New MP aims to make his mark (From The Westmorland Gazette)

New MP aims to make his mark

9:05am Friday 13th May 2005 in

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THE newly-elected MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron said he wished his mother was still alive to see his victory.

Liberal Democrat Mr Farron, 34, beat the Conservative former shadow education secretary Tim Collins, who had held the seat for eight years, by just 267 votes in a nail-biting recount.

He said: "My mum passed away last July and I would have loved it if she could have seen me."

Mr Farron has been settling into life in Westminster but is already "itching" to get back to his patch a week after he won the seat.

Mr Farron, who lives in Milnthorpe, said: "I don't dislike it here, it's exciting, but I really didn't get elected to parliament so I could swan around Westminster."

He still does not have an office in the House of Commons and has squeezed into the room of Paul Holmes, MP for Chesterfield.

Mr Farron said two things had made this election win sink in: first, seeing himself on television captioned as MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale; and, secondly, seeing a map of the United Kingdom with a "big yellow splodge" for his constituency.

He said he expected to be sworn in as an MP by the end of the week and take his seat on the green leather benches of the Commons' chamber for the first time.

Most of his time so far has been taken up with an induction into the mysteries and practicalities of working in the labyrinthine Gothic building, as well as meeting party colleagues.

"I'm not really fazed by the history of the place," he said. "People who are here are here to do a job and if they get too full of the importance of the place, they end up doing a worse job."

The man who describes himself as "quite an anorak about music", listing Prefab Sprout, The Smiths and The Strokes as bands he enjoys listening to.

He is also a Blackburn Rovers fan and can sometimes be seen at the reserves' games when they play in Morecambe.

Mr Farron, who is a practising Christian, said he intended that his maiden speech in the House would include the main issue he intended to tackle - affordable housing.

He gave his opinion on other issues affecting South Lakeland, such as the 10mph speed limit on Windermere: "I would have liked to have seen a compromise solution (between fans and opponents of the ban). It's a shame one wasn't found."

On second homes, he said he wanted their owners to pay taxes higher than the current council tax and added he would push for changes to planning laws that would prevent first-time buyers' homes being changed into second homes.

Mr Farron said he was intending to take a break from his hectic life in the next couple of weeks and visit the Scottish Highlands, possibly taking a trip towards Mull, home of his daughter Gracie's favourite television show, Balamory.

Told that the current BBC series was the last, he quipped: "That's devastating news. Don't tell Gracie. I'm going back to write a press release!"

The turnout for the election was 71.8 per cent, up from 68.07 per cent in 2001.

Result: Tim Farron (Lib Dem) 22,569; Tim Collins (Con) 22,302; John Reardon (Labour) 3,796; Robert Gibson (United Kingdom Independence Party) 660; Anthony Kemp (Independent) 309.