Libdem Wales

Charles Kennedy was the brilliant young leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in the United Kingdom. Elected to lead his party at the age of 39, many felt this was the man who would lead the party to become a major player in United Kingdom politics.

Kennedy’s finest hour might have been his opposition to the Gulf War. Although remaining supportive of the troops, he questioned the intelligence on the evidence of weapons of mass destruction and the utilization of such information as the basis for a huge land war in the Middle East.

In 2005 the Lib Dems won 62 seats in Parliament, their highest total since the 1920s, yet many felt this was somewhat of an underachievement given the popularity of many of their policies.

In addition to the Gulf War opposition, the Lib Dems held popular “green” positions favouring the environment and working towards increasing environmental issue concern, as well as bringing green legislation to the forefront. Taxation and government reform were two more areas the Lib Dems found to be a mainstream nerve in the UK and their policies were widely held as viable if they could gain the parliamentary representation needed.

The failure to gain more seats in Parliament led many of his own party to question his leadership. Things began to get ugly as Kennedy was accused of battling the bottle and his alleged alcoholism.

Although Kennedy, time after time, vehemently denied any serious issue or addiction, in 2004 the issue came to a head. Kennedy admitted struggling with alcohol and resigned his leadership role with the Lib Dems.