Kennedy believes his party will do well

Charles Kennedy has delivered an upbeat verdict on his election prospects, saying the "positive and persuasive" Liberal Democrat message is playing well with the electorate.

He said it was clear that a large part of the "story" of this election was the growth in support for his party.

Kennedy delivered a withering assessment of the Labour record, contrasting some of its more controversial policies such as tuition fees and Iraq with the Lib Dem alternative.

But he also launched a blistering attack on Michael Howard's Conservatives. Not only were they heading for defeat, he said, but they deserved it because they were "essentially a party of the past".

"This is not a problem of leadership of personality," Kennedy said.

"It reflects the fact that the Conservatives themselves have failed to recognise, year after year, leader after leader, that they simply no longer represent the kind of society that people in Britain want.

"It really doesn't matter who leads the Conservative Party, they can't break out of their core vote, and the evidence of the most recent surveys suggest that even that is beginning to decline and slip away."

Pact broken

He also re-affirmed yesterday's commitment to end the unofficial Lib-Lab tactical voting pact, saying a decisive vote for his party would curb Blair's power.

"We don't want Tony Blair back with some sort of three-figure majority where he can do what he likes," Kennedy said.

The Lib Dems brought out Claire Rayner, president of the Patients' Association and member of the royal commission on long-term care for the elderly, to join the party's attacks on its rivals.

"I've never heard anything funnier in my life than Michael Howard saying the Tories would bring the waiting list down to one day," she said.

"That man swims in a sea of such ignorance when it comes to hospital care. The NHS is marvellous, in the last two years it's saved my life twice."

But there was also a stinging attack on some of Labour's NHS policies, in particular the party's decision to rule out of free personal care for the elderly.

"It amazed me that Tony Blair said that they couldn't possibly afford £2.50 a day for an Alzheimer's drug, but he found billions to go and kill Iraqis," said Rayner.

"Lib Dems have done it in Scotland. Old people in Scotland can relax and not worry because they won't lose their homes and they will get the best care, but above all they will be treated with respect and dignity.

"It's not true in the rest of the country and I want it to be true."