Defiant Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy condemned the critics gunning for his job yesterday - with remarks which appeared to be aimed squarely at Birmingham MP John Hemming. He attacked opponents for being "full of themselves" and contrasted their approach with his "experience" and "mature leadership".
Can you imagine this man as PM?
Splits! declared Mr Kennedy. Plots! Rival camps! Backbiting and leadership speculation!
Yes, thats what weve had this week. But wait for the punch line: How I wish I could by a fly on the wall here at the Tory party conference in two weeks time!
The delegates chuckled in appreciation but they sounded uneasy. The Tories are in the middle of a leadership contest but the joke, of course, was that all this talk of division and leadership troubles could apply just as easily to the Liberal Democrats.
Mr Kennedy made his big speech at the end of a conference in which he has been assaulted on all sides.
Criticisms of his leadership havent been confined to the bars and restaurants. One delegate complained from the conference floor Birmingham MP John Hemming suggested he could do a better job, on his web site.
So the question for Mr Kennedy was whether he would tackle the issue head on, and risk everyone talking about the leadership instead of whatever he had to say about schools and hospitals, or ignore it and hope it went away.
From the start of his speech, it was clear he had chosen to confront his opponents.
First, we had the joke about the Tories then some choice remarks about Tony Blair and Gordon Browns feud.
He could hardly emphasise all that without admitting his own party had a few problems too. Mr Kennedy reminded delegates that he had led them to their most successful General Election outcome in over 80 years.
He pointed out that sometimes a little bit of navel gazing was a good idea.
And then the knives came out. Some people and he clearly meant people in his own party were full of themselves.
Mr Kennedy then said he led based on experience with heavy emphasis on the word experience. And he did it in a sensible, genuine and mature way.
It sounded very much as if he felt his critics lacked experience. Whoever was he be thinking of? Could it be John Hemming, who became an MP only in May?
And was he suggesting Mr Hemming lacked maturity and good sense too? It seems hard to believe.
I later tried asking one of Mr Kennedys aides who exactly he had been referring to, but all they would say is Im sure you can guess.
Still, the delegates liked it. Even Liberals might enjoy being smacked around a bit by their leader, as the other parties clearly do.
The most powerful moment came at the end of the speech, when Mr Kennedy, ad-libbing, spoke about his determination to overcome adversity and change Britain for the better.
Could you imagine this man as Prime Minister? Yesterday, yes I could.
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Mr Hemming, the Lib Dem MP for Yardley, was elected only six months ago. Earlier this week, the Birmingham MP revealed he would like to lead the party, but admitted he would have to wait because it was "too soon" to launch a challenge. But Mr Kennedy launched a stinging counter-attack during his set-piece speech at the party's annual conference in Blackpool. He said: "Others may have become so full of themselves that they think they're full of better ideas about the leadership. "But based on experience, I believe that what I have set out is the sensible and genuine and mature way to lead a political party." Mr Kennedy told delegates he wouldn't stand down, and said he believed he could lead the Lib Dems to election victory. He said: "It's my ambition to lead the first government in the liberal tradition of the 21st century." Later he added: "I'm up for it." Mr Kennedy also repeated his support for plans to privatise the Royal Mail - which led to him losing a key conference vote after Mr Hemming led a rebellion against him. The Lib Dem leadership argued that selling the Royal Mail would raise enough money to save post office branches from closure. But Mr Hemming convinced the activists at the conference to reject the plan. Mr Kennedy said the proposals were "not left, not right, but liberal", arguing the party should stick to "liberal values". The speech covered a range of issues, but some of the strongest language was reserved for criticism of Tony Blair over the Iraq war. He said: "Along with President Bush, Tony Blair's so-called war on terror has been so badly implemented that it has actually boosted the terror threat, not diminished it. "When they should have been concentrating on bringing a proper peace to Afghanistan, Bush and Blair waged war in Iraq. The Prime Minister's pride should not get in the way of finding a solution." British troops must be bought home, he said, adding: "The invasion of Iraq has created a volatile, fragmented country now facing the threat of civil war." He said that following the London bombings, he wanted to work with the Government on anti-terror legislation. However, he could not support some of the Government's proposals - in particular, to allow police to detain people for three months without charge. "That's a prison sentence by any other name," said Mr Kennedy. He also attacked plans for a new offence of "glorifying terrorism" as " vague" and "unworkable". Mr Kennedy highlighted the party's success, telling delegates: "Today we have MPs in almost every major city - Manchester, Leeds, London, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh." | 
