Coalition ‘jars’ with Lib Dem Farron
By politics.co.uk staff
Liberal Democrat deputy leadership loser Tim Farron has hit out at the coalition.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Farron, who lost out to Simon Hughes for the deputy leadership post earlier this month, said that the Conservatives and Lib Dems were “ideologically a poor fit”.
He said that while he believed party leader Nick Clegg had established a good relationship with Mr Cameron there was a clear different between the two.
“Nick Clegg is a social liberal, a liberal democrat in the truest tradition, and whilst I’m he respects David Cameron’s ideas, in the sense that they are working together, there is a very clear difference between the two of them,” he said.
“There will be lots of things that jar with them ideologically.”
Mr Farron was seen during Wednesday’s emergency Budget sitting apart from most of his colleagues in the gallery overlooking the Commons chamber.
Many Lib Dem MPs are known to be deeply uncomfortable with George Osborne’s decision to raise VAT from 17.5% to 20%.
Labour leadership candidate Ed Miliband is set to call on the Lib Dems to vote against the Budget later.
“It’s very very odd to be sitting amongst a group of people I spent 20-odd years fighting against,” Mr Farron added.
Mr Hughes, who was chosen to replace Vince Cable as Mr Clegg’s deputy by Lib Dem MPs, voiced his clear support for the coalition despite having been denied a post in the government.
