The Baby of the House
In 1983, Charles Kennedy was first elected to Parliament, winning the Ross, Cromarty and Skye seat for the Social Democratic Party. At the time, he was the Baby of the House—the youngest MP in the Commons.
Kennedy would hold the seat for three decades, through several boundary changes. By 2005, he represented Ross, Skye and Lochaber—the largest constituency in the United Kingdom, covering 12,000 square kilometres, a sixth of Scotland’s entire landmass.
From the SDP to the Liberal Democrats
By 1987, the SDP’s presence in Parliament had fallen from eight MPs to just five, with co-founder Roy Jenkins among those losing their seats. Kennedy soon became the first SDP MP to publicly support a merger with the politically-aligned Liberal Party. He defied the party’s other high-profile figure, David Owen, to back unification, which took place in 1988.
In 1990, Kennedy was elected President of the newly formed Liberal Democrats, a role he held until 1994. A decade later, following Paddy Ashdown’s resignation, Kennedy stood for the leadership of the Lib Dems in 1999. With backing from across the party—from MPs like Vince Cable, peers such as Shirley Williams, and rising MEPs like Nick Clegg—he won the contest and became leader.
Building the Liberal Democrats
In the 2001 general election, Kennedy built on the 46 seats won under Ashdown in 1997. The Commons Information Office noted that the Lib Dems were the only major party to gain seats through by-elections during that Parliament. Under Kennedy, the party continued to grow, securing the largest net gain of any party in 2001, finishing with 52 seats.
Kennedy was also a fierce critic of New Labour. He opposed the introduction of tuition fees, calling them “one of the most pernicious political acts that has taken place…It means people from lower income backgrounds are discriminated against in going to university, and that means the country is poorer as a result.”
The Defining Stand: Iraq
Kennedy’s defining political moment came in 2003. As Tony Blair, supported by the Conservatives, led Britain into the Iraq War, Kennedy made the Liberal Democrats the only major party to oppose the intervention.
At the historic Hyde Park rally—the largest protest in UK history, with up to 1.5 million people attending—Kennedy declared:
“Today, across the world, the people are speaking, and the prime minister and the president must start listening…There is no way, in all conscience, that the Liberal Democrats either could or should support a war. And we will not!”
This stance, coupled with his speeches in the Commons, cemented Kennedy’s reputation as the leading voice of opposition to the war.
Personal Struggles and Electoral Success
At the same time, rumours and reports of Kennedy’s alcoholism became increasingly public. His absence from a 2004 budget debate, while serving as party leader, fuelled speculation.
Despite these struggles, Kennedy led the Lib Dems into the 2005 general election, where they achieved their best result under his leadership. Labour’s unpopularity allowed the Lib Dems to capitalise: they won 62 seats, the highest tally for a third party since 1923. The election also brought in a new generation of Lib Dem figures, including Danny Alexander, Jo Swinson, and Tim Farron.
The Fall from Leadership
Kennedy’s leadership was far from secure. Opposition within the party mounted, culminating in a round-robin letter signed by over a third of Lib Dem MPs calling for him to step down. In January 2006, Kennedy resigned, announcing for the first time that he was receiving treatment for alcoholism.
Two years later, he resurfaced in frontline politics when he was elected President of the pro-EU group European Movement.
Later Parliamentary Career
In the 2010 general election, Kennedy comfortably held his seat. However, he notably opposed the Liberal Democrats’ decision to form a coalition with the Conservatives in the hung Parliament that followed. He warned that the deal “drives a strategic coach and horses through the long-nurtured ‘realignment of the centre-left’ to which leaders in the Liberal tradition—this one included—have all subscribed since the Jo Grimond era…Our political compass currently feels confused. And that really encapsulates the reasons why I felt personally unable to vote for this outcome when it was presented to Liberal Democrat parliamentarians.”
During his later years in Parliament, Kennedy supported reducing the voting age to 16, advocated for UN recognition of Palestine, and argued for reform of “the grotesque distortions of the First-Past-the-Post political system.” He was also a pro-union campaigner during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, joining the Better Together movement.
Defeat and Tragedy
In the SNP landslide of 2015, Kennedy lost his seat to future SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford. Five years earlier, Kennedy had held a majority of 13,000 votes; now, he lost by over 5,000, ending a parliamentary career that had lasted more than 30 years.
Just a month later, on 1 June 2015, Charles Kennedy passed away at the age of 55.
Tributes and Legacy
Tributes poured in across the political spectrum. Paddy Ashdown said Kennedy was “loved way beyond the circles of politics.” Nick Clegg stated: “Charles’s untimely death robs Britain of one of the most gifted politicians of his generation. He was one of the most gentle and unflappable politicians I have ever known. Yet he was immensely courageous, too, not least when he spoke for the country against the invasion of Iraq.”
Journalist Ian Hislop remarked: “Charles was clever, funny, committed, self-deprecating, generous and very good company. Yes, he had a drink problem, but he had better judgement drunk than a lot of politicians sober.” Kennedy was a frequent and popular guest on Have I Got News for You, where his wit and warmth endeared him to audiences beyond politics. As Greg Hurst noted in Charles Kennedy: A Tragic Flaw, “broadcasting provided a foil for his quick wit and helped him develop a reputation with the public as a more approachable politician.”
Alastair Campbell, a close friend, added: “He spoke fluent human because he had humanity in every vein and every cell.”
Charles Kennedy’s legacy rests on more than his wit and warmth. He stood firm against an unpopular war, led his party to historic gains, and left a reputation as one of the most approachable and human figures in modern British politics.
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