Webchat with Tim Farron MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tuesday 19 July at 12.30pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

We’re pleased to announce that LibDem leader Tim Farron will be joining us for a webchat on Tuesday 19 July at 12.30pm.

MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, Tim was national party president of the LibDems before being elected leader after Nick Clegg’s resignation in May 2015. One of eight LibDem MPs in the current Westminster Parliament, he says that his focal points since assuming the leadership have been ‘fighting for unaccompanied refugee children to be given sanctuary in Britain, securing much needed relief funding for communities devastated by last winter’s floods, and promoting investment in education as the cornerstone to a fair and equal society’. Along with the rest of the LibDems, he campaigned for ‘Remain’ in the recent referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

He is married with four children, and is a big Blackburn Rovers fan.

Please join us on Tuesday at 12.30 to put your questions to Tim, and as ever, if you can’t make it on the day please post up your questions in advance on this thread. And do bear in mind the webchat guidelines - one question each only (follow-ups allowed if there’s time) and please do be polite

Thanks
MNHQ

Hi Tim,
I'd love to vote Lib Dem but in local elections in my area there is rarely a candidate. Its regarded as a safe Labour seat. How can we get away from this two-party system where many people seem to vote for labels rather than policies?

Hello from Adlington Tim!
Did growing up in a one-parent family influence your politics?
Your seat was not a traditional LibDem seat - how did you find the commitment to keep campaigning knowing you may never be elected?

Kendal mint cake isn't a biscuit! Mumsnet HQ are quite right to disallow it. I'd like to second the questioner who asked what you're doing to ensure your prospective parliamentary candidates are a bit more diverse.

No particular question, just wanted to say thanks for at least trying to provide an opposition voice while Labour is otherwise occupied

Also thanks for continuing to be a pro-EU voice

@BeckerLleytonNever

I don't know why Im wasting time here as my questions NEVER get answered by any politician. but here goes:

How can you want to legalise drugs? there are enough dangerous drivers around now without zombies getting behind wheels?

(If you venture to answer One of these questions Id rather you answer the one below):

Why does NO party EVER care about the disabled, the carers (fulltime who have had to give up their careers to look fulltime 24/7 for disabled/elderly, and save the Government BILLIONS every year)including your lot?

and while its a noble gesture to house refugee children and families here, what about the millions of homeless people on our streets who have been there for years and are never helped or housed? why are there homes for immigrants and not people here already?

Okay I'll answer your question and I'll answer the one you want on carers.

Carers are the unsung heroes that hold society together. the last time I checked, carers in the UK save the taxpayer over £50bn a year. And the pressure that they are under physically, emotionally and financially is immense. The primary motivation is the love of the person they care for and there is a sense that the state takes advantage of that.

We have proposed a disability manifesto which would simplify the benefits for people with disabilities and a package for carers that would include a carer's bonus to raise the threshold for the carer's allowance and potentially allow additional paid leave for carers who are in work.

You also - along with many others - asked about cannabis. We looked very carefully at the evidence around the world, different countries and states, and concluded that it would be right to introduce a legal regulated market for cannabis. But it would remain an offence to drive whilst under the influence. I am personally quite anti-drugs - you could say that as a liberal I am against anything that robs you of your liberty and addiction enslaves people.

However, it is clear that the current situation is not working and so we propose a regulated market to protect the safety of users and to remove criminality from the situation. The evidence from elsewhere suggests that this approach reduces crime, reduces the role of cannabis as a gateway drug to stronger substances and it raises taxes that you can spend on the health service.

Hi Tim,

What's your honest opinion of second homers in your constituency ?

And what changes would you and could you make regarding them ?

@Hastalapasta

Hi Tim, DH and I are both members of the Libdems and think that you are doing a great job.

We would like to know what opportunities do see for companies to attract the most talented people from around the world in the current political climate?

Thank you.

Thanks to both of you. There are 17,500 new members since the EU referendum result who have responded to our positive message of staying in the EU. Fundamentally, you've highlighted one of our biggest challenges post the referendum. That Britain may not seem to be as attractive or as welcoming to talented people from overseas.

But the Britain I believe in is still outward-looking and wants to stand tall on the world stage and to be welcoming to people from across the globe whilst also exporting much talent around the world. Which is why we must at the very least remain in the Single Market with a high degree of freedom of movement but best of all, win the British people to a position which says we should remain in the EU.

@Silverstones

Hi Tim, thanks for coming to talk to us online.

I met you and your young daughter very briefly at last year's protest rally to preserve the Human Rights Act - post-Brexit, what do you think is the future for rights of the type protected by the Human Rights Act?

Hello again,

As much as I do congratulate Theresa May on her elevation to Prime Minister, her record as Home Secretary has been really rather illiberal. Not least on the issue of human rights and on internet privacy. So we will need to be especially vigilant in holding her to account on these issues. We hope that David Davis, as much as we disagree with him on many things, will continue to be a liberal voice in an authoritarian government on issues like this.

As always, human rights, basic freedoms will be what drives Liberal Democrats.

@LongStory

Hi Tim, just to say really pleased with your clear position on Europe and I've joined up to the LibDems. :-)

Thanks very much, it's great to have you on board!

Tim you may have missed my question - but I've asked it twice
Is gay sex a sin?

Hi Tim,
Brit living in France here and a new LibDem member. I would like to say a huge thank you for your pro-EU stance. Do you think it is a problem that the prevailing view of democracy does not have sufficient protection for minorities built into it? When people talk about the referendum as "democracy in action" in makes me feel a bit sick that people like me are disproportionately affected (negatively) by the result as well as the many EU citizens in Britain who didn't get a vote. Shouldn't democracy be a more sophisticated concept than doing what the majority want?
Thank you.

I'll give Tim Farron the benefit of the doubt and say he's either being disingenuous or been misinformed if he says that the LibDems made gains in the Scottish elections: they ended up with exactly the same number of seats that they'd had before (5 seats) and their percentage share of the vote stayed exactly the same a fall of 0.1% is negligible On what planet is that "making gains"?

They went from being the 4th party to being the 5th party, behind the Greens.

Shall I ask a third time?

Is gay sex a sin Tim?

@julieireland

I'm in Bromley SE London - we voted to remain by the narrowest margin in the country (50.65%) - what can you say to the 49.35% in Bromley who voted to leave to win them over to the Lib Dems?

Well as a northerner who knows many people personally who voted leave, the danger is that people in Westminster could become dismissive about those who voted leave and about their concerns. Whilst many who voted leave were utterly committed to leaving the European Union (I respect that), most in my experience, could have been persuaded to vote remain, and could still be.

In my conversations with leave voters, most have legitimate concerns about what they see as the political classes lecturing them about the benefits of Britain being in Europe or more likely, threatening them with the horrors of Brexit. So many of those voters feel that the prosperity this country has gained through being in the EU has passed them by. I am determined to fight a positive campaign on Britain's role in Europe, rather than the very negative one put forward by George Osborne and others, during the referendum.

Immigration was clearly a big issue for many people, they were concerned by pressure on public services caused by increased migration. I would simply say that EU migrants have contributed something like £20bn in taxes to the UK since freedom of movement came in. It isn't their fault that government has failed to spend that money on the homes, schools and hospitals that people need. So I would hope to encourage voters in Bromley and elsewhere to hold to account those who are really responsible, not the immigrants.

Fantastic to get your clear statement on secondary moderns. Many thanks.

@tangerino

Hi Tim

I'm a Lib Dem supporter and really hope the party can gain ground- we really need you!

My question concerns the amount of coverage that the Lib Dems get, especially on the BBC. Seems to me that they get far less than eg UKIP despite having more MPs.

How does the party plan to become more visible? What can we do to help?

Are you a Tangerino because you are a Liberal Democrat or are you a Blackpool fan?

A major frustration for me is that the media, for example, in the recent referendum seemed only interested in making it a story about two Tories who went to the same posh school. However, no-one made anything any better by whingeing about it. And I'm a great believer in making your own luck. As you've seen lately, as the only pro-EU party we are now getting a lot more coverage.

I feel there has been a polarisation in political issues over the last few years, probably since the downturn. I would like to know how a third party can be relevant in this situation?
For the record, I have never, ever managed to vote for the winner in any local, general, police etc election in the 25 years I've been franchised!
I do not feel that any British party represents my views, so I vote on specific policy issues each time.

@pastaofplenty

Tim what are your personal views on gay sex? Is it a sin?

A politician shouldn't go around pronouncing what is a sin. The only person whose sins I have any control over are mine! What politicians should do is make the law of the land and I'm clear that you should have the right to marry who you love, whatever your sexuality.

More generally, the government should not say you have fewer rights because of who you love.

Tim

Is gay sex a sin?

You're silence speaks volumes - especially when you have answered the majority of other people and I have asked my question once yesterday and twice today.

Care to answer?

Apologies - you have just answered (or rather you haven't)

Do you personally feel that gay sex is a sin/wrong? I am not asking you as a politician but as a person

@chocolatebourbon

Hi Tim, Brit living in France here and a new LibDem member. I would like to say a huge thank you for your pro-EU stance. Do you think it is a problem that the prevailing view of democracy does not have sufficient protection for minorities built into it? When people talk about the referendum as "democracy in action" in makes me feel a bit sick that people like me are disproportionately affected (negatively) by the result as well as the many EU citizens in Britain who didn't get a vote. Shouldn't democracy be a more sophisticated concept than doing what the majority want? Thank you.

The majority has the right to expect that the result will be respected. But 16 million who voted the other way also have rights. We also need to understand that minority groups will have voted very strongly in one direction or another, perhaps most stark, is that the under-24s voted 73% to remain. The division and even bitterness, following the result will not be improved if we don't all work hard to understand one another and especially, respect those minorities who feel especially threatened by the result.

@januarysnowdrop

Kendal mint cake isn't a biscuit! Mumsnet HQ are quite right to disallow it. I'd like to second the questioner who asked what you're doing to ensure your prospective parliamentary candidates are a bit more diverse.

All of our target seats have shortlist places reserved for underrepresented groups. As a party, we run a leadership programme to encourage candidates form diverse backgrounds into winnable seats. I am as leader, acutely aware of the fact that we are very very un-diverse in terms of our parliamentarians. I am determined that the coming generation will be massively different.

Tim, what are you going to do about the current round of selections. They haven't brought in greater diversity.

Pressed send too soon, sorry.

You say "I am determined that the coming generation will be massively different." I applaud your determination and I believe you genuinely want change.

What are you actually going to do?

@GrimDamnFanjo

Hello from Adlington Tim! Did growing up in a one-parent family influence your politics? Your seat was not a traditional LibDem seat - how did you find the commitment to keep campaigning knowing you may never be elected?

Hello Adlington!

Is Sharju's the curry house still open? I've spent many happy nights there.

To me, my family background was completely normal and just like most of my friends. It's only looking back when you end up in Parliament surrounded by people who've had more "privileged" upbringings that I realise that I grew up in more challenging circumstances. I put privilege in inverted commas deliberately because I actually think that understanding what recession, living on a tight budget, growing up in a community where there was the opposite of plenty but where there was great happiness and togetherness, gives me a capacity for empathy that many other MPs aren't lucky enough to have. But it has taught me that politics is about spreading opportunity.