Farron has been Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, when he defeated senior Conservative Tim Collins. In parliament Farron has served on the Education and Skills and the European Scrutiny Select Committees. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Menzies Campbell when the latter lead the party and later served as Home Affairs Spokesman. Farron resigned from the frontbench in 2008 in protest at the party’s abstention from a vote on the EU referendum but later returned as Environment Spokesman. In May 2010 Farron stood for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats but lost to Simon Hughes. Later that year he was successful in the election for Party President, serving two terms until 2015. Following the 2015 and the resignation of Nick Clegg Farron announced that he would be a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats. He won the the contest with 56.5% of the vote over North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb. He led the party with some skill during a turbulent period in British politics which included the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU and saw the party secure a modest increase in seats at the 2017 election. However, after the election, Farron resigned the leadership citing in part his personal struggle to reconcile living as a Christian with his role as party leader. He currently speaks for the party on Housing, Local Government,  Food & Rural Affairs and the North of England.