Kennedy sets off on campain trail
Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was in an optimistic mood as he kicked off his party’s campaign today ahead of Tony Blair’s expected General Election announcement.
Speaking at the English Martyrs’ School, Southwark, south London, he said he was confident of being able to capitalise on every opportunity in this election.
‘‘It is good now to be on the campaign path,’’ he said. ‘‘The sun is shining so that is a good omen for us.’’
Mr Kennedy arrived at the school in the Liberal Democrats’ bright yellow campaign bus.
He said the month’s delay in the election had given them more time to prepare.
‘‘I have been on the bus for the last few weeks because we expected an election in May,’’ he said.
‘‘It has given us that degree more time for planning.
‘‘It has not really caused us problems in the financial sense. It has given us a better opportunity.
‘‘It is up to us to try and make that opportunity work.’’
Mr Kennedy was to visit 11 big cities across mainland Britain in the following 72 hours.
‘‘We have much more extensive geographical coverage than last time,’’ he said.
When asked why he chose to visit a school in Southwark he said it was easier to visit his colleague Simon Hughes’s constituency rather than his own in the north of Scotland.
He joked: ‘‘The school is close to Westminster and so if I had to be in Westminster this afternoon then it is better to be here than there.’’
Mr Kennedy was confident about his party’s four-week campaign.
‘‘The feedback we have been getting is good. The opportunity is there to get our message across.
‘‘It was a tough task last time but we are starting from a much bigger base both in terms of personnel and MPs.
‘‘We want a constructive rather than destructive campaign.’’
But he dismissed opinion polls, saying it would be ‘‘dangerous to start talking numbers’’.
