The Lib Dems have announced their new leader - but here's why that doesn't matter

Tim Farron has been announced as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after beating his only challenger, Norman Lamb, in the leadership election.

Mr Farron, who got 56.5 per cent of the vote, has been critical of the party’s record in government, while former coalition minister Lamb largely defended it.

Mr Farron assumes control of a party with just eight MPs, including himself, and faces a massive challenge to restore the party's fortunes.

There is an issue with how the Lib Dems are perceived. They are seen as the least clear about what they stand for compared to the other parties.

The news is only slightly better for Labour, a party which has been portrayed in the media as in the throes of its own identity crisis.

While the Lib Dems previously had few seats with a decent proportion of the national vote, it cannot even blame the electoral system for the most recent election results in which it achieved only 7.8 per cent of the national vote for eight seats.

This was less than that of Ukip, who only achieved one seat with 12.6 per cent vote-share.

The party has increased its membership by 30 per cent, but Labour has seen a similar surge, suggesting bad election results and leadership contests mean this reaction isn’t remarkable.

Most forebodingly, YouGov polling also reveals that the party is not seen as resilient.

The most recent figures say 47 per cent expect the Lib Dems to fade away from British politics in 10 years compared to only 29 per cent who believe it will remain an important force

All in all, Tim Farron has a rather large task ahead of him.

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