At midnight tonight, Tim Farron hands the mantle of Liberal Democrat Leadership to Vince Cable. We are looking at some of the best bits of his two year and four days in charge. 

Less than 3 weeks after being elected leader, Tim Farron went to Calais to see the refugee crisis for himself.  As the humanitarian crisis worsened and the Tories ignored the dreadful suffering on our doorstep,, Tim, alone amongst UK wide party leaders, called for action. He was the first to go to Calais to see for himself what was going on.  Here’s how we brought you that news at the time.

For Tim Farron, the situation in Calais has always been primarily a humanitarian one. He was furious last week when David Cameron described the desperately vulnerable people there as a “swarm.” Most recently he asked Cameron to make sure that we were doing our fair share to end the “immeasurable suffering” of the people in Calais. He wrote:

I am sure you agree that it is heartbreaking to see hundreds of desperate people subsisting in makeshift camps night after night, willing to risk life and limb in the hope of a better future while many in Kent and across the country see their daily lives hugely disrupted through no fault of their own.

I welcome your commitment yesterday to providing France with the resources needed to deal with the situation and am writing to seek assurances that alongside the necessary security measures, support will also be given to humanely process those seeking asylum, return those who have no right to remain, and ensure that, in line with international obligations, standards of welfare and accommodation are urgently improved.

Today he went to Calais to see the situation on the ground for himself.

I’ve been in Calais today meeting with refugees and NGO workers to learn about the situation on the ground pic.twitter.com/1kIJncgmDV

— Tim Farron (@timfarron) August 4, 2015

And he’s not just gone and met with “officials.” He’s actually been talking to refugees themselves.

It’s been good to meet with refugees and see the work of organisations like Medecins du Monde in Calais today pic.twitter.com/6jtiDQobHi

— Tim Farron (@timfarron) August 4, 2015

No doubt we will hear more from him in the next few days about his experience in Calais.

Update: Here he is talking to the Guardian:

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social