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Oh Snap

Is Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron Actually a Liberal?

On gay rights and abortion his personal views have often been at odds with his voting record, but he wants us to believe that's all in the past.
Source: Channel 4 News

Days after it was announced, the snap election is already presenting a dilemma for anyone who isn't a pro-Brexit Tory. Labour should be the natural home for those who don't want to sever ties with Europe, but their position on Brexit remains unclear. That should make the Liberal Democrats a very credible alternative, especially in seats where they're the Conservatives' main rivals. But on Tuesday night, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron gave a worrying interview to Channel 4's Cathy Newman, in which she reminded him of an equally worrying interview he gave her in 2015.

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"A while back I asked you if you thought that homosexuality was a sin and you struggled to answer," Newman began. "Now you've had a while to consider that question, what is the answer?"

Farron, an evangelical Christian, fumbled for an answer and said: "I'm not in the position to make theological announcements over the next six weeks." When Newman pushed him harder, he scrambled back: "As a liberal, I'm passionate about equality, about equal marriage and about equal rights for LGBT people, for fighting for LGBT rights, not just in this country but overseas. Just because I'm Christian, it would be a bit boring for everybody to spend the next weeks asking me to make theological announcements that I'm not going to make."

The issue came up again in the House of Commons yesterday, when Conservative MP Nigel Evans asked Farron outright if he thinks being gay is a sin. "I do not," he replied, finally confronting the question head-on. "And I tell you what, I am very proud to have gone through the lobby behind him in the coalition government where the Liberal Democrats introduced gay marriage, equal marriage and indeed did not go as far as it should have done in terms of recognising transgender rights."

Farron also told The Guardian yesterday that he considers himself a "liberal to his fingertips", but does his voting record support this claim? Back in 2013, before he became Lib Dem leader, Farron abstained in the final reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which sought to introduce equal marriage in England and Wales. He later told The Observer that he abstained because of "a couple of amendments that were about the protection of essentially religious minorities, conscience protections". He also admitted that he regretted this decision "if people have misread that and think that means I'm lukewarm on equal marriage".

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Six years earlier, Farron actually voted against the 2007 Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, which made it illegal to deny people goods, services or education on the basis of their sexual orientation. However, during the infamous "gay cake" row of 2015, Farron sided against the Belfast bakery which had refused to bake a cake with a "Support Gay Marriage" message because of its owners' religious beliefs. Speaking on Question Time, Farron said: "If you're providing a service, that's the key thing – you need to do so without prejudice, without discrimination to those who come through your door."

Following Farron's Channel 4 interview, VICE contacted the UK's leading LGBT charity, Stonewall, for a response. "This election campaign will be about the kind of society we want to live in, and it's vital that all the parties contesting the election demonstrate that they will be working to ensure LGBT people do not face discrimination and are accepted without exception in all communities, including those of faith," a spokesperson said. When pressed for a specific response to Farron's comments about gay people and his voting record on LGBT issues, the spokesperson replied: "With our non-partisan hat on, and because we're now in a GE leadership race, that's as specific as we can get." So if Tim Farron is potentially a low-key homophobe, as people like David Baddiel suggested on Twitter following the Channel 4 interview, it's not something the UK's leading LGBT rights charity feel is enough of an issue to speak out about.

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When it comes to another key liberal issue, Farron is haunted by comments he made during a 2007 interview with the Salvation Army's War Cry magazine. "Abortion is wrong," he said at the time. "Society has to climb down from the position that says there is nothing morally objectionable about abortion before a certain time. If abortion is wrong, it is wrong at any time."

However, Farron has since either changed his mind, or managed to suppress his personal objections for the sake of the greater (liberal) good. He's repeatedly stated that he has no desire to change the UK's current abortion law, saying he's "guided by the science" and believes it's "right as it is". A spokesperson told the i yesterday: "Tim supports a woman's right to an abortion. He will defend the existing law."

On drugs, Farron's liberal credentials are more sure-footed. Last year, he became the first leader of one of the UK's main political parties to call for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. "I personally believe the war on drugs is over. We must move from making this a legal issue to one of health," he said at the time.

So where does this leave us? Farron struggled to bring himself to say being gay isn't a sin – but he got there in the end. While he might still hold outdated personal views, he's very unlikely to claim that abortion is "wrong" again. Whether he's "liberal to my fingertips" is still a bit questionable, but in 2017, Farron does seem to be liberal where it counts. Given the other options available at the moment, that should probably be good enough for those thinking of voting for the Lib Dems.

@MrNickLevine