Seven Facts About New Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron

Meet Tim Farron, the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. He beat rival Norman Lamb by 56.5% to 43.5% in the race to succeed Nick Clegg.

The MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale has a huge challenge to whip his party back into electable shape after their drubbing at the 2015 General Election.

So who is he? Here are seven facts you should know about the man who has succeeded Nick Clegg.

:: Tim Farron is one of only eight Liberal Democrat MPs.

This somewhat takes the shine off his leadership victory, as he had a one in eight chance of winning anyway. It also illustrates the mountain his party has to climb before the next election – it’s no exaggeration to say that the future of the Lib Dems is at stake.

:: He voted against the tuition fee hike.

At the time Tim Farron faced criticism for attacking his own party’s stance on tuition fees – but it does leave him with far less baggage going forward.

The tuition fee U-turn led to a sense of betrayal among former Lib Dem voters, particularly students. Mr Farron said the Lib Dems should have "died in a ditch" to keep their promise.

:: He's a devout Christian.

Fervent Christians are a rarity among the Lib Dems. But Tim Farron believes every word that's written in the Bible.

He's previously said: "You wouldn’t run a campaign against somebody standing for leader if they were a secular humanist, or Jewish or Muslim …. I was once slagged off by somebody senior for being a 'God-bothering little ****' so I think there's a sense that you can't possibly have a Christian leading a liberal party."

:: Tim Farron has a hard task ahead uniting a divided party.

His rival Norman Lamb secured 14,760 votes at the election compared with Tim Farron’s 19,137.

That’s closer than many people thought and indicates many Lib Dem members are still supportive of the so-called 'Orange Book' wing of the party.

One of his key tasks ahead will be to unite these two sides of the Lib Dems (after all, they can barely afford to lose any more members).

:: If he wasn't a politician, he could have been a rock star.

In the 1980s Tim Farron was part of a band which went through various names including Fred the Girl and The Voyeurs.

:: One of his red lines in any coalition negotiations would be proportional representation without a referendum.

That is a tall order. And the Lib Dems would need to get rather more than eight MPs elected if they have any chance of getting it through.

:: He knows a thing or two about winning elections.

Needless to say, 2015 was not a good year to be a Lib Dem but Tim Farron managed to win his seat with a 51.5% majority – their only MP to win with a margin of more than 50%.

That’s particularly impressive when you consider that he ended 95 years of Conservative rule in 2005 by just 276 votes.