Scottish and Welsh Lib Dems throw their support behind Tim Farron to 'lead our party to recovery'
Tim Farron is seen as the favourite to replace Nick Clegg as Lib Dem leader, with Norman Lamb the only figure likely to oppose him in leadership contest
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Your support makes all the difference.The leaders of the Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats today throw their support behind Tim Farron to become the party’s next leader.
In a joint statement Wille Rennie and Kirsty Williams said that Mr Farron was the “right person to rebuild the Party” after its crushing defeat last week.
Mr Farron will put his name forward as leader in the next few days – and is likely to face the former health minister Norman Lamb in a two way fight to lead the rump of Liberal Democrats in Westminster.
Nominations open on Wednesday. To get on the ballot a contender must secure the endorsement of 10 per cent of MPs - now less than one person - as well as 200 members from at least 20 local Liberal Democrat parties. The wider membership then elects the winner via an alternative vote system, with the verdict due on July 16.
In their statement Mr Rennie and Ms Williams said that the Liberal Democrats had to “earn the right to be listened to again” and that Mr Farron was the right person to do that.
“We believe he is the right person to rebuild our Party, inspire and lead us into next year’s election campaigns,” they said.
“We will wholeheartedly support him if he decides to put himself forward.
"Tim is a committed liberal, a brilliant communicator, an outstanding campaigner and an inspirational leader.
"With him as leader we can show that we are a compassionate, tolerant, internationalist, reformist party that looks beyond sectional interest to the greater good, to our children's future not just ours, that believes in partnership home and abroad not division, that is liberal and democratic.
"We urge Tim to step up and lead our party to recovery."
Mr Farron has yet to confirm that he is standing but said the party needed to "turn anger into action".
“I'm shattered by the results, if I'm honest,” he said. “I'm not going to jump to enormously quick conclusions as to why that was the case.
“But certainly what I saw, you've got to take your hat off to them, was a very effective campaign run by the Scottish nationalists and it would appear the English nationalists, led by David Cameron, on the basis of fear of the other.
“And fear is a hugely motivating factor in elections, I'm sad to report, and what we've got to do is offer something far better than fear - unity, hope, values that draw us together.
“So it's not a case of being a bad loser, it's somebody who is determined not to be a loser again.”
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