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Tim Farron: Unhappy Labour MPs reaching out to Lib Dems | Tim Farron: Unhappy Labour MPs reaching out to Lib Dems |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has been contacted by Labour MPs unhappy with their new leader, he has said. | Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has been contacted by Labour MPs unhappy with their new leader, he has said. |
Asked if the MPs were thinking of defecting, Mr Farron said he did not want to "betray confidences". | Asked if the MPs were thinking of defecting, Mr Farron said he did not want to "betray confidences". |
But he told BBC News it would be "not surprising" if they had serious doubts about the direction Labour was taking under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. | But he told BBC News it would be "not surprising" if they had serious doubts about the direction Labour was taking under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. |
Mr Farron said he was contacted via text messages after Mr Corbyn was elected Labour leader on Saturday. | Mr Farron said he was contacted via text messages after Mr Corbyn was elected Labour leader on Saturday. |
He said he had also spoken on the telephone to Labour MPs, but he declined to name names or say whether they were front bench figures. | He said he had also spoken on the telephone to Labour MPs, but he declined to name names or say whether they were front bench figures. |
'Lazarus effect' | |
Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: "I've had various unsolicited texts, some of them over the weekend, where I felt like I was being an agony aunt rather than anything else. | Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: "I've had various unsolicited texts, some of them over the weekend, where I felt like I was being an agony aunt rather than anything else. |
"People who have been members of the [Labour] party for as long as I've been a member of mine who feel that they don't recognise their party anymore and feel deeply distressed." | |
Mr Farron, who was elected Lib Dem leader in July, was speaking ahead of the party's annual conference in Bournemouth, which gets under way at the weekend. | Mr Farron, who was elected Lib Dem leader in July, was speaking ahead of the party's annual conference in Bournemouth, which gets under way at the weekend. |
It is the party's first gathering since its crushing defeat at May's general election, when it lost all but eight of its MPs. | It is the party's first gathering since its crushing defeat at May's general election, when it lost all but eight of its MPs. |
Mr Farron has called the election of Mr Corbyn a "quite staggering opportunity" for his party to occupy the centre ground in British politics, which he believes is being rapidly vacated by the New Labour leader in favour of a hard left agenda. | Mr Farron has called the election of Mr Corbyn a "quite staggering opportunity" for his party to occupy the centre ground in British politics, which he believes is being rapidly vacated by the New Labour leader in favour of a hard left agenda. |
Quizzed about his contacts with Labour MPs on the BBC's Look North, he said: "I am keen to be a decent sort and not betray any confidences - but it would be not surprising if Labour MPs, voters, members and indeed donors were thinking hang about this isn't the Labour Party that I voted for, I need a party that will hold the Tories to account, that can beat the Tories and which believes not just in social justice and fairness, but also in sound economics. | Quizzed about his contacts with Labour MPs on the BBC's Look North, he said: "I am keen to be a decent sort and not betray any confidences - but it would be not surprising if Labour MPs, voters, members and indeed donors were thinking hang about this isn't the Labour Party that I voted for, I need a party that will hold the Tories to account, that can beat the Tories and which believes not just in social justice and fairness, but also in sound economics. |
"Because you can't protect the health service if the economy goes down the plughole." | "Because you can't protect the health service if the economy goes down the plughole." |
Former foreign secretary Jack Straw played down the prospect of Labour MPs defecting to other parties, suggesting the experience of the SDP in the 1980s made that "very unlikely". | |
But he said the new leadership could have a "Lazarus effect" on the Liberal Democrats, in an interview with BBC Radio 4's The World at One. |
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