A biography for Charles Kennedyhasn’t been written yet.
“Westminster is a jungle - and the hunter can always smell fear on its prey.”
“The House of Lords has many fine aspects, but at its heart, it is a betrayal of the core democratic principle that those in the enlightened world hold so dear - that those who make the laws of the land should be elected by those who must obey those laws.”
“Of all the principles which constitute Liberal Democracy, internationalism is the clearest, the most distinctive, and the one with the longest history.”
“We Liberal Democrats believe in dialogue. We believe in cooperation with both sides of industry and between both sides of industry. And we believe in the language of cooperation. We reject the language of confrontation.”
“There stands no contradiction between giving voice to legitimate anxiety and at the same time, as and when exchange of fire commences, looking to the rest of the country, as well as all of us in the House, to give full moral support to our forces.”
“People are not stupid.”
“I do think there is a great deal of caricature around the House of Commons. It is just that kind of place.”
“Politics is much too serious to be taken too seriously; equally, there are many aspects of it so laughable as to be lamentable.”
“This country has a proud history of opening its doors to generations of people fleeing personal persecution, civil unrest and war.”
“Only the Liberal Democrats have probed the government's failings consistently, thoroughly and effectively.”
“The way to defeat international terrorism is through international cooperation based on international law, clear intelligence, and a measured and appropriate military response.”
“I'm a fully paid-up member of the human race.”
“People have a huge desire to be listened to, for politicians to take the time to understand their problems.”
“No government body is more notorious for over-legislation than the Department of Trade and Industry.”
“It is true that I entered parliament at the age of 23, and have now been representing the people of my constituency for over twenty years.”
“We believe that government in Britain should be working to restore our reputation on the international stage after Iraq and engage better within Europe.”
“A society which is liberal democratic cannot have public policy determined upon the basis of who has got the loudest voice - or who can brings things to a halt.”
“We need less theoretical debate and more practical application and acknowledgment of what Europe can and does do so that it is brought home to people in a relevant way.”
“To run an effective political party you need a degree of tribalism, it's the glue that holds everyone together.”
“Decentralisation is controversial - but that's fine. We should be fearless about having a debate.”