Tim Farron

Tim Farron MP
Member of Parliament
for Westmorland and Lonsdale IncumbentAssumed office
5 May 2005Preceded by Tim Collins Parliamentary Private Secretaryto the Leader of the Liberal Democrats In office
22 March 2006 – 20 December 2007Succeeded by Mark HunterBorn 27 May 1970(1970-05-27) (age 38)
PrestonNationality BritishPolitical party Liberal DemocratSpouse Rosie Children 2 daughters, 2 sons Alma mater Newcastle University

Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who is the Liberal Democrat member of parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale.

1 Early life and career
- 1.1 Family
2 Parliamentary career
3 External links

Early life and career

He was born in Preston, Lancashire and was educated at Lostock Hall School and Runshaw College in Leyland. He continued his studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics in 1992. He was elected president of the students' union in 1991, becoming its first Liberal Democrat president.

Prior to his election to Parliament he worked in higher education at both Lancaster University and St. Martin's College, Ambleside.

He was also a Councilor for the Milnthorpe ward until the 2008 local elections.

Family

He lives in Milnthorpe, within the constituency he represents, with his wife Rosie and their two sons and two daughters, the youngest son being born since his election to parliament.

Parliamentary career

He contested the Durham North West constituency at the 1992 General Election. He finished in third place some 20,006 votes behind the sitting Labour MP Hilary Armstrong. He served as a councillor on the Lancashire County Council (1993-2000) and was also a councillor on South Ribble Borough Council (1995-1999). He was selected to contest the Labour/Conservative marginal constituency of South Ribble at the 1997 General Election, and again finished in third place.

At the 2001 General Election he contested the Westmorland and Lonsdale seat and finished second, reducing the majority of the sitting Conservative MP Tim Collins to 3,167. Farron was elected as a councillor to the South Lakeland District Council in 2004, and at the 2005 General Election he again fought Collins at Westmorland and Lonsdale. He won this election by just 267 votes. He made his maiden speech on 25 May 2005 [1].

He has been a member of the Education and Skills Select Committee since his election, and later in 2005 was appointed as Youth Affairs Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats. He is the Chair of the All Party group on Hill Farming.

He was during Menzies Campbell's term as leader Campbell's Parliamentary Private Secretary. In 2007 he was given the responsibility as Liberal Democrat spokesman for Home Affairs. Considered to be to the Left of his party, he is a member of the centre-left Beveridge Group within the Liberal Democrats.