Britain needs Liberals, says Tim Farron

What convinced you that you should stand for the leadership?

Tim Farron: I stood for the leadership of my party because I believe I have the skills necessary to rebuild our party. There are thousands and thousands of people in this country who clearly woke up on the day after the general election and thought, we’re not losing the liberal voice in Britain, we’re not losing the Liberal Democrats and that’s why I’m standing for the leadership – because I believe that this party not only can be saved but it must be saved and that I was the man to do it.

There have been some really personal attacks on you around your religion and how that might impact on issues such as equality given your abstention on the same-sex marriage vote. How do you rise above that?

TF: As I’ve always said, my faith is my own. In terms of same-sex marriage, I support the legislation and think it is an important step forward in human rights to be able to marry the person you love. But, more broadly, in terms of civility in politics, my brand of politics is to beat ideas with better ideas and that is what the Lib Dems will do under my leadership.

Who will lead your EU referendum campaign and could that offer the party a chance to shine again?

TF: We know where we stand and we will fight to keep Britain a strong, open-hearted and generous country at the centre of Europe. The EU allows Britain to project strength in the world when negotiating climate change agreements, in trade talks, and when introducing sanctions against countries like Russia.

We know the EU is not perfect. We want to continue reforming the EU so it concentrates on doing the things it’s good at but stays out of decisions better decided locally. Liberal Democrats have always been ‘pro’ a European referendum. In coalition we set out in law the requirement to hold a referendum after plans to transfer powers to the EU.

Why do we need the Liberal Democrats?

TF: Four months into a Tory administration, I think the reasons we need the Liberal Democrats are abundantly clear. We are the only liberal party in UK politics. The Tories have already moved to scrap the Human Rights Act and introduce mass surveillance of our online communications. These plans fill liberals with horror. We understand how dangerous they are because we blocked them as part of the coalition.

With the Tories pulling to the right, Labour lurching to the left and a statist SNP centralising the life out of Scotland, the need for a strong liberal voice working to deliver power for local communities and protect individual freedoms is as urgent as ever. 

What is going to distinguish your leadership from Nick Clegg’s? 

TF: Every leader has their own style. Nick was different to Ming, who was different to Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown. I will approach the leadership the same way I have always approached politics – willing to listen to arguments from all sides of a debate, willing to work with others where I can, but committed to standing up for the liberal values that my party represents.

Nick Clegg went from hero in the 2010 election campaign to zero five years later after being in coalition with the Tories. What have you learned from that experience?

TF: What have I learned from Nick’s experience? That good people do not always get the credit they deserve and that things are rarely as good or as bad as newspapers suggest.

Is Nick someone you would still seek advice from and how do you feel about his demise?

TF: Of course. As Deputy Prime Minister, Nick gained a huge amount of experience as Lib Dems in government worked to deliver our policies on things like tax and increasing free childcare for families from the poorest backgrounds. He was also on the front line as we worked to stop the Tories doing their worst.

I think that with a Tory majority now in power we are starting to see what that would have meant in 2010 if Nick had not acted. I think that history will be kinder to Nick Clegg – and the coalition – than the electorate were this time round. I am proud of the things that we were able to achieve in government.

Was being in power such a seductive proposition that the Lib Dem leadership was almost willing to sacrifice anything just to have a seat at the table? 

TF: We should not forget that in 2010 we were in the teeth of the downturn. There were real fears over the long-term implications of a lack of political stability on jobs and the economy. This is of more than academic interest – it is real jobs and families we are talking about here.

Lib Dems went into government in the national interest. And we should be clear, this was about more than a seat at the table. It was about real influence and using power to do good. Five years on, the economy is in a much better state. We helped businesses create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and delivered policy after policy to help those who need our support the most.

It was a Liberal Democrat tax plan which delivered a £700 tax cut for more than two million Scots on low and middle incomes. The Tories would never have done that on their own.

In terms of where it all went wrong for your party, where do you place the blame?

TF: It is fair to say that the perception we were too close to the Tories hurt us in Scotland, with the Scottish Parliament election in 2011 and the general election, and elsewhere. Even though the reality was that the coalition was always about business, not pleasure. We held our noses and did the right thing for the country.

If it is a question of trust, how do you intend to rebuild that with the electorate?

TF: Rebuilding trust is always a difficult process but it is about showing voters what we stand for in the work that we do every day at Parliament, Holyrood, the Welsh Assembly and elsewhere.

In Scotland, Willie and the team have led opposition to the illiberal justice and policing reforms forced through by the SNP. They are championing improvements to mental health services, so important to ensuring that vulnerable people have the chance to get on in life. We are the only liberal party in UK politics today and it is down to us to set the strong, liberal example.

Do you think the issues for the party in Scotland are the same issues faced in the rest of the UK or do you think the Scottish electorate are also angry about the Better Together campaign and the role you played in that? 

TF: I think the challenges facing people in Scotland – the issues that matter to them – would be familiar to people in other parts of the UK too. We all want to see more people in well paid, secure employment. We all want to see children getting the best start in life.

We all want a health service that can continue to provide high quality care, free at the point of service. This is why Willie Rennie and the Scottish Liberal Democrat team at Holyrood have led opposition to SNP reforms on things like college reforms and pushed for an increase in childcare. We will continue to campaign on these liberal issues at Westminster too.

Clearly, the referendum was a transformative experience for Scotland. But if the whole electorate were angry about the Better Together campaign, I think we would currently be negotiating the break-up of the UK, not debating a new Scotland Bill.

Was it a mistake for the Lib Dems not to have pushed for a third option in the independence referendum, one on more powers?

TF: Lib Dems have always been the party of home rule for Scotland and we have worked with others to deliver substantial new powers since the creation of the Scottish Parliament. But all sides were clear that we wanted a referendum that offered Scots a referendum question that was clear.

We were guided by the independent advice of the Electoral Commission and I think that was the right approach to take.

Do you think it was a mistake to replace Michael Moore with Alistair Carmichael in the Scotland Office when perhaps a less bullish approach was required? 

TF: I think both Michael and Alistair did fantastic work in the run-in to the referendum. I understand why Nick decided to shuffle the deck with his ministerial team when he did. This was about Liberal Democrats making the best case for a stronger Scotland, with new powers, remaining part of the UK.

Had you in any way prepared for such devastating results in May’s election?

TF: We knew that the poll in May was going to be tough and it was incredibly difficult to see so many good MPs lose their seats. People like Jo Swinson and Alan Reid made an enormous difference in government and as good constituency MPs. 

You have lost a whole swathe of talent across the party post the general election, how does that actually feel when it comes to building a team?

TF: I feel lucky that we still have such a substantial amount of expertise and experience that the Liberal Democrats can draw on at Parliament. Norman Lamb, who led our efforts to boost mental health services, did great work in the last Parliament. And in the Lords we have Susan Kramer, Jim Wallace, Lynne Featherstone. These are all talented people with a huge amount of experience that will help us stand up to the Tories.

Have the 56 SNP MPs made a difference to how business is conducted and what have your dealings been with any of them thus far?

TF: The new SNP MPs have successfully created a lot of noise but in terms of actually getting things done, I think it is fair to say that the jury is still out. It was Liberal Democrats, for example, who secured an emergency debate on the Tories EVEL plans.

At the Scottish Parliament, Willie Rennie has always made a point of not disagreeing with the SNP for the sake of disagreement. That is something I will try to do at Westminster too.

The SNP don’t get it right on every policy – far from it. But where there are areas we can come together to oppose the Tories, I am open to working with them. 

The death of Charles Kennedy hit all of us hard and for you personally, it was a terrible loss. What difference has his absence made to you personally? 

TF: There is a generation of Liberal Democrats who are involved in politics because of Charles Kennedy. Charles’ death was a huge shock for all of us. He was a close friend and a valued source of advice and support. I think the outpouring of support that we saw after his passing and the tributes paid by people from across politics and wider society shows the quality of the man. I will miss him dearly.