Charlie bites the dust!

Charles Kennedy, the well-respected leader of the Liberal Democrats have bitten the dust. Firstly I felt sad by the circumstances that he had to resign. He had took over the leadership in 1999 from Lord Paddy Ashdown and steered the Lib Dems (traditionally the pitiful third party in UK) to a respectable alternative to the current Conservative opposition. His smooth Scottish accent and alternative thinking had lead people in Britain to believe that there is a real alternative to the current Labour and Tory parties.

His key policies were to tax the higher income earners up to 40% and use that amount to fund public projects. Sounds reasonable at the very least but somehow he promised a lot from that extra tax income. He was also famous for not supporting Britain's entry into the Iraq war and had always felt that tuition fees should be scrapped altogether. These are some real initiatives but getting 60 seats in the parliament is not going to be a huge influence on the 659 seats in the British Parliament.

Charlie Kennedy was not afraid to appear on slapstick shows like Have I got news for you to make a fool of himself and have a laugh at himself. The way he resigned due to his confession of alcoholism was uncalled for and I was really surprised that his front beach team ditched him. I am particularly disappointed by Sir Menzies Campbell and Simon Hughes who were Kennedy's key sidekicks but alas maybe the desire for leadership was too much to give up.

Well, now that Kennedy has stepped aside, the most likely leader would be Sir Menzies Campbell. He was the foreign spokesperson for the Lim Dems and has been widely regarded as a father figure in the party. Some young blood such as Lembit Opik should have a run as well since the next election is only due in 2010.