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Power problems in Brighton
Andrew Alexander
Tuesday's 'double whammy' of a critical vote on the party's tax policy and the return of Charles Kennedy was being talked up as a tough challenge for Sir Menzies, and he seems to have survived relatively unscathed.
Kennedy's speech was warmly received, but he did not wow the hall as powerfully as perhaps he could have done.
His pledge of loyalty to the current leader should give Sir Menzies an easier ride on Thursday, when he will attempt to win over so-far luke warm activists.
Kennedy was fortunate that the fly which had been circling speakers on the conference stage for most of the morning took note of the momentous occasion, and left the room.
And he did not suffer from the brief blackouts afflicting the hall on Tuesday, which allowed the chairman to note there were "power problems" in the Brighton area.
It has been noted that there seemed to be further wry humour at work in Sir Menzies' photocall immediately after recovering alcoholic Kennedy's speech - at a local juice bar.
The other Tuesday challenge, the party's new "fairer not higher" tax policy, proved for once what Lib Dems are always claiming - the party's one member one vote method of making policy at conference can make for a very healthy democratic process.
Whether a party could make policy in the same way if it were in power is a question the Lib Dems can afford to ignore for a while.
After some good-in-parts and heartfelt debating, the tax policy went through by a sizeable margin, and Sir Sir Menzies, Vince Cable and Ed Davey were justified in their bullish mood at an afternoon press conference.
Expect to hear much more about the tax changes, which marks a genuine change in the way the party defines itself.
It also allowed Cable to boast that, for the first time in Liberal Democrat history, the party was able to offer the assembled journalists a tax break.
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Published: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 17:57:51 GMT+01
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