Webchat with Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, on Friday 2 June at 1pm

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Hello

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, on Friday 2 June at 1pm.

Tim has been MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005 and was elected leader of the Lib Dems in July 2015. He has also held roles as party spokesman for youth, rural affairs and home affairs, as well as being national party president from 2011 to 2015.

The Lib Dem manifesto for the election on June 8 includes a second referendum on the Brexit deal, a 1p income tax increase to raise funds for the NHS and social care, opposition to the planned expansion of grammar schools, the extension of free childcare to all two-year-olds, and an additional month’s paid paternity leave for fathers.

Please do join the chat on Friday at 1pm, or if you can’t make it, leave a question here in advance. Please do share the webchat on social - the more, the merrier!

As always, please remember our webchat guidelines - one question each, follow-ups if there’s time and please keep it civil.

(As we approach the General Election we will endeavour to offer you a balanced diet of webchats with politicians from different parties; we hope to have more announcements soon.)

Thanks
MNHQ

How would you approach Trump on climate change?

derxayou're a farmer: wtf else could you have voted for ?!

Mr Farron -

Welcome to MN. Speaking as an economist, would you be able to talk us through why Leave voters ought to vote for the LibDems?

As a fellow Cumbrian how do you propose to deal with the lack of infrastructure in rural/isolated areas and the extra costs incurred as a result.

I don't have a question, I'd just like to say that I think you came across really well on last night's debate. On par with JC and your bake off comment is my favourite thing anyone has said in the entire election so far.

Oh I do have a question actually. Do you think in retrospect the Lib Dems joining the coalition with the conservatives was the right thing to do for your party?

How many female candidates have you got in 'winnable' seats and do you think it's enough?

You already have my vote, I joined the party in 2015.

So I just wanted to say keep up the good work. I don't think we are a single interest party. I think that is what the press are trying to make us out to be. At our local party meetings and at the debates and hustings I have been to there are lots of policies we have to be proud of.

Hi Tim

Would you go into a formal coalition in the case of a hung parliament?

Do you think the recent local council and mayoral election results will be representative of the outcome of the GE?

I'm voting Lib Dem for the first time, not that it will necessarily make much difference. I'm in Liverpool so Labour are a given, although there is an awful lot of anti-Corbyn muttering.

You say you'll bring broadband over 30mbps to every house.

As someone who lives 'too far' from the phone exchange to get faster than 1mbps I have a simple question- HOW?

And don't tell me satellite will provide it & it is equivalent to fibre, because it isn't.

Seems like another promise that lib dems make that is just impossible.

I liked your Bake Off line last night.

Why do you think Theresa May didn't turn up to the debate?

Also, how does someone who has qualms about gay sex and abortion end up leading the 'liberal' party? You're entitled to your views (although obviously they're wrong) but aren't you fundamentally in the wrong party?

Good luck, you and the Greens are the only parties speaking for people like me on the total sodding disaster that is Brexit

Hi Tim

I am dithering between your good selves and the Conservative party at the moment. You would have my vote if it wasn't for Brexit.

I was happy for the Brexit vote to go either way, but having had a democratic vote - having had a majority respond in favour of leaving the E.U., it concerns me that ignoring this opens the door to democracy being sidelined. In other words, once a majority of well educated, white males are making the decisions without feeling they need to listen to the majority, don't you feel that's a slippery slope?

If you can offer me some insights into your feelings on this matter, I'd appreciate it as my heart is more centre than right!

Given that we have a rabidly right wing Press, do you think it's wise to call for a second Referendum on the terms of Brexit? Won't the Press swing the result to 'No deal'? I say this as a paid up Lib Dem supporter.

Brexits a cross party issoo Corbyn.

According to media reports, Merton CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) is proposing to stop diagnosing autism in children unless they have additional mental health conditions.

Clearly this is to cut costs.

If it goes ahead, this would set a terrible precedent for autism diagnosis nationally. Merton’s Lib Dem Association is asking for our votes, as it did in 2015 – Shas Sheehan (see here did a bit of voluntary work in Merton and is now comfily ensconced in the House of Lords – so it would be good to see the many families with autism in the borough getting some direct support from Lib Dems.

There is also, of course, the issue that the CCG proposal flies in the face of disability legislation.

Can you comment on this, please, Tim?

Here’s a link to one local press report: the comments are worth looking at, too, just to see where this could be leading:

www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/15306391.NHS_could_stop_diagnosing_child_autism_in_south_west_London/

Hi Tim,

I DO like many of your policies but ...
I want to leave the EU and I DO NOT want a second referendum.
I am worried about how your religious views inform your decisions.
And PLEASE don't do a 'deal' with Jeremy Corbyn.

My question is: When will you get the deficit down to zero and can you promise you will actually do so.

Thanks

Hi Tim,

Why was your campaign bus parked across 4 disabled bays at Cambridge?

(Handy pic attached!)

My question is exactly the same as goats. Am appalled that this is even being considered.

Hi Tim,

Living in Cheltenham (a key Tory/LD marginal) you already have my vote as although I'd like to vote Labour I know they won't get in and I'd like to stop a landslide
Mayjority.

My question for you is this:
Could you, in 50 words or fewer, sum up your vision for the future for Britain?

Thanks,

@Alfieisnoisy, do you mean me? (I know, daft user name...but I'm a boat rather than a goat...) Hope you're seconding my question!

I've voted Lib Dem in the past but can't bring myself to vote for a party who's leader has spoken against gay people and abortion. Do you feel your (wrong) views on such things are alienating core voters?

Hi Tim,

Lib Dem member here:

What are your thoughts on assisted suicide?

Hi Tim

DH and I are going to vote for you. I rely very heavily on the NHS and we've seen how badly it's being underfunded firsthand recently when I had to wait 28 weeks for surgery that 10 years ago I waited 10 weeks for. Same surgeon, same hospital. Our youngest is, also, a student nurse so he's been in the thick of it. DH is more than happy to pay the extra tax to be ring fenced for funding.

Any how, this is my question, I asked similar to Jeremy Corbyn but he wasn't here long enough and I doubt it would have been answered anyway.

There's a huge retention and recruitment crisis in the armed forces at present. Just last week 4 of DH's colleagues signed off and every time DS1 comes home he tells me of more of his friends and colleagues who are leaving his regiment.

It seems to be much worse since the New Employment Model was introduced when a lot of personell got pay cuts, most got pay freezes and it's going to be many years before they see any rise, even on promotion.

There's training exercises being cancelled, weekends, Bank Holidays and leave periods are being dropped at the last minute. Add in the New Accommodation Model that is coming in you can see why morale is so low. How is this going to be addressed?

Thank you and good luck

Great question mother

I would also like to know why the Lib dems have added assisted dying to their manifesto?
There is broad support for an assisted dying bill to be passed in the U.K. It feels like this policy would naturally fall in with the values of many Lib dems.

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