The frontrunner to replace Nick Clegg as Liberal Democrat leader has savaged the way his party has conducted itself in coalition with the Tories – saying it deserves just ‘ two out of 10 ’ . In a thinly-veiled attack on the Deputy Prime Minister , Tim Farron said the party should have been much braver and blocked the Conservatives ’ controversial health reforms . The MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale acknowledged that the party will lose many of his seats at the election – saying he was looking forward to the ‘ thrill of rebuilding ’ . Attack : Tim Farron , right , the front-runner to replace Nick Clegg , left , as Liberal Democrat leader has savaged the way his party conducts itself in the Coalition – saying it deserves a score of ‘ two out of ten ’ But he said that , despite this fall in Parliamentary strength , he would demand the same number of Cabinet ministers in any new coalition agreement . The arch comments will be seen as the latest stage in Mr Farron ’ s undeclared bid for leadership of the party should it suffer a catastrophe on 7 May . The Lib Dems won 57 seats at the 2010 election , meaning that when they went into Coalition with the Conservatives , they were able to argue for five Cabinet places . But the polls are so bad now – one even put the Lib Dems on 5 per cent – that the party is projected to lose half his seats in May . Some even expect Mr Clegg to lose his Sheffield Hallam seat . In an interview with the Financial Times , Mr Farron said the Lib Dems should ‘ actively consider ’ something short of a full coalition if the general election results in a hung parliament . He told the paper that he believed the party would hang on to well over half of the 57 seats they won in 2010 . But he said he was already preparing to pick up the pieces . ‘ What I ’ m absolutely ready for — you may as well be excited by it — is the thrill of rebuilding , ’ he said . If Mr Clegg goes after the election , Mr Farron is seen as the front-runner to succeed him . Potential rivals such as Vince Cable , the business secretary , care minister Norman Lamb , and Ed Davey , the energy secretary , are seen as less likely to win . Mr Farron told the FT that while another coalition is possible , the Lib Dems should consider letting David Cameron or Ed Miliband form a minority government . He said the Lib Dems believe that while ‘ stable government is absolutely essential ’ , coalition is not the only answer . ‘ You really have got to be ready to walk away , ’ he said . Mr Farron said the price for any formal deal should be for the Lib Dems to take ownership of one particular part of government policy . ‘ For me it would be infrastructure renewal , ’ he said . ‘ It ’ s about the hard development of a kind of Victorian-style infrastructure revolution , . ‘ We ’ re talking about South Korean levels of broadband , 3million new homes — almost all of them affordable — over a 10-year period. ’ Defence : Mr Farron insisted that forming the Coalition had been the ‘ grown-up ’ thing to do and said his party should not be ‘ punished ’ . Above , David Cameron and Nick Clegg outside No 10 after the 2010 election . The former Lib Dem party president said that if the Lib Dems did agree to a coalition , he would expect the party to hold as many ministerial posts as now — even if the party has far fewer MPs . ‘ I ’ m not going to give away any ministerial seats without a massive fight , ’ he said . While he said the party deserves ‘ eight out of 10 ’ for the way it handled the coalition negotiations in 2010 , he suggested that Mr Clegg should have been more robust with the Tories in government . ‘ You ’ re not going to bring the government down on something like the NHS reforms if you say no , it ’ s not happening , ’ he said . Mr Farron gave the party a score of just ‘ two out of 10 ’ for how it had handled its time in coalition . And he said Mr Clegg should have understood the damage the party ’ s U-turn on tuition fees would inflict . But he insisted the party was right to go into coalition at a time of national economic emergency in 2010 and says it would be regrettable if the party was now ‘ punished for it ’ . He said the UK Independence party , the Greens and the Scottish National party might draw the conclusion that voters did not reward parties that ‘ behaved like a grown up ’ . He adds : ‘ If that is the message that ’ s communicated — that parties that behave in a decent way get hammered for it — that is a great worry . ’
Tim Farron said Lib Dems should have blocked the Mr Clegg ' health reforms . The MP also acknowledged the party could lose seats at the election . But he insisted that forming the Coalition had been 'grown-up ' thing to do .