Tim Farron will lead the UK's Liberal Democrat party, beating his only rival for the post, Norman Lamb, after the party voted to replace outgoing leader and former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, it was announced today.
The difficult task of rebuild the Lib Dems now falls on Farron who inherits a party which has lost two thirds of its voters and all but eight of its 57 MPs at the last general election, after Clegg led them into a coalition government with the Conservatives.
The results of the leadership election were published on Twitter, with Farron's first speech as leader due to be live-streamed by the party online as well. Tweeting about his victory Farron branded the UK "a liberal country".
THANK YOU! This is a liberal country. Our job now is to turn millions of liberals throughout the UK into Liberal Democrats #LibDemFightback
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) July 16, 2015
Lamb was gracious in defeat, claiming Farron would be a "fantastic" leader, while Nick Clegg tweeted with words of caution.
Congratulations to new @libdems leader @timfarron. It's a tough job but the best in politics. I know Tim will do us proud #libdemfightback
— Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) July 16, 2015
In an interview with the Guardian during his campaign, Farron said he would not want to continue down the centrist path that his predecessor chose for the party, saying "If we cheese off 70% of the electorate, but 30% embrace us, we'll have that."
Farron is decidedly on the left of his party and has been popular with activists because of his criticism for the compromises made by the Lib Dems as part of the coalition government. He was not given a ministerial or cabinet position under Clegg and instead became party president.
He has strong grassroots experience, serving in three different local councils before becoming an MP in 2005 and he voted against the controversial decision to raise tuition fees - a Lib Dem U-turn which immediately dented Lib Dem popularity.
The Telegraph focuses on Farron's devout Christianity and his single-parent upbringing in their profile of the MP. They highlight Farron's abstention from votes in the House of Commons on gay couples' right to adopt and fertility treatment for lesbians.
Former Chief Secretary of the Treasury Danny Alexander, who was one of the Lib Dems' most senior figures in office but lost his seat at the election has already warned against the party rebranding itself as a "soggy Syriza in sandals", referring to the far-left Greek ruling party.
In a column for the New Statesman he urges surviving MPs to remain moderates, writing that "the centre ground is no guarantee of electoral success, but vacating it is a sure precursor of failure".
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