Tonight it was Tim Farron’s turn to take centre stage in the last instalment of the Andrew Neil interviews. Unfortunately for the Liberal Democrats, his performance could also be described as the worst of all five interviews. The Lib Dem leader repeatedly clashed with the broadcaster as he ducked out of questions, filibustered and squirmed while attempting to explain his party’s position on the EU, security and cannabis legalisation.
With the Liberal Democrats promising a ‘second referendum’ on the final Brexit deal (while insisting they ‘respect’ the EU referendum result), Neil asked Farron what Britain’s exit from the EU ought to look like. However, Farron struggled to explain how this should differ at all from being a fully-fledged EU member:
AN: Shall I give you one more chance to answer the question, which is that if we remain under the European Court’s jurisdiction, if we are subject to free movement of peoples, if we’re subject to laws and regulations made in Brussels in what way will we have left the European Union?
TF: Well, for example, over the last 20 years Nigel Farage and others have toured the country telling us let’s be more like Norway.
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