He was a 21-year-old university graduate who had fronted a New Romantic pop band. She was 36 and head of European affairs at the Association for Payment Clearing Services.
When Tim Farron met Theresa May in their first election tussle for the North West Durham constituency back in 1992, their personal lives and policies were already worlds apart.
But a trawl by i through newspaper clippings in the vaults of Durham library has revealed how the Liberal Democrat leader and the Tory Prime Minister both shared youthful dreams of climbing the greasy pole of politics.
“There is more to do to achieve the Conservative vision of a Britain of choice and opportunity for all,” said Mrs May as she outlined her ambitions in the Consett and Stanley Advertiser exactly 25 years ago.
‘I’ve always been a bit of a front man’
“I’ve always been a bit of a front man,” Mr Farron told another newspaper. “I like talking. I’ve got a big gob.”
In hindsight, Theresa May stood little chance of stealing North West Durham from Labour’s Hilary Armstrong, who had replaced her father Ernest Armstrong as MP in 1987.
The 61,000 electorate was still angry with the Tories over the 1980 closure of the Consett steelworks, which cost 3,700 jobs and was dubbed “Margaret Thatcher’s first victim” and “the murder of a town” by the press.
I’m Tim Farron and I am a mere 21-years-old. I come from a working class background and was educated at state school.
Tim Farron, 1992
When Mrs Armstrong visited a junior school during the campaign, teachers decided to present three pupils as election candidates, but none of the youngsters could be persuaded to be a Tory – until a 10-year-old was told to step forward.
Mr Farron, however, had been hopeful of making gains after the Liberal Democrats seized control of the Wear Valley district council from Labour. Long before the days of austerity, the council was having to make spending cuts to avoid Poll Tax capping.
During the campaign, a journalist pondered whether Mr Farron could become the youngest MP since 15-year-old Henry Long won Old Sarum in 1435.
“I’m Tim Farron and I am a mere 21-years-old,” Mr Farron told the Consett and Stanley Advertiser. “At the age of 16, I joined the Liberal Party because I believed then, as I still believe, that everyone should have the right to a decent home, job education and standard of life, no matter who they are.”
Mr Farron revealed in another interview how his political awakening had come at the age of nine, when he stayed up until 3am to watch the 1979 General Election and “got a day off school”.
At the age of 11, he had won a seat on the school council by putting up his friend to split the opposition vote, adding: “I’ve always been a devious bugger.”
He said had joined Greenpeace at 14 and had paid “30 bob” at 16 to become a Liberal. The young political activist was also a supporter of Shelter, the Christian Union and Charter 88 – a pressure group devoted to constitutional and electoral reform.
‘A slight and boyish figure’
He also revealed the difficulty in his role as president of the Newcastle University students’ union, saying it was “a pretty big thing” to be “among so many militants and Trotskyists to whom you’re a Nazi if you aren’t into revolution tomorrow.”
“The environment was the big thing for me,” he told a journalist at the height of the campaign. “Things like employment are incredibly important, but if you aren’t here in 40 years’ time, what’s the point anyway?”
The Northern Echo‘s election diarist saw Mr Farron as a “slight and boyish figure and a suit that seemed three sizes too big”.
“The person with the yellow rosette looked barely old enough to sup the pint we put in front of him,” he said, but agreed he was a “quite a remarkable fellow”.
The newspaper said Mr Farron believed that Labour was “undemocratic, totalitarian and outdated”, and also suggested he was a grudging admirer of Margaret Thatcher, reporting that he said: “Her principles might have stunk, but at least she was principled.”
‘In my spare time, I am a bit of a footballer’
In setting out his manifesto in the Consett Advertiser, Mr Farron also revealed: “In my spare time, I am a bit of a footballer and I am also a keen debater.”
He said: “I want your vote because I think it is time that we put an end to Punch and Judy politics and actually had a government with radical and sensible policies to get Northern people back to work.
”In my opinion, Tories and Labour are both Conservatives, they won’t change anything. The Liberal Democrats aren’t perfect, but we are proposing a radical alternative to the last 40 years of economic misery and environmental vandalism of Labour and Conservative governments.“
Mrs May set out her own election pitch by telling the paper of her concern about potholes and poor street lights.
”I have enjoyed getting to know local people and finding out the issues concerning them,“ she said. ”Many of those issues relate to council services such as the lack of road maintenance, pavement repairs or the length of time it takes to get street lights mended.“
Her hobby was cooking
Her CV, sent to local journalists during the campaign, revealed she had achieved 11 O Levels, three A levels and one S level before going up to Oxford to do an MA in Geography.
Her non-political interests included being an active member of the Church of England and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Her hobby, she said, was cooking.
Mrs May, in comments eerily reminiscent of 2017, said at the time: ”Voters at the coming election will be faced with a clear choice between the Britain of high taxes and no choice of the Labour Party and the low tax opportunity Britain of the Conservatives.”
Much has been achieved, but there is more to do to achieve the Conservative vision of a Britain of choice and opportunity for all.
Theresa May, 1992
She added: “Conservatives value the quality of life – that’s why the Government has worked to increase the efficiency and value for money in the services provided by the public sector and local councils, and to protect those services which maintain our quality of life.
”Much has already been done and choice has been extended in ways not thought possible – in schools parental choice has been increased.“
‘Tea and cakes’
In the Commons earlier this week, Mr Farron criticised Mrs May for not wanting to take part in a TV debate when they had ”debated forcefully“ back in 1992 and claimed she had ”called out“ the sitting Labour MP Hilary Armstrong for not showing up to some of the hustings.
The election was won decisively by Mrs Armstrong, who beat Mrs May into second place by nearly 14,000 votes – a 3.4 per cent swing to Labour. Mr Farron finished third.
Baroness Armstrong revealed in an interview with the Northern Echo last year when Mrs May became Prime Minister: ”She bought a house when she was selected, and she would meet at Tory supporters’ houses and they would have tea and cakes. She didn’t do any public events or attend hustings.
“I met her for the first time at the count. She was very thin and wore a Thatcher-style bright blue suit with a short skirt, and she was very composed – she knew she wasn’t going to win, so her campaign was to maintain the core vote.
“She was doing it to demonstrate she could do it, and to gain exposure to Tory shire northern people, and I am sure that has stood her in good stead.”
‘My party is bigger than his’
Now the two politicians are going head-to-head again for the second time as party leaders in the 2017 General Election.
Mr Farron pointed out to Mrs May in the Commons when she became Prime Minister last year that she had ”come a long way“ since they shared hustings in North West Durham.
”She will reflect she is possessing greater support in this chamber than either of us got in Consett working men’s club,“ he said.
Mrs May’s gave a biting reply.
”Little did the voters of North West Durham know that the two successful candidates in that election would become leaders of two of this country’s political parties,” she said.
“Although, I would point out to the honourable gentleman that my party is bigger than his.“
Maurice Saatchi: I used to adore capitalism – then I had lunch with Margaret Thatcher