Norman Lamb, the first Liberal Democrat to declare his candidacy for the party leadership, has conceded that Nick Clegg's broken promise on university tuition fees 'massively undermined' voter trust. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lamb described the decision to raise the fee cap to £9,000 as a 'debacle' that cost the party dearly.
Lamb, the former care minister and one of only eight Lib Dem MPs left after the general election, said the party had learned an 'extremely painful lesson' from the tuition fees fiasco. 'Trust for me is critically important and that debacle massively undermined people's trust in the party,' he said. 'I believe very strongly that we have now learned a massive lesson, an extremely painful one. But I don't think we will ever make that mistake again.'
Despite his criticism of the policy, Lamb paid tribute to Clegg, who resigned as party leader on Friday after the Lib Dems lost 48 of their 56 MPs. He said Clegg had played a 'heroic part' in the campaign and that 'history will judge his contribution well'. However, he acknowledged the party faced a 'perfect storm' in the election, with the SNP gaining seats and the Conservatives targeting Lib Dem constituencies.
Explaining his decision to stand for the leadership, Lamb said he had never sought the top job for its own sake but was driven by conviction. 'I am at heart a conviction politician,' he said. 'In very many respects this is a liberal age, and yet people who have liberal values, liberal views, don't always associate themselves with our party. We have to make our party the voice of those people.' He emphasised his commitment to giving 'power to people', describing it as the heart of his liberalism.
The Lib Dems aim to choose a new leader by mid-July, with the contest expected to be a head-to-head between Lamb and Tim Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale. Farron, a former party president, is the frontrunner due to his popularity with grassroots activists and his opposition to the coalition's tripling of tuition fees. Nominations open on Wednesday, and the winner will be announced on 16 July.
