Charles Kennedy has said his party offers "the real alternative" to Labour.

The Liberal Democrat leader was spending Saturday in his Highland constituency, but indicated to Sky News his party was well placed to gain from disillusion with Labour.

"The key issue for the remainder of the campaign now is who can provide the real alternative based on a positive and fundamentally optimistic note," he said.

Kennedy argued that voters accepted the Conservatives would not win the election, but did not want another Labour landslide.

The public does not want Tony Blair to be able to "do what he likes, whether it's war and peace or the domestic agenda at home".

The Lib Dem leader was also pledging to "make a real difference to people in rural areas".

"Liberal Democrats understand the issues that make a real difference to people in rural areas," Kennedy said during a visit to a local farm.

"Agriculture is in a state of continuing crisis, the transport system is inadequate, local schools are closing down and public services generally are stretched."