Kennedy denies comeback reports
Charles Kennedy has rejected reports that he is plotting to oust Menzies Campbell and return as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The News of the World yesterday reported a senior party source saying that Mr Kennedy, who resigned in January amid concerns about his drinking, was “deadly serious” about standing for the leadership once again.
The newspaper claimed Mr Kennedy was holding meetings with close aides before mounting a fresh campaign over the next few months.
He will be presenting a television documentary this week, and is also due to make a major speech to the Lib Dem conference this autumn in his position as former leader.
There is growing unease about Sir Menzies’ failure to improve the party’s poll ratings – last week saw them fall to just 17 per cent in one survey – and Mr Kennedy’s refusal to rule out returning to top-level politics last month only fuelled the speculation of a return.
However, last night he released a statement denying any suggestion that he would be back to fight Sir Menzies, saying: “As everyone knows, long-standing friends and political colleagues remain close to me.
“We meet frequently and it is simply fanciful to read anything else into such a normal ongoing state of affairs.”
Lord Newby, Mr Kennedy’s chief of staff when he was Liberal Democrat leader, described the story about plotting a return as “ridiculous”.
And Sir Menzies himself brushed off the reports, telling Sky News: “Charles Kennedy himself described these reports as being fanciful, and Dick Newby, one of his alleged co-conspirators, has said they’re ridiculous. I rest my case.
“The silly season usually starts on August 1st. It seems to have started a little earlier this year.”
Last week’s ICM poll provoked a flurry of debate about Sir Menzies on the internet, with one Welsh assembly member, Peter Black, warning in his blog that the former Olympic sprinter better “shape up”.
In a poll for BBC’s Newsnight earlier this month, twice as many people thought Mr Kennedy would be a better leader than Sir Menzies.
However, it is unlikely that the Lib Dems would want to replace their leader when a general election could be called as early as next year, particularly to replace him with a man who lost the confidence of 25 of his MPs before being forced to quit.
