Kennedy insists he is ‘fighting fit’
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has declared that he is ‘fighting fit’ following a period of ill health earlier this month.
The MP was forced to miss the Budget day debate and Prime Minister’s questions and appeared unwell when he addressed the party’s annual spring conference in Southport.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Kennedy insisted he had recovered from the effects of a stomach bug he had caught at the start of April and dismissed concerns about the state of his health.
“An awful lot of people have said, you’re allowed to be unwell, we just want you to get better. Well, I have got better.”
Asked if he still had the appetite for his job he replied: “Have I got the appetite? You bet.”
Last month Mr Kennedy pledged to get fitter and inject more energy into his leadership. Concerns about the state of his health surfaced after he was seen looking pale and mopping sweat from his brow during his speech at the Lib Dems spring conference.
Questioned about his conference speech, Mr Kennedy replied: “I didn’t feel at my best, that’s for sure.
“If I had not made that speech, what would people have been saying?
“I didn’t feel too bad until the end – it was a very hot auditorium.”
Mr Kennedy claimed that his party was forging ahead in British politics and stressed to disillusioned Labour voters that voting for the Lib Dems at next year’s general election would not mean a Conservative victory.
“What people want from their political parties is credibility and common sense and I’m trying to offer that,” he added.
