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Liberal Democrats start search for new leader

Hasan Suroor

Menzies Campbell

LONDON: An internal power struggle has broken out in Britain's Liberal Democratic Party after Charles Kennedy was forced to resign as leader on Saturday — two days after admitting that he had a drink problem.

His deputy and the party's spokesman on foreign affairs Menzies Campbell has taken over as acting leader ahead of the election of a new chief.

The process of electing Mr. Kennedy's successor will start on Monday with the party's federal committee setting out the rules for the election, but the race for the leadership is already in full swing with several senior MPs indicating that they might contest.

Mr. Campbell, the 64-year-old party veteran, is a favourite but some regard him as too old and there is clamour for a younger face to lead the party into the next general elections in 2009. If efforts to find a consensus around Mr. Campbell fail, he is likely to be challenged in a leadership contest, among others, by his two senior colleagues: the left-wing party president Simon Hughes, and the Home Affairs spokesman Mark Oaten seen as a centrist "moderniser''.

Mr. Hughes said on Sunday that he would reveal his intentions only after he had seen through the process for electing a new leader. Mr. Oaten said he would discuss with other contenders before making an announcement.

Mr. Kennedy announced his resignation on Saturday after half his MPs made clear that they had lost confidence in his leadership and he must quit in view of the controversies triggered by his addiction to drinks.

Although he claimed that he had been "inundated'' by messages of support from party activists, he admitted that "such support is not reflected strongly across the parliamentary party in the Commons''.

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