Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4582930.stm

Big deal I say, good on him for admitting it though, but will he survive as leader of the Lib-Dems?

Discuss...

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

He will not be leader for much longer.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Agreed :)

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Asked to comment, David Cameron replied:

'*snort*'

I'd rather have a ****head in charge than a teetotaller, if George Bush and the President of Iran are anything to go by.

I have a suspicion he'll face a stalking horse, win, but be damaged, resign and one of the Big Three will take over, or possibly Vince Cable as an outsider. It's possible that he could get challenged directly, but Mark Oaten has already said he won't stand.

Either way my vote is up for grabs - outside a slightly left of centre LibDems there isn't a party that I can really support - the Greens are too Eurosceptic, Respect is too Trotskyite, Labour is too right wing, Conservatives are too, well, like Labour.

There's a right-wing cabal in the LDs who aren't wholly opposed to some New Labour ideas. Don't want to see any of them in charge.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

the thing is, he was asked about his drinking problem a while back and he denied that he had one, which in my eyes makes him a lier! then again what else can you expect from a politician.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Until an Alcoholic admits they have a problem nothing can be done.

Obviously between then and now he has come to admit the problem which for an alcoholic is a quantum step.

However having said all that. It was not until DC got the Tory leadership that there was any great speculation on his ability to lead.

At the moment I see Kennedy as still the best bet for the Lib Dems.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Hehe, very true.

---------- Post added at 19:23 ---------- Previous post was at 19:17 ----------

And I agree with one of the previous posters, good on him, takes a lot of guts to say that in public :tu:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

You'd think having kids would have stopped him drinking.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Hmmm! You are not a parent, judging by that comment..;)

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Judging by the time scale he mentioned, it appeared it did

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

It does affect your drinking, my missus complains that she can't drink 16 double vodkas like she used to, and that her kidneys ache after a mere eight...

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

And in other lib dem news...



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/d...re/4581716.stm


Only in Derbyshire. He was on the local news... what a strange kid.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Maybe he should run for the leadership :D

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Not possible, due to his age, AFAIK.

Seems to me to be yet another example of a clearly bright kid "pushed" out of a childhood by parents... seeing as his mum is a councillor and all that.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Yep, What a cow. Anyway....

Hate to be the killjoy in the lib dem love in but the truth is that he did lie and he only admitted it after being forced out. He did not have much of a choice, ITV would have run the story.

While I think this was his personal business the same respect would not have been shown to either the Labour or Tory leaders so Kennedy should be subjected to the same critism as them. Lib Dems are not on a higher ground than the other two partys

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Hardly, I'm a Tory voter but anyways...

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

if he cant be trusted with the bottle, maybe he shouldn't be trusted with the country.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

And he has precisely what chance of being PM?

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

none now.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Exactly the same as before, and the vast majority of Lib Dem leaders then!

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Frankly all I care about in an MP is that he/she keeps his hands out of the country's coffers and obeys all the financial rules of Parliament.


Whether he/she smokes ,drinks,sleeps around is none of my business.As long as they are straight and honest with my money I don't care.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

I dont trust any of them and never will... my usual vote for the past few years has been "none of the above". :td:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Yeah, I thought that too....

Probably not, judging by the number of "in house" Lib Dem complaints.

:notopic: With the tory party leader today lying about keeping the NHS free for all and sundry (Yeah right), it looks like we are stuck with Tony for a while.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Aha!!! It was you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Wasn't it Churchill who conducted meetings from his bed as he was too hungover to get up ;)

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

And yet another reason why he's one of my heroes :D

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

So that means you don't vote then.:erm:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Churchill hardly slept, so I'm not sure that's likely :)

He did imbibe enormous quantities of brandy and fine wine, though. We have a long and glorious history of drinkers in politics - Heseltine is being discussed in some parts of the net (ok, the Guardian's newsblog) as someone whose ambititions were thwarted by a bit too much booze.

Anyway, Charlie appears to be sunk - I really hope it isn't a takeover by the neo-liberal cabal, or they can kiss my vote goodbye. Unfortunately it looks like it is - follow these names over the next few days:
David Laws, Paul Marshall, Vincent Cable, Nicholas Clegg, Edward Davey, Chris Huhne, Susan Kramer, Mark Oaten and Steve Webb.

Nice to see Jenny Tonge letting her old problems with Charlie lie and, er, putting the boot in while he's down. There's class.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

yeh it's a spoiled vote.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

What about a inderpendent?

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Very few are truly so?

However it would make a change for a non scottish connected person to lead a party! :shrug:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

to tell the truth Damien, I've not really give it any thought... the only parties we get To vote for round here are the main 3 parties and maybe a couple of outsiders like ukip and the green party.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

It's more choice than I get.:(

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Well you know what to do.. You don't have to have a dead son and plenty of spite to run for MP.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Round here is the three main parties but Tories always win and any independant councillors usually vote with the Tories on the council. :rolleyes:Independent my backside.

Mind we did get UKip last time but I wouldn't vote for them if they were the ONLY choice.I wish the green party would put up a candidate.Even the Raving Monster Loony Party would get a vote from me....

Ah well at least we get a vote unlike some poor s*ds in the world who get no elections or rigged elections..Maybe they would love to have a choice of a alcoholic MP rather than no vote at all. ;)

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Why not contact them about it? I am sure they would love to have a green candidate there as well. I don't know how many hours a week you work and other commitments, but a part-timer on 4 hours a day (or 2-3 days a week) could cope with it up until election. If you can't stand, then maybe you can help someone else.

A lot of people feel isolated & excluded about our political process, but one of the beautiful things about it is that almost anyone can stand and help influence it, Like Reg Keys proved. If you are what the majority of your constituents want, you'll get into parliment.

Sorry, I don't want this to come over as confrontational or disrespectful...

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

We call ours "Indicons". Funny how the Tories never run against these "Independents". Last general election time we had a choice of 6. Next time it will be more like a shopping list. :fit:

The local main "Green" person is allegedly a "dealer" (that may be spite due to a petition he raised against the landlord of his favourite pub) :shrug:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

On a side issue, this may be harmful to other "alcoholic" MP's, as if they see that Kennedy was forced out, they may not seek help for fear of losing their postion. :shrug:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

He will be making a statement at 3.00pm ?

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Looks like me will resign. I do not like any of the leadership contenders. I hope Lembit Opik runs

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

I hope he decides to stand and actually leave it to the membership to choose.Too many lib dem MPs are thinking that they should decide their party leader...He has after all a record to be proud of unlike any of those seeking his resignation and I suspect that the membership are rather bewildered by the about face of the Lib Dem MPs.I know I am and I'm not even a Lib Dem.:erm:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

I think he should stand down... otherwise his drinking habit could and probably would get worse.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

It has just been on BBC news that he is standing down, they are just waiting for the official statment.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Oh so everyone with a drinking problem has to stop working altogether eh?It's not like he's a bus or train driver.Also what's the point of battling alcohol addiction if you just are never going to be given a second chance and are just written off.There are thousands of ex alcoholics who have given it up for many years..does that mean they can never be trusted with any kind of responsibility ever?

If you expect leaders to be paragons of virtue you need to grow up.No one is perfect and if they were we still wouldn't trust them.:rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 15:17 ---------- Previous post was at 14:59 ----------

It's a bluddy shame!:(

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Alcoholism is ok, it doesnt effect your ability to work and do a good job, any job for that matter, it doesnt even effect your family or work colleagues. But if there is a slight hint of your drink problem getting in the way of any of this, maybe its time to become a politician as an alcoholic with this job can be totally immune to its effects and criticisms.

and with that said, maybe now is the time for me to grow up.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Oh well I suppose he had to stand down, let's face it, Westminster is renowned for it's honesty, openness and purity so there was no way he could stay :erm:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

All Lib Dem leaders are selected by the membership on a PR basis. And yes This member is bewildered. :shrug:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

I think they will be persuaded to seek help just like kennedy has been.. if it wasnt for people around him noticing the problem this thread wouldnt be here and he'd still have his job.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

absolutely ..

the irony of his leadership continuing to be tenable up to the point at which he had the guts & honesty to face up to having a problem, is not lost on me, either :(

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

funny really - everyone has known about his drinking problem for ages, yet they were happy enough with him at that time, and now they decide for whatever reason that they no longer want him - it gives them an easy way to oust him.

I guess it would have been more acceptable if he liked to wear black sacks over his head, and have an orange shoved up his ****, maybe they would have seen it as 'normal'

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

He's quit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4590688.stm

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

You said a mouthful there..

What do people want? A politician who tells the truth or one who lies?

Perhaps we get the politicians we deserve rather than the ones we want because frankly I sometimes wonder if we actually do know our own minds.:erm:

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

I think this shows the problem we all have with politician in that we expect them to tell the truth but to be a model of perfection. Our treatments of any indivdual faluts our politicians have forces them to be dishonest. They are doomed either way, they tell the truth they are hated, they tell a lie and they are hated.
I do not think people want the truth. They do not like it when the truth is told, no one likes bad news and to be told that somethings have to be done. Higher taxes for better services in changed to we will lower taxes and improve services.

People want to be lied to, they just dont want to find out they have been lied too. People do not want to show politicians are respect or find any good in them.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Which is possibly why we get such crappy governments.What a bunch of hyprocrites we can be..:(

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Well, there is a difference between telling a white lie by nescessity, and just bulls**ting to get into government and remain there.

There are times when I think lies are nescessary, and therefore white. Say for example if the Hemel bomb was terrorist related and the group said they had a network of bombs due soon. The ensuing panic will do more damage than the bombs, so a fraudulent cover story, such as an accidental explosion would be more appropriate than the truth.

However bulls**ting only for the purposes of getting in to parliment and remaining there, like with promises of unaccomplisable aims is something different.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

I've never really been that interested in government politics, I dont understand it much :spin: but I still use to trot down to the polling station like a little sheep to vote labour every general/local election. no matter who wins, they all lie and are mainly interested in lining their own pockets.

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Contrast what the Lib Dem MP's have said with the remarks of 'ordinary' people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4590920.stm

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thre...20060108014206

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

The Lib dems have done so much damage with this. They always appeared not to be like other partys but now they are shown as worse!

This has been an amazing act of backstabbing, other partys may do the same but never so publically. People like Campbell breifed against him, and then when it emerged he was going to let the grass roots decided they knew he would win so decided to force him out before the members could choose!

I hope a candidate not assoisted with the backstabbing runs and gets the support of the members! Come on Lembit opik!

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Kennedy has asked for a contest instead of having just one candidate and I hope it happens!

Could the title of the topic be changed to something covering the fact he has resigned and that there is a new leader coming? Lib Dem leadership or something

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

Looks like certain Lib Dems are showing their true colours and are starting to follow the same style of politics as the two main parties that they have continuously ridiculed for their public infighting and backstabbing.
What is it with British politics that a party cannot go 12 months without stabbing one of it's members in the back??

Re: Charles Kennedy admits to having a drink problem...
 

The best bit was the fact that The Lib dems constantly want the voting system changed, love to boast about there values and one member, one vote policy and then force Kennedy out to bypass the grass roots vote that they know they'ld lose