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

[BojanaMumsnet]

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

@muckypup73

I would like to say if you had not jumped into bed with the Tories, you could have won this election, how do you feel about that?????

There are 6 days to go - how do you know we're not going to win?

(Rephrasing what I asked earlier, but hasn’t been answered).

Your proposed second referendum is to accept or reject whatever final deal is on the table.
If the outcome of that referendum were to reject the deal – what would the consequences be? Surely now that Article 50 has been triggered the other member states are under no obligation to simply accept us back into the EU on the terms we have now, with all our hard-won opt-outs, concessions etc.
How can you make sure that a second referendum won’t simply cause more uncertainty and chaos?

[Runshaw, Adlington, Sharju]
Tim
Who were/are your political heroes?
[I'm ignoring the unfortunate poster on the bedroom wall]

@Plainandsimple

Hello, I have a whole heap of questions but as we're only allowed one I'll ask the one that is currently top of my 'worrying about' list.

The Government has decreed that children must remain in full time education until 18 (apprenticeship notwithstanding), however the local councils stop funding school transport at the age of 16. If my son is to stay at his current school into Sixth Form, I will need to find £776 by September to pay for his bus pass. This is the cheap option. He would much prefer to enrol at the CoFE in the next town, however this will involve a bus and a train journey - total cost for the school year of £1,040. He cannot apply for a Student Rail Card (ages 16-25) because these cannot be used before 9am - guess what time students are required to start College each day?

So, my question is - what will Lib Dems do for me a the thousand of other parents in the same situation?

Whilst it's right that young people stay in education or training until 18, it is wrong to not provide them with affordable means to get there.

This issue matters everywhere but is particularly costly and unfair for people who live in rural areas. We would introduce a Young Person's Bus Discount card which would give you two thirds off the cost of travel until the age of 21.

This has not only pleasantly surprised me but made me realise how horrendous Corbyn was the other day.

My mate who is a huge Lib Dem member is on my messenger saying "Told you so!!"

Thanks Tim for answering the farming question.

"I do like a Pringle" - I think this IS the answer to the biscuit question.

Hi Tim,
IM the father of twins with cystic fibrosis. A newly developed drug, Orkambi, is available that could possibly help them, and many others with cf, lead a longer and fuller life. However it is not being made available in the U.K. On cost grounds

What are your views on this and would you commit to ensuring drills like this would be made available.

@Apairofsparklingeyes

Hi Tim,

How do you plan to tackle the current wave of antisemitism?

We need to always be vigilant about racism and in particular antisemitism, as we've seen a spike in antisemitic attacks, both physical and verbal, in recent times.

We need to support the Jewish community with support for security but just as importantly, political leaders need to root out antisemitism where they see it and take swift action, showing a zero tolerance approach. I've sought to do that in my time as leader.

Not "allowed" a 2nd question but please answer cakeaddict

Of all the times autocorrect had to "help"

Drills = drugs

Thank you, Tim and good luck for next week!

Hi Tim

At the risk of sounding like a groupie, just wanted to say I brought my two teenagers to hear you at the second pro-EU rally in London and you won the vote of my eldest (20). You would have won the vote of the youngest too, but since she won't turn 18 until September (grrr) she gets no say, even though she stands to be the worst affected of the lot of us.

What do you think about lowering the voting age to 16?

@givemushypeasachance

Our last MP was labour with conservatives second and UKIP third. I'd like to vote for you lot but that risks the labour candidate getting swamped by the tories, and it seems to make much more tactical sense to vote for her rather than 'wasting' a vote for a trailing fourth place liberal. What would you do to revisit a more proportional voting system so that all votes cast actually count for something?

We strongly support a fairer voting system so that everyone's vote counts. We would borrow the system that is currently used in Ireland, single transferable vote in multi member constituencies. This system has the benefit of being proportional and keeping the MP-constituency link.

Thankyou for answering my question. Although IMO DLA should have been left alone and IDS is guilty of human rights violations regarding disabled people IMO.

He answered the biscuit question last time he was on. Custard creams - you're welcome

Hi Tim,

What do you think about tactical voting? My seat is between the conservatives and Labour, with the Lib Dems polling behind UKIP. Wouldn't a vote for the Lib Dems just be wasted?

@poshme

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.

The only way to make sure we've got equal access to super-fast broadband is fibre optic connection to every home. Just as ensuring everyone can access the postal service means the postie comes to every house - not the next village!

Our infrastructure plans will enable this to happen across the country.

Why on earth would people ask question about bisuits and fish fingers? I seriously do not understand the logic.

Hi Tim,

I've been very impressed with your speeches the past two years, and especially in the run-up to the election. With regards to the NHS, could you tell us your stance on the Naylor Report, please?

Ah, you've already answered my question, sorry. Can I ask another?

Do you think that education should be taken out of the hands of policitians?

Are you new Muckypup? The biscuit question is something of a tradition stemming from 2009's Gordon Brown webchat. Some like it, some don't.

Because Tim the odds are 1000 to 1 if you win and to be quite frank a vote for Lib dem at this moment in time is a wasted vote unless of course its a tacital vote. your a nice fella and I wish you luck, maybe next election.

Was Clegg wrong to accept a referendum on AV, given that it's a terrible system? Was he just not that bothered about PR? It did seem to be a massive strategic error.

(have you focus grouped the Marmite thing, the anti-Marmite crowd are not to be trifled with)

@GrimDamnFanjo

[Runshaw, Adlington, Sharju] Tim Who were/are your political heroes? [I'm ignoring the unfortunate poster on the bedroom wall]

I'm bound to say Shirley Williams, aren't I? She's been the voice of reason for more than half a century and introduced comprehensive schools, ending the divisive grammar/secondary modern system. Actually, my ultimate political hero is someone you've never heard of - her name was Neva Orrell. She was a councillor in Leyland in Lancashire, she was elected by just 13 votes in 1960, lost her seat in 1966, got it back in 1967, lost it in 1970, got it back in 1973, lost it again in 1977, got it back in 1981 and held it until she passed away at the age in 89 in 2002 after a planning committee meeting. She loved her community, her community loved her and she never gave up!