Charles Kennedy and the Leadership contest

10.57.00pm GMT Fri 6th Jan 2006

Charles Kennedy MP

So here it is, after weeks if not months of pressure from his fellow Parliamentarians Charles Kennedy has admitted he is a recovering alcoholic and has called a Leadership contest in which he will stand. Firstly I would like to wish Charles good luck in his recovery, his drinking has been an open secret within the Liberal Democrats for a while I am glad that he has accepted there is a problem and has taken medical help for it.

However I am deeply disappointed with, and feel let down by, our Parliamentarians. Their behaviour over the last few weeks and months has not been good. If you want to replace the Leader there are better ways of doing it, this looks like they tried to stab him in the back but didn't twist the knife letting Kennedy bleed but not finishing him off. These problems are not new news so why did virtually all of the MPs sign his nomination paper after the General Election (incidentally the only MP that did not was John Hemming who will come out of this better than most I suspect)

I have my own views on the Leadership and think Kennedy should have gone in 2004, but accept that may have been too close to the General Election. Given that he did not go in 2004 I would have preferred him to go straight after the General Election rather than the messy state we have got ourselves into now.