Intriguing insights into the struggles of being a Christian in today’s toxic political atmosphere are liberally offered in a relatively new autobiography.

A Better Ambition tells of the traumatic, rollercoaster ride of former Liberal Democrat Party leader Tim Farron, particularly during his two-year period in charge from 2017.

The reply that came back to haunt

He had been a faithful Lake District constituency MP for some years, before emerging on the national scene. This presented the opportunity for opponents, and especially journalists, to ‘expose’ his evangelical credentials, which stood in marked contrast to the woke culture of the day.

The ‘big question’ Farron kept being asked, and which he repeatedly evaded for a host of reasons (political survival included), was the rather puerile: “Is gay sex a sin?” It was clearly designed to make him look stupid, or at least unworthy of being taken seriously in a post-Christian era. And although it eventually led to his resignation, it also succeeded in showing up the mainstream left as being anything but liberal – a point he makes very strongly throughout the book, devoting a long chapter to the challenge of ‘Redeeming Liberalism’.

Although it eventually led to his resignation, it also succeeded in showing up the mainstream left as being anything but liberal.

The big question actually turned out, in my opinion, to be the elephant in the room, exposing the metropolitan elite’s inability to perceive the obvious about a society that has lost its way. Tim admits to weak handling of these persistent media questions, wishing he had come out with a straight answer earlier on that could perhaps have nipped it in the bud. When eventually wearied into answering “No”, it came as a relief to colleagues, but left him miserable and ashamed, rather as Peter had been after denying Jesus three times.

The hypocrisy of liberalism

The truth is that party policy (or at least how it was generally understood) clashed with his Christian faith. True commitment to Christ will inevitably shape one’s worldview. And British liberalism, Farron points out, was built on the foundations of Christianity. His Christian views were perfectly acceptable in days gone by. David Lloyd George (a Liberal) headed a cabinet which approved Jewish restoration on the basis of scriptural promises.

But we are now blighted by a woke agenda which has hijacked all the main parties, and many ‘liberals’ want to impose their tyranny of opinion on everyone else. The original non-Conformists are now insisting that we all conform. That Farron became party leader at all (and President before that) in this politically correct era was a great achievement.

Honesty and integrity

This is a good read and I enjoyed the narrative on his political campaigning. I especially warmed to Tim’s honesty and integrity. He did partially revive Lib-Dem fortunes after a virtual wipe out at the polls, and his conscientious constituency work is reflected in the lovely story he tells of the seven-year-old girl, during a school visit, who asked him if he helped people get passports.

We are now blighted by a woke agenda which has hijacked all the main parties, and many ‘liberals’ want to impose their tyranny of opinion on everyone else.

He thought for a minute, then replied: “Actually, I do sometimes. I remember a couple whose son went to live in Brazil, where he met a lovely woman and they got married and had a baby. But the sad thing was that they couldn’t get permission to come back to Britain because the baby wasn’t allowed a British passport. Anyhow, I fought very hard and we got that baby a passport and it all ended happily.” The little girl then beamed back at him and said, “That was me!” It was that sort of thing that made all the angst worthwhile.

I’ve learnt much through Tim’s frankness and it confirms why the Lord clearly told me to read this book when I saw it on a Waterstone’s counter waiting to be collected by a customer. I had been a political activist myself, growing up in apartheid South Africa and was intrigued to learn how Tim handled the ever-thinning tightrope of juggling politics with Christian faith.

Seeming contradiction

I am not a Liberal supporter. I struggle with their pro-European and other key policies, including LGBT rights, which Tim consistently claimed to back on the basis that Christians should not impose their beliefs on the non-believing public. But he seems to contradict this stance when referring to the “unshifting rights and wrongs” of Christian belief, without which we have lost our reference point and moral certainty (p.244).

This book is a powerful testimony of a true disciple’s faith in Christ, through thick and thin.

It is important to stress that this is also a powerful testimony of a true disciple’s faith in Christ, through thick and thin. This includes confessing his own ‘sin’ of pre-marital sex with a non-Christian girlfriend, which temporarily drew him away from practising his faith, and possibly also coloured his reluctance to be up-front about his views on sex.

In a post-leadership interview with Premier Christian Radio, Farron acknowledged that while he had never sought to comment on the issue of whether gay sex was a sin, “it was nevertheless not right for any of us to say that we know better than God what counts as sin” (p.282). Predictably, this sparked off a storm of abuse, leading to a dark valley, through which the Lord thankfully rescued him.

What counts to God

The Bible’s account of Israel’s kings demonstrated that what humans considered important (activities, ambitions and achievements) are actually of secondary importance, while the things we tend to neglect and consider less significance (character, integrity and our relationship with God) are of ultimate importance (p.289).

Tim concludes by stating his ambition “to serve my constituents and to serve God by using the space he has given me to speak out on the need for real liberalism, for rational politics, for a politics that is genuinely kinder and gentler, and for the duty of a free society to understand that faith is an essential part of a liberal and decent country”.

A Better Ambition (hardback) is published by SPCK Books, and is available from Amazon for £13.77 (RRP £22.99)