LIBERAL Democrat MP Tim Farron has called for Boris Johnson to step down as Prime Minister now - and for an immediate general election.

Mr Farron, Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said: "The thing to remember is that Boris Johnson has not resigned for normal political reasons - he's not leaving with his head held high.

"When Theresa May resigned it was over a political difference and the fact that she was not able, in the eyes of the Conservative party, to get the Brexit deal over the line - it was entirely appropriate in her case for her to remain in office as the caretaker.

"However, this is a man who is resigning after seven months of them failing to take responsibility over lying to the country over something that really mattered, over laws that were enacted to save lives within our NHS at the beginning of the pandemic that he chose to break - and it would appear, in a very cavalier way, that shows a real mocking of the British people.

"I think they should call a general election now - the polls might not look great for them, but they'll be worse in a year or two if the economy continues to decline, and trust continues to erode.

"I don't think it will happen, but there's a chance.

"If I was an independent observer, I'd certainly advise them to, as it least the country can then move forward with a true mandate."

"If he was a headteacher or a council chief executive, and been found responsible for that kind of behaviour, he'd not be given three months to leave, you'd be clearing your desk that day. 

"It sets a shocking example that he's allowed to pretend that this is just a normal exit from office - it's not, this is a person departing from office in disgrace, seven months too late."

READ MORE: 'I know people who died' - Tim Farron emotional on why Partygate matters

As the only MP in Cumbria who will not be voting for the new Conservative leader, Mr Farron said it was not for him to comment on who the Conservative Party should elect.

He said: "We don't fear any leader of the Conservative Party - they are now in a situation where it has done so much damage, and is so out of touch, particularly in rural communities like ours, that I don't think that anybody in the Conservative Party that has provided Boris Johnson with cover over the last few months is going to be able to look the British people in the eye and ask them for trust."