Liberal Democrats begin General Election fight

9.42.30pm GMT Mon 24th Jan 2005

Charles Kennedy MP, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, has launched his Party's strategy for the General Election.

Under the slogan of 'The Real Opposition', Mr Kennedy outlined the Liberal Democrats key campaigning themes and policy pledges.

Mr Kennedy said:

"The truth is that the majority of people in this country now see the Liberal Democrats as the Real Opposition. They don't believe we should limit our ambitions. And I want to tell you that there is no limit to our ambitions.

"On so many issues it is the Liberal Democrats who have challenged this Government. We asked the critical questions, while the Conservatives have lined up with Labour.

"The Conservatives have been fading away as a truly national party. Across a third of the country they are not even in contention anymore. And this Labour Government has used up the trust and goodwill of people."

"At the General Election, the public will have the opportunity to vote for the real opposition in Britain: the Liberal Democrats.

"And we will be fighting both Labour and Conservatives. This will be real three party politics."

Mr Kennedy went on to outline the Party's key themes and priorities for the campaign:

"We believe that Government in Britain should improve the quality of peoples' lives and improve the quality of our public services in every local community.

"We believe that Government in Britain is there to protect people from terrorism and from the worst criminality; but never at the expense of our civil liberties and the basic tenets of our legal system.

"We believe that Government in Britain should be working to restore our reputation on the international stage after Iraq and engage better within Europe.

"Being the real opposition to the Labour Government has meant taking the tough choices necessary to present credible and costed policies. We want a strong, vibrant economy for Britain so that we can set out a clear and affordable alternative programme for Government."