There's been a lot of talk about what the Liberal Democrats need to do to 'come back'. I might glibly argue that merely 'coming back' isn't good enough, that the party ought to aim to do even better than ever before, but at the moment that seems a long way off. Many commentators are talking about 'what needs to be done', and those from outside the party are either writing us off as an irrelevance or gloating about the 'death of Liberal Britain.' I agree wholeheartedly with Tim Farron, who said we have 'no right' to come back, or to be taken seriously, but that we will have to work, and fight, for every vote. I think the reason Labour did so badly in Scotland was that they thought they had every right, a sense of entitlement, to electoral support. The need to define what makes the Liberal Democrats unique is, to me, obvious and urgent. But this is harder than it sounds; for every time we try to define a 'liberal value' it's like trying to hold on to water, the harder we try the more it slips through our fingers. The attitudes to diversity, equality and faith are perhaps the most contentious issues. Tim Farron spoke about these when he was interviewed by 'Pink News' today (May 20th, 2015) which can be found here:
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/05/20/interview-tim-farron-addresses-anti-gay-voting-record-and-calls-for-church-of-england-to-be-disestablished/
Tim Farron is a Christian, as am I. He and I come from very similar Christian traditions. I have an enormous amount of respect for the way he balances his faith and politics, about how his faith influences his liberalism, and how he is prepared to stand up and talk about this. I must say I support Tim for leader, not just because he's a Christian, but because of his values- and his ability to communicate the message, and I think that's the most important thing at the moment, rather than whether someone has a slightly different view on some policies.
I'm incredibly encouraged by the way Tim is clear, unashamed, and passionate in his views. He's not a politician who is being interviewed by a magazine, which will be read by many who are instinctively opposed to his faith position, who tries to adapt his beliefs to be liked. He just says 'yes, I'm a Christian, but this is what it means with regard to the issues you care about.' He answers the questions specifically and directly. As well, he argues how it's 'un-Christian' to respond in an unloving, discriminatory way towards people. He suggests the cause of Christianity would be strengthened by dis-establishing the Church of England, a position I strongly support. I may disagree with some of the things he said, I am not sure about the 'spousal veto' for Trans people simply because I don't know enough about it; the same with the reasons why people enter into arrangements for Surrogacy. I have instincts and 'gut feelings' but one of the reasons I am a Liberal is that I will say to these 'hold on' and investigate the issue, look at evidence and find out about how these things affect real people before making up my mind. I would imagine Tim would agree on that, and perhaps one of the reasons people might criticise him for not voting the way they may have wanted him to was because he was, and is, going through this process.
Liberals, and Christians, agree on one thing: That each person is uniquely valuable, and it is from this perspective we come to our conclusions on these matters. It is to preserve and amplify the dignity, worthiness, and potential of each individual. I love what the Liberal Democrat constitution says about not being constrained by conformity. To me, this means we have to accept that we will disagree about these things. I would strongly challenge any Liberal who said we must all agree on these 'matters of conscience' such as assisted dying, abortion in certain circumstances, or the rights of bakers not to bake a cake iced with slogans that opposed their beliefs. I think it's also a fully reasonable position for a liberal politician to personally disagree with one of these issues but vote for, and argue for legislation, that provided equality for those who didn't share their religious faith or that evidence shows will work better to achieve a positive outcome. For example, many Christians may argue against compulsory sex education in schools but if study after study shows that this results in fewer unwanted pregnancies, therefore fewer abortions, then can any reasonable, or indeed Christian, political leader argue 'no, we won't have this, even if this leads to a worse outcome for society?' Yet many do. This is another reason why we need a Liberal Democrat party to argue for evidence based, constructive policy. If you value people, believe we are all valuable, unique and created (or exist) to maximise each person's talent and potential and in so doing live their lives to the full then many of these details should take care of themselves.
I don't think we should just be 'tolerant', we should go beyond tolerance, to follow the commands of Christ to 'love your neighbour as yourself' this means accepting, respecting, celebrating and helping each and every unique individual to make the most of his or her time on this planet. This is why I am a Liberal, and I suspect it may well be a big part of why Tim Farron is a Liberal too.
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