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Election 2015: Fears for the new leader of the Lib Dems The Lib Dems have elected an impressive new leader, but there are doubts over whether Vince Cable will make a difference. The Lib Dems' leadership crisis has ended with the selection of Tim Farron, pictured. Photo / AP Tim Farron made history as the first openly gay leader of a major British party as he was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats. Mr Farron received 51.1 per cent of the vote in the second round of the contest against Norman Lamb, who finished with 48.9 per cent. The result is another blow for the party that will now hope Mr Farron can bring a lift to its support. Although it was a narrow defeat, they had hoped to come out on top after taking the first round. Mr Lamb and Mr Farron were facing off following the resignation of Nick Clegg in the wake of the party's poor performance in the general election. "This was a very disappointing result for us and a great disappointment to me personally," Mr Clegg told the Press Association, saying he felt "gutted" by the result. "I never really felt this election was one I would win, as it's always very difficult for a third party, and I'm sure there were many who shared that view," he added. "I respect the result and wish Tim Farron well in leading us into the future." The 46-year-old, an evangelical Christian who served as the only openly gay MP in the House of Commons from 2010 until 2015, was not seen as a natural successor to Mr Clegg, who saw his party decimated by the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party. Mr Farron, however, had the support of much of the party's activist base and much of the media, who praised his campaigning on issues such as LGBT rights, equality and social justice. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn congratulated Mr Farron on his victory, which came after the former leader of the party had been an MP for less than two months. He will be the first Lib Dem leader since 2010 and is expected to work towards forming a pro-EU centrist alliance with Labour - something he pledged to work for before the election. Labour took the Lib Dems' place as the third largest party in parliament, although leader and Prime Minister David Cameron announced this morning he would stay in the coalition with the Tories after a meeting with Mr Clegg. The party has a long history of leader re-shuffles, with Charles Kennedy resigning after 12 years in 2007. Former party leader Paddy Ashdown had an even shorter tenure of nine months, but led the party at its best - taking 25 per cent of the popular vote in 1997 and nearly taking the number of seats at Westminster. Mr Farron will be a novice MP after being selected as the Lib Dems' candidate only last month. At 39, he is one of the youngest MPs and will likely be able to attract much younger support, similar to the Greens' Caroline Lucas. This result is a major blow for the Greens, who had hoped to take the Lib Dems' place as the third largest party, gaining one of their five seats. "We're obviously disappointed," Green MP Caroline Lucas said. "But we know the reasons why Tim Farron won. It wasn't because people voted for him but because people voted against the way we're running the country right now. " The Green Party won a record 7.6 per cent of the vote, beating the Lib Dems' disastrous showing and making them the fourth largest party in Britain. Their 3.6 per cent of the vote would normally give them five seats at Westminster, but they will likely be reduced to four, along with the two Northern Ireland seats held by the SDLP. The Lib Dems will also take with them former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell, who died earlier this year. A by-election is expected to take place later this year or early next year. This result, like much of the election, means that no political party has secured a majority in Parliament, despite the British public voting to end coalition government last week. A total of 50 parties have now registered to fight the election - including Ukip and the English Democrats - and there have been calls for the campaign period to be delayed to reduce the cost. The Lib Dems could even win another seat if the Conservatives' candidate is forced to step down. Former Defence Minister Mike Penning resigned his seat after being caught buying cocaine, and may be asked to stand down or not fight the vote. If he decides not to stand, he may not be replaced, which could make this seat vulnerable. The 2015 election was unusual for how little political coverage it garnered, with all the main party leaders choosing not to run for the post. The party that secured the biggest popular vote, the Conservatives, were left with the largest number of seats, although Labour had a slight lead on the Conservatives in terms of votes. Although the party entered the election on a high, with Mr Cameron and his finance minister George Osborne leading the polls, the Lib Dems fell back into third place after the Brexit vote and then poor performance in May's election, after which they lost the majority of their MPs. Mr Farron will take over a party in a state of flux, with the defeat of former Lib Dem president Tim Farron - the only MP to be elected leader and then lose his seat - coming just five years after the party swept to power in Britain's first green government, led by Sir Nick Clegg. The party has moved leftwards under Nick Clegg's leadership but this ultimately failed to win them seats. It is now moving towards the centre under the younger leadership of Mr Farron, who will hope to win back voters in the north and north-east. Party members were urged to have a more "moderate" leader with "fresh ideas" and Mr Farron's leadership credentials were widely praised in a lengthy interview with The Independent this week in which he backed a second EU referendum. But he is already facing significant opposition from within his own party, which has been dominated by MPs who are opposed to his moderate politics. The left-wing was bolstered after he told the BBC it was "absolutely fantastic" that the UK had voted to leave the EU, but that he would support keeping "as much of the benefits as we can". There is also pressure from within the party to keep Lib Dem policies rather than adopt new liberal policies. Leadership changes have historically been rare in British politics, and both leaders saw their offices change hands. Winston Churchill, the Conservative Prime Minister, saw his son as a future Tory leader, the only father to do so. Harold Wilson had his Labour Party rival, Hugh Gaitskell, die shortly after he became party leader in 1964. Tony Blair was the first of many prime ministers to face a challenge from his own front bench. The election also saw the rise of smaller parties, with Ukip winning the Brexit vote and the Greens going from 0.4 per cent of the vote to over 7 per cent, winning three seats, all of which were won by local candidates. The results of the election will also have a significant impact on the 2016 general election. This result is yet another reminder of the unpredictability of British elections. The Labour party suffered another setback in the general election but are unlikely to repeat it at the next one, despite the Brexit vote, as Mr Cameron stays on as prime minister and looks unlikely to seek the Tory leadership. The party is planning to hold a special conference this month to discuss policies to counter the vote to leave the EU. There will be a new Prime Minister by the summer, though the government is likely to be a minority one and have a hard time forming a stable government, making life difficult for whoever takes over from Mr Clegg.