Farron joins race to become new Lib Dem leader

Tim Farron has declared he has entered the Liberal Democrat leadership race.

• Read more: Farron wins support for potential Lib Dem leadership bid

The former party president told BBC Radio 4's Today programme:

Mr Farron joins former health minister Norman Lamb as the contenders to replace Nick Clegg following the party's disastrous general election results.

The "debacle" of the Liberal Democrats' U-turn on university tuition fees "massively undermined" voters' trust in the party, one of its leadership candidates has said.

Norman Lamb said the Liberal Democrats had learned an "extremely painful lesson" from raising tuition fees to £9,000 while in coalition government with the Conservatives, despite ex-leader Nick Clegg's pledge to vote against any increase.

"Trust for me is critically important and that debacle massively undermined people's trust in the party," he told BBC Radio 4.

"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."

Lamb - who confirmed to ITV Anglia yesterday that he wanted to replace Nick Clegg - voted in favour of tuition fee increases in 2010, while his potential rival for the leadership, Tim Farron, rebelled and voted against the policy.

Norman Lamb said he has "never shrunk away from a challenge" as he announced he will run for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats.

The Norfolk North M, who held his seat with a reduced majority of 4,043, said he would put "body and soul" into the job.

Speaking to ITV News Anglia, Mr Lamb said: "I think we've got a lot of learning to do and we've got to understand where we went wrong.

"..I suspect in the next five years, with the Conservatives on their own, people might start to see what a good restraining influence we were and also some of the very progressive policies that we actually achieved in government."

He is the first to declare his bid in a race expected to be dominated by him and former party president Tim Farron, who has expressed anger that the election was fought "on the politics of fear".

Norman Lamb says he considering standing for the position of Liberal Democrat leader.

Lamb told ITV Anglia's Malcolm Robertson he will make an announcement on his decision in the near future.

Tim Farron has won the support of his Scottish and Welsh counterparts, as a possible contender for the Liberal Democrat leadership role.

Farron has not yet said if he intends to run for the post but he is already being touted by colleagues Willie Rennie and Kirsty Williams as "an inspirational leader".

Rennie and Williams released a joint statement today that said: "Tim is a committed liberal, a brilliant communicator, an outstanding campaigner and an inspirational leader.

"With him as leader we can show that we are a compassionate, tolerant, internationalist, reformist party that looks beyond sectional interest to the greater good, to our children's future not just ours, that believes in partnership home and abroad, not division, that is liberal and democratic."

Tim Farron, one of the Liberal Democrats' last remaining MPs, has insisted that his party is not dead despite their dreadful showing in Thursday's General Election.

He told ITV News that if his party did not exist, "you would have to invent it".

He said: "We are absolutely going to fight back and rebuild from the grass roots, because the space is there that needs to be filled."

One of only eight surviving Liberal Democrats MPs, Greg Mulholland, has said the party's new leader must be someone who defied former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg over student fees.

Mr Mulholland, who hung onto his seat in Leeds North West, has ruled himself out of the running but appeared to endorse Tim Farron with a call for a 'tuition fee rebel' to take over the position.

He said the controversy over the issue, along with backing NHS reforms and the so-called "bedroom tax" was one of "three fatal errors" made by Mr Clegg after he took the "right decision" to join forces with the Tories.

Nick Clegg has stepped down from his position as leader of the Liberal Democrats following the party's devastating losses overnight.

In a stark resignation speech, Mr Clegg said "fear and grievance has won" after seeing his party lose scores of seats for what will be its worst ever election result.

Mr Clegg warned Britain's place in Europe and the world and future as a united kingdom "is now in grave jeopardy".