Tim Farron resigns: ‘Impossible’ to be Liberal Democrats leader and Christian

The leader of the U.K.’s Liberal Democrats party announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he can no longer fulfill his responsibilities as a progressive leader and remain committed to Jesus Christ.

Tim Farron, who was re-elected just last week, said during a press conference that the U.K. is far from the “tolerant, liberal society” it boasts to be.

“From the very first day of my leadership, I have faced questions about my Christian faith. I’ve tried to answer with grace and patience. Sometimes my answers could have been wiser,” he said.

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

Mr. Farron said he feels it’s “impossible” to be a liberal party leader while holding faithfully to the Bible’s teachings.

“I’m a liberal to my finger tips, and that liberalism means that I am passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believe different things to me,” he said. “There are Christians in politics who take the view that they should impose the tenets of faith on society, but I have not taken that approach because I disagree with it – it’s not liberal and it is counterproductive when it comes to advancing the gospel.

“Even so, I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in. In which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society,” he said. “That’s why I have chosen to step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats.”

Mr. Farron said he will remain leader until a successor is elected next month. The BBC said possible successors include former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Jo Swinson, Sir Ed Davey and Norman Lamb.

Mr. Farron’s announcement came after the party’s home affairs spokesman Brian Paddick, who is gay, resigned earlier Wednesday over Mr. Farron’s “views on various issues.” He didn’t elaborate on what those views were, but Mr. Farron was criticized during the campaign for repeatedly refusing to talk about gay marriage, The Independent reported.