Charles Kennedy

Those of us who are completely devastated by Charles Kennedy’s death must also ensure that our thoughts are with his family.

They have suffered a double blow in the last few weeks. I entirely agree with their description of him as a fine man and a great politician. The cause of Liberalism has received another blow.

Politics in Scotland owes him a great deal. He famously warned against the Rottweiler approach to politics. One of the things we can all do to remember him is to speak out against the aggressive and intolerant attitude that has crept into Scottish politics over the past two years.

His generous speech, when he lost his seat, was typical of him. Surely his death will encourage all Liberal Democrats, and all
liberally minded Scots, to fight for their beliefs and rebuild after the night of the long sgian dubh.

Charles Corser

Friars Way

Linlithgow

I am enormously sad to hear of the death of Charles Kennedy. He was said to have been removed as leader by the other Lib Dem MPs because of problems with alcohol but I personally never saw him drunk or even slightly intoxicated at any party conference nor any party event.

One could not say the same of all the other English MPs.

He couldn’t be everywhere at once but, God bless him, he did try and broke a few hearts trying.

As leader he was always on TV and he knew the importance of it. His colleagues were eclipsed by him and that caused some tensions.

He came from the SDP originally and some of those Liberals whose families had been in the party for three generations or more could not forgive him for it.

He let the party members have their own way and decide policy at conference particularly on tuition fees when some of the MPs and MSPs saw tuition fees as the future. Divisions within the party and outside it over tuition fees were more likely to be the true reason for his downfall and for the poor show in last month’s election.

Nigel F Boddy

Darlington

BBC News has a deserved reputation for giving the correct pronunciation for the most obscure Arabic or Asian or South American village.

How sad the same effort and courtesy was not given, on BBC Breakfast Time at 8am on Tuesday, as they completely mispronounced the name of the late Charles Kennedy’s constituencies.

John V Lloyd

Inverkeithing

Fife