UK News 22-09-2003 Lib Dem Leader "Not a Drunk" who: Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy what: Insists he`s a fit leader on eve of annual conference where: BRIGHTON when: Yesterday snippet: "I`m not too drunk nor too lazy to lead the Liberal Democrats," says Charles Kennedy, quoted in The Mirror today as the Lib Dems begin their annual conference in Brighton hot on the heels of last week`s shock Brent East by-election success. A strongly positive message from the Party`s leader was one of the highlights of the BBC`s Breakfast with Frost programme yesterday during which home secretary David Blunkett admitted that Labour needs to "change or die". "Mr Kennedy arrived for his 2003 Brighton party conference in a position of strength," says The Guardian. "At a pre-conference briefing, he mocked Iain Duncan Smith`s weekend speech which had accused him of a `strategic blunder` in tacking to the left of Labour to win in Brent. If `starting off second with the aim of coming third` - the Conservative result in Brent - was the Tory leader`s plan `I wish him luck`." "There have been widespread rumours about [Mr Kenedy`s] drinking and poor workrate," says The Mirror. But on television yesterday, writes Paul Routledge, "he exuded more self-confidence than David Blunkett, who is no slouch". The Sun`s political correspondent Nic Cecil is not so impressed, particularly following demands by the "barmy" Party`s republican student wing for a referendum on replacing the monarchy with an elected president. Furthermore, warns Cecil, Charles Kennedy "wants to axe the Pound and let bankers in Frankfurt run our economy". And the Lib Dems would also "hit millions of middle-income earners with higher taxes replacing the council tax with a local income tax and raising the top rate to 50p in the pound for people earning over £100,000." [... more]

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