Liberal Democrat members paid an emotional tribute to the late Charles Kennedy yesterday, giving him a minute-long standing ovation following a film dedicated to his life and career.
The clip featured extracts from some of former party leader’s famous speeches and TV appearances, such as Have I Got News For You.
Among them was the opening sequence of the episode he presented in 2002, when he quipped: “Tonight I’m in charge. People of Britain get used to it.”
The film, put together by Rachael Clarke who is a member and works for the party, also included colleagues’ memories.
Party leader Tim Farron described the former Ross, Skye and Lochaber MP – ousted by the SNP’s Ian Blackford at the general election – as one of his heroes before they met, and a friend afterwards.
He also said he would not be an MP if it were not for the 2005 election campaign Mr Kennedy ran.
Among the others to contribute to the short video were Paddy Ashdown, Sir Menzies Campbell and former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
Mr Clegg said: “He was very comfortable at Westminster … but he was also quite rightly seen by the public as an ordinary non-politician politician.”
Referring to his stance on the Iraq war, Lord Ashdown said: “I admire those who have their principles and stick to them and even more if they have the courage to do so against opposition and even more if they turn out to be right.”
His mentor Bob Maclennan, former MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, described Mr Kennedy’s interview for becoming a party candidate.
He said they had allocated 15 minutes to each of the contenders but found Mr Kennedy “so fascinating” they spoke to him for three-quarters of an hour.