Lib Dem leader defies his critics

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell has lashed out at claims he is too old to lead his party.

The 66-year-old insisted he would lead from the front and not be "silenced" by those who wanted to "shout him down" in a defiant closing speech to the party conference in Brighton.

Sir Menzies also pledged to make his "age and experience" a key issue at the next General Election.

He said: "We Liberal Democrats can confront the difficult issues. Take tough decisions. Yes, and say controversial things too.

"That's what real leadership is about. That's what my leadership is about."

He quickly launched into an assault on the "cosy consensus" between the Government and the Tories in crucial areas such as immigration, nuclear energy and crime, insisting the Lib Dems had to "rattle the cage" of British politics.

Gordon Brown was also lambasted for leading "blue Labour", and blamed for a decade eroding civil liberties, undermining the economy with unsustainable debt which had led to the Northern Rock crisis, and failing to stop Tony Blair invading Iraq.

Bookies shortened the odds on Sir Menzies leading the party into the next General Election following a standing ovation for his speech.

His speech came after a tough week for the Lib Dems with several poor polls and grandees publicly criticising Sir Menzies' "disappointing" performance.

And on Wednesday, home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg and environment spokesman Chris Huhne became embroiled in an apparent public slanging match.

The spat began when Mr Clegg broke ranks to signal at a fringe meeting that he would "probably" seek the top job if Sir Menzies stood down.

The intervention drew a sharp response from Mr Huhne, who accused him of speaking "prematurely" because there was no vacancy.

He sought out journalists at the conference centre and aimed another thinly-disguised swipe by insisting it "behoved" everyone in the party to show discipline in their comments for fear of damaging Sir Menzies.

Mr Clegg furiously rejected the suggestion that he was throwing his hat in the ring too early, claiming he was not the kind of "disingenuous" politician who "ducked questions".

Sir Menzies took to the airwaves to stress that he was "totally relaxed" about the rumblings over his leadership.

He said it boded well for the party's future that there were ambitious "young Turks" vying for position. Both men have categorically ruled out challenging until he departs.

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