Charles Kennedy will today conclude the Liberal Democrat conference by telling delegates in his keynote address that they are now a "party of power" and could win next week's Hartlepool by-election.

The party leader will say the Lib Dems have moved "from a party of protest to a party of power" and that a vote for the Tories is a wasted vote.

Judy Dunn, the Lib Dem candidate in Hartlepool, claimed the party was now "in very close second place... I am confident we can win it".

Continuing one theme of the week's conference, Kennedy is expected to lambaste the government, and the prime minister personally, for the decision to go to war in Iraq.

Kennedy is likely to slam Blair for deceiving the public about the case for war, while pledging to restore "trust" in government and politics.