Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Join US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Header Banner

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • Making Sense of Pakistan

      April 16, 2022
      0
    • How Should We View the War in Ukraine?

      March 30, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • DEEP DIVE: The Weaponisation and Politicisation of British Citizenship Laws

      March 12, 2022
      0
    • Our Role in the Ukraine war is to Expose the Propaganda

      March 2, 2022
      0
    • Muslims Should Rejoice Over the Islamic Ruling System

      January 21, 2022
      0
    • Another Warmonger Honoured for Serving the British Elite

      January 2, 2022
      0
    • The Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh Victory Day (Bijoy Dibos): a cause for ...

      December 13, 2021
      0
    • Playing Politics with the Uygher Muslims

      December 2, 2021
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • Reading Quran

      The story of the man who was told to “Enter Paradise” and ...

      January 24, 2022
      0
    • Significance of Rabi’ul-Awwal

      October 10, 2021
      0
    • Virtues of the Month of Muharram

      August 10, 2021
      0
    • The significance of first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

      July 10, 2021
      0
    • The Honour of the Prophets

      April 30, 2021
      0
    • A to Z of Ramadan

      April 19, 2021
      0
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
  • Da’wah
    • Public Demonstration - Independence Not Intervention

      April 22, 2022
      0
    • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

      April 20, 2022
      0
    • Ramadan Message: The World Needs Islam - We Must Work for the ...

      April 1, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • Ramadhan event: Kyiv to Kabul: The World Needs Islam

      March 20, 2022
      0
    • Obituary of a Dawah Carrier Dr. Youssef Haj Youssef

      December 30, 2021
      0
    • Open Letter to Imams and Muslim Leaders

      September 28, 2021
      0
    • Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain Sends Delegation to Chinese Embassy Condemning the Inhumane Treatment ...

      June 30, 2021
      0
    • Jahangir Raja: Obituary of a Da’wah Carrier

      June 28, 2021
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›Tim Farron quits as leader over clash between faith and politics

Tim Farron quits as leader over clash between faith and politics

By News Desk
June 14, 2017
1496
0
Share:

Tim Farron has said he is to step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats, less than a week after the election.

In a statement, he said he was “torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader”.

He said he should have dealt “more wisely” with questions relating to his faith during the election campaign, including his views on gay sex.

Possible successors include former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Jo Swinson, Sir Ed Davey and Norman Lamb.

In a hastily-arranged statement, and surrounded by his close colleagues, Mr Farron insisted his decision to step down was voluntary and that he retained the support of his party, which he had been proud to lead for nearly two years.

But he said he could no longer reconcile his strong Christian faith with his responsibilities as leader of a liberal party.

“The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader,” he said.

“A better, wiser person may have been able to deal with this more successfully, to remain faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment.

“To be a leader, particularly of a progressive liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian and to hold faithful to the Bible’s teaching has felt impossible for me.”

He said he was passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believed differently to him, but said he had been the “subject of suspicion” because of his own beliefs.

While questions about his faith were legitimate, he said they “distracted” from the party’s election campaign.

During the campaign, he was asked repeatedly in media interviews to clarify his views on gay sex but did not, to begin with, answer directly.

He later insisted that he did not believe it was a sin and that, while he believed political leaders should not “pontificate on theological matters”, it was right to address the subject as it had become “an issue”.

Earlier on Wednesday, shadow home affairs spokesman Lord Paddick himself quit, citing concerns about Mr Farron’s “views on various issues”.

As the party does not currently have a deputy leader, Mr Farron will remain in place while an election is held to choose his successor.

Mr Farron succeeded Nick Clegg in 2015 after the party’s disastrous election result, in which it lost nearly 50 seats.

Having not served in the coalition government, he positioned himself to the left of Mr Clegg and sought to rebuild the party at grassroots level.

The party increased its tally of seats from nine to 12 at last week’s election, but its vote share fell from 7.9% to 7.4%.

They were hoping to make significant headway on the back of a pledge to hold a second EU referendum.

Despite winning back seats in the south of England lost in 2015, and making gains in Scotland, the party’s national performance was patchy.

It lost its last remaining seat in Wales, Mr Clegg was defeated in Sheffield, and 375 of the party’s candidates lost their deposits after getting less than 5% of the vote.

Senior party figures praised their outgoing leader. Mr Clegg said it must have been an “agonising” decision for him to make.

He tweeted: “I’m sure I was not alone in being moved by the way Tim spoke about the struggle he found in balancing his faith and his politics.”

Willie Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said Mr Farron had been a “dynamic and inspirational” leader who helped the party bounce back from the “dark days” after the 2015 election.

“I believe he still has a big role to play in British politics,” Mr Rennie added.

But former Lib Dem official Miranda Green criticised Mr Farron for making his statement on the same day as the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in London, in which at least 12 people have died.

She said the timing showed the Lib Dem leader was “myopic and self-obsessed”.

BBC News

Previous Article

Grenfell Tower – A tragedy due to ...

Next Article

US-led coalition admits use of white phosphorus ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • News Watch

    Concern as Brunei brings in system of Islamic law with punishments that include the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to ...

    April 1, 2014
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    Girl, 15, arrested for ‘burning Koran at school and posting footage on Facebook’

    November 26, 2010
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    Al-Sudais: Don’t use Assad’s savagery to settle political scores

    August 27, 2013
    By Editor
  • News Watch

    Obama’s secret kill list – the disposition matrix

    July 16, 2013
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Germany ‘exporting’ old and sick to foreign care homes

    December 28, 2012
    By Press Editor
  • News Watch

    Bosnia marks 20 years of the beginning of its war

    April 6, 2012
    By Press Editor

Liberate Al Aqsa

Join US on Telegram

Podcast

Latest Posts

Press Releases

Protest in London Says No To More Democracy, Yes to the Khilafah

Members of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain, alongside supporters from the Muslim community, gathered on Saturday 7th May 2022 at the Pakistan High Commission in London to protest against US ...
  • Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain to Protest American Interference in Pakistan’s Politics

    By Yahya Nisbet
    May 1, 2022
  • Public Demonstration – Independence Not Intervention

    By Editor
    April 22, 2022
  • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

    By Editor
    April 20, 2022
  • The Geopolitics of Badr

    By Editor
    April 17, 2022
  • Making Sense of Pakistan

    By Editor
    April 16, 2022
  • Muslims in Britain Should Speak Out Against the Pakistani Leadership’s Surrender of Kashmir

    By Yahya Nisbet
    April 15, 2022
  • Muslims in Britain should support the call for the Khilafah in Pakistan

    By Yahya Nisbet
    April 12, 2022
  • Press Centre