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About Tim Farron
MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005
Tim lives in Milnthorpe, south Cumbria, with his wife Rosie, his daughters Isabella and Gracie and his sons Jude and Laurie. In his limited spare time, Tim enjoys following the (mis)fortunes of Blackburn Rovers, playing football, fell running, walking in the Lake District, listening to various kinds of music and spending time with family and friends.
Tim first joined the Liberal Party aged 16 while he was still at School. After he gained a place at Newcastle University to read politics in 1988, Tim went on to become the first Liberal Democrat President of Newcastle University Union in 1991-92. In 1990 he also served as the sole Liberal Democrat on the National Union of Students National Executive. During this time Tim gained a national profile for standing up against extremism and intolerance in the, hard-left and Labour dominated, NUS.
After the completion of his degree, Tim followed a career in the Higher Education sector. Before winning the Westmorland and Lonsdale seat in May 2005, he worked as a senior manager at St Martin's College at Ambleside, Lancaster and Carlisle.
As he has worked in higher education for thirteen years before his election to Parliament, and as a local parent who has served as a school governor of the Dallam School in Milnthorpe, Tim is deeply committed to high quality education for all. Yet, Tim's interest in the public services extends beyond that. He is deeply involved in campaigns to prevent health cuts in South Lakeland - he has already encouraged 27,000 local people to sign his petition and is working alongside sub-post masters to prevent branch closures in his constituency. Tim is also a leading national advocate for farming and rural communities and, in particular, for the need for more genuinely affordable homes for local people in order to keep those communities viable. In May 2005, Tim secured the Westmorland and Lonsdale seat in Westminster for the Liberal Democrats. He defeated the Conservative candidate and ended a 95 year rule of the seat by the Tories.
Westmorland and Lonsdale General Election Result 2005
Following this win, Tim has been extremely busy both in Parliament and especially, within his constituency. In 2005 he was appointed the Liberal Democrat Youth spokesman, and in March 2006 became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Party leader Ming Campbell. Following the election of Nick Clegg as Party Leader in December 2007, Tim was promoted to the Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet and served as the Shadow Minister for the Countryside and Rural Affairs.
Tim then went on to hugely increase his majority in the Parliamentary elections of 2010 and took 60% of the vote share.
Westmorland and Lonsdale General Election Results 2010
Since 2005 Tim has served as the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming, is currently Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia and also the Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mountain Rescue.
Tim was elected as the national President of the Liberal Democrats in November 2010 and took over the role in January 2011.
Tim's record in numbers:
Between 2005 and 2010 Tim has
- · proposed 227 motions in Parliament
- · asked 960 questions in Parliament
- · dealt with 37,095 constituents cases
- · held 438 surgeries in South Lakeland
- · called on 14,354 residents across Westmorland and Lonsdale
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