Charles Kennedy

Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015. Kennedy was elected to the House of Commons in 1983 as a member of the Social Democratic Party, and after the SDP–Liberal Alliance merged into the Liberal Democrats, became the party's president. Following the resignation of Paddy Ashdown in August 1999, Kennedy became the party's leader. He led the party in the 2001 and 2005 general elections, increasing its number of seats in the House of Commons to their highest level since 1923, led his party's opposition to the Iraq War, and broadly positioned the party to the left of New Labour. A charismatic and affable speaker in public, he appeared extensively on television during his leadership. During the latter stages of Kennedy's leadership, there was concern about both his leadership and his health. From December 2005, some within the party were openly questioning his position and calling for a leadership election. On 5 January 2006, he was informed that ITN would be reporting that he had received treatment for alcoholism; he pre-empted the broadcast by admitting that he had had treatment, and resigned as leader the following day after receiving no support within the parliamentary party. After Menzies Campbell succeeded him as leader, Kennedy remained in office as a backbench MP, where he voted against the formation of the Cameron–Clegg coalition. He died less than a month after losing his seat in the House of Commons in 2015.