Tim Farron puts God before Politics

[soistes]

I genuinely feel for him in the election. Stuck his head above the parapet by suggesting a second Brexit vote to try and attract the Remain bods wanting a best of 3, and no bugger voted for him.

Given his stance on gay sex, I don't really find his failure to attract the bugger vote surprising.

 

[cjd]

Hope you voted Leave then

I wanted to stay in the EU, but my statement still stands. Both our UK Parliament and the EU parliament are our law makers.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Nothing to do with the Lib Dems abysmal election showing then?

No - I don't think it is. It was precipitated by Brian Paddick's resignation as shadow Home Secretary and his publicly stated reasons that it was because of Farron's position - I was going to say stance, but to be fair to Farron, I don't think he has ever made a big issue about it..

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

He voted in favour of same sex marriage so doesn't 'hate gays'. What he found was the media concentrated on his beliefs rather than policies. Tolerance can be a one way street at times.

Very much this. I don't think he ever made a big issue of it.

The main thing that gets me about this is the message it might send out that Christians are anti-gay, and that it is part of the baggage, WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

 

[NooBHA]

I wouldn't exactly label him ''homophobic'' but his views on same sex relationship or more definitively, same sex acts make him an inappropriate person to be leader of a major party in UK Politics in this day and age.

His views are about 40 years out of date and not in touch with the way a modern society should be going.

You can say what you like about left wing Politics and Jeremy Corbyn but at least liberal left wing views have stood the test of time over the last 60 years.. Sadly with a blip in between during the Thatcher and John Major years

 

[Lenny Rider]

But possibly now a big chance for the Lib Dems to regain ground they lost after jumping into bed with the Tories, if they go with Jo Swinson, with the youth vote mobilised would her more moderate views and policies, with a modern approach draw votes away from Corbyn in certain areas?

 

[Ernest]

But possibly now a big chance for the Lib Dems to regain ground they lost after jumping into bed with the Tories, if they go with Jo Swinson, with the youth vote mobilised would her more moderate views and policies, with a modern approach draw votes away from Corbyn in certain areas?

The Liberals remain a toxic brand and have no chance of regaining what they lost with the coalition

 

[Stat Brother]

I wouldn't exactly label him ''homophobic'' but his views on same sex relationship or more definitively, same sex acts make him an inappropriate person to be leader of a major party in UK Politics in this day and age.

His views are about 40 years out of date and not in touch with the way a modern society should be going.

You can say what you like about left wing Politics and Jeremy Corbyn but at least liberal left wing views have stood the test of time over the last 60 years.. Sadly with a blip in between during the Thatcher and John Major years

and yet The DUP currently hold the keys to power.


T'is strange days.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

The Liberals remain a toxic brand and have no chance of regaining what they lost with the coalition

Which may well be true, but I don't see why it should stay that way. Labour and the Tories are both at the extreme edges of their natural range, so there is a massive untapped middle ground that should be the Lib Dems' natural ground. I'm sure with a better leader they could make massive gains were we to have another election in say 6 months.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I am a Lib Dem voter and am not too bothered to see Farron go. He is a decent enough speaker and campaigner but is lightweight compared to his predecessors such as Charles Kennedy, Paddy Ashdown and Nick Clegg.

With hindsight, it was a mistake to elect an evangelical Christian as leader. Indeed, I think it would be hard for any party leader with strong religious convictions of any faith not to crack if pressed on LGBT issues.

I think that the best choice the Lib Dems have now is Jo Swinson - at 37 and a champion of women's rights / equality she'll play well with younger / female voters. That said, I think the Lib Dems still need to give Vince Cable and Norman Lamb plenty of coverage too as they will appeal to older voters.

 

[pastafarian]

I wouldn't exactly label him ''homophobic'' but his views on same sex relationship or more definitively, same sex acts make him an inappropriate person to be leader of a major party in UK Politics in this day and age.

His views are about 40 years out of date and not in touch with the way a modern society should be going.

You can say what you like about left wing Politics and Jeremy Corbyn but at least liberal left wing views have stood the test of time over the last 60 years.. Sadly with a blip in between during the Thatcher and John Major years

Do these views only become inappropriate and apply to leaders of a major party? Would they apply to leaders of a minor party as well and perhaps therefore by extension to all members of parliament? It would seem rather hypocritical to apply this thinking to one member, just because he is in charge and not another member.

 

[brakespear]

Very much this. I don't think he ever made a big issue of it.

The main thing that gets me about this is the message it might send out that Christians are anti-gay, and that it is part of the baggage, WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

Well it is for some, surely? I'd in no way accuse all Christian's of being homophobes you can't deny that there are branches of Christianity that are anti-gay. Not that that is any different from other groupings in society I guess.

 

[NooBHA]

and yet The DUP currently hold the keys to power.


T'is strange days.

Well they don't really........They are just on the ''Tory Government Payroll''

 

[Stat Brother]

Well they don't really........They are just on the ''Tory Government Payroll''

What do you think they're going to get paid with?

 

[NooBHA]

Do these views only become inappropriate and apply to leaders of a major party? Would they apply to leaders of a minor party as well and perhaps therefore by extension to all members of parliament? It would seem rather hypocritical to apply this thinking to one member, just because he is in charge and not another member.

For me they should apply to all.

However, I used the term for leaders simply because they have the power to request that their other MPs and their MP Candidates follow the ''Party Line'' which is often set by the Party Leader. Hence they have the Power to dictate to others.

 

[NooBHA]

What do you think they're going to get paid with?

They will get paid in monetary value in the form of investment in Northern Ireland. Even Theresa May (I hope) wouldn't yield to some of the other things they might ask for. Would she ?

 

[Brovion]

Indeed, I was being kind. I see nothing fundamentally wrong with a coalition government between two mainstream parties, it means they actually need to talk to each other rather than just snipe as talking heads on the 24 hour rolling media.

Yeah. Judging by the result of the 2015 GE the Great British Public seemed to think that everything 'good' the Coalition did was done by the Tories, and everything 'bad' was done by the LibDems. That's the only way to explain the relative performance of the two parties.

Unsurprisingly the LibDems don't want to get burned again. As you say, that's a shame for all of us - and I didn't vote for either party.

 

[nicko31]

Yeah. Judging by the result of the 2015 GE the Great British Public seemed to think that everything 'good' the Coalition did was done by the Tories, and everything 'bad' was done by the LibDems. That's the only way to explain the relative performance of the two parties.

Unsurprisingly the LibDems don't want to get burned again. As you say, that's a shame for all of us - and I didn't vote for either party.

The reality is the LD's kept the Tories in check and we had a period a stability and recovery. The rest of history, one Tory majority in a generation, enough said

 

[Buzzer]

David Laws, the Lib Dem MP, isn't holding back on what he thinks of Tim Farron 'tolerating' his sexuality. Agree with him 100% and I wish that there were Tory MPs with the same courage of their convictions to stand up to Theresa May cosying up with the DUP.

[tweet]875334248521060354[/tweet]

"..as a gay man, I do not wish to be “tolerated”. I wish to be respected for who I am. And I want a party leader whose respect for human equality comes before outdated and frankly offensive religious views. Homophobic attitudes have done enormous damage to our society and to so many millions of citizens over many years. Children are bullied, and some have even taken their lives, and still do. These attitudes are wholly unacceptable to a true liberal – as unacceptable as racism or sexism. You do not remove homophobia from society by communicating as a political leader that same sex relationships are immoral, but should be “tolerated”. "

 

[Ernest]

Maybe Tim Farron was the obstacle for the LibDems going back into coalition with the Tories