick Clegg's leadership and Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2019 to 2022, with responsibility for the Northern Powerhouse from 2019 to 2020.[6] He served as Spokesperson for Work and Pensions under Jo Swinson from 2019 to 2020.
Early life and education[edit]
Farron was born in Preston, Lancashire, and educated at Lostock Hall High School and Runshaw College, Leyland,[7] before going on to Newcastle University, where he gained a BA in Politics in 1992.[8] Farron has described how, in his youth, his bedroom bore pictures of widely differing politicians as the assassinated United States President John F. Kennedy, former Liberal Party leader Jo Grimond, and then–Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[9]
From 1987 to 1992, Farron fronted the Preston-based band Tim Farron and the Voyeurs, also known as Fred The Girl.[10] According to Farron, the band was popular amongst Lancashire's youth after a series of highly successful tours. Farron said the band was offered a record deal with Island Records.[11] However, this claim has been countered by former band members instead describing 'Tim Farron and the Voyeurs' as a "fourth rate New Order."[12]
In 1990, he was elected to the National Union of Students' National Executive.[8] The following year, he was elected president of Newcastle University Students' Union, the first Liberal Democrat to hold the position,[8] having joined the Liberal Party at the age of 16.[7] Before his election to Parliament, Farron worked in higher education at Lancaster University from 1992 to 2002[8] and St Martin's College, Ambleside, from 2002 to 2005.[13]
Political career[edit]
Positions before 2005[edit]
Farron contested North West Durham at the 1992 general election, where he finished in third place, behind the sitting Labour Party MP Hilary Armstrong and Conservative Party candidate (and future Prime Minister) Theresa May.[14][15] He then served on Lancashire County Council from 1993 to 2000 and was also a councillor for Leyland Central ward on South Ribble Borough Council from 1995 to 1999.[16]
Farron was selected to contest the Labour/Conservative marginal constituency of South Ribble at the 1997 general election, and again finished in third place.[17] He was a Liberal Democrat candidate for the North West region in the 1999 European Parliament elections.[18]
At the 2001 general election, Farron contested the Westmorland and Lonsdale seat and finished second, reducing the majority of the sitting Conservative MP Tim Collins to 3,167.[19] He then served as a councillor for the Milnthorpe ward on the South Lakeland District Council from 2004 to 2008.[20]
Leadership of the Liberal Democrats[edit]
In May 2015, Farron confirmed his candidacy for the 2015 Liberal Democrats leadership election on BBC Radio 4.[35] On 16 July he won the leadership election with 56.5% of the vote, ahead of Norman Lamb who achieved 43.5%.[36]
Farron's first speech at the September 2015 Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth was praised in the press.[37]
At the 2017 general election, Farron was again re-elected, decreasing his share of the vote to 45.8% and seeing his majority cut to just 777.[38] He stated he would step down as party leader following the election, stating that he had become "torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader".[39] He remained in office until the unopposed election of Vince Cable as party leader.[40][41]
Farron was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, increasing his share of the vote to 48.9% and increasing his majority to 1,934.[42][43]
Personal life[edit]
Farron is a lifelong non-conformist Protestant and says that "becoming a Christian at the age of eighteen [was] the most massive choice I have made."[76] He is a vegetarian,[77][78] and a lifelong fan of Blackburn Rovers.[79] He married his wife Rosie in 1999.[80] In January 2018 he won an edition of Celebrity Mastermind, with Blackburn Rovers as his specialist subject.[81]
In 2019 he published an autobiography A Better Ambition: Confessions of a Faithful Liberal describing his life as a Christian and a Liberal.[82]
Farron completed the 2021 London Marathon in a time of 4 h 44 min 44 s.[83] raising funds for the Brathay Trust.[84]