Thetownend.com

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

been battling the bottle and leading the libbers.

That really wasn't pretty.

Do feel for the poor chap booze addiction is nasty seen a few chaps destroy themselves with the demon drink.  One poor soul did a Best knowing full well that it would kill him in the end but just couldn't stop.

Looks like the Dems are after their very own pretty boy having seen what the coke tooter has done for the Tories.

for about ten years  :)

i thought the cameron stuff was just that he may have smoked weed once?

No idea to be honest heard all sorts but it's  bound to come out eventually the press have some nugget that they can't use yet that's for sure.

whats the requirement to be classed as an alcho?

Not sure if there's an official units borderline but I'd go with...

-Drinking before 11AM (holidays excluded  8) ) more than 3 times a week
-Queuing up for the pub to open for more than 5 minutes
-Buying more than one bottle of Supermarket own brand vodka at a time
-Pissing yourself and not changing the sheets.

any more?

Convincing yourself that toothpaste is just a marketing ploy by cosmetics companies cos "Anything that gargling with Scotch won't shift isn't going anywhere".

Charles Kennedy - the drinking man's politician

I like Charlie, and think the Lib Dems could really damage their image if they handle this insensitively.  The guy has a problem but should not be treated like some sort of outcast.

I wonder how many other MP's have "problems" but don't face them.

tbh he actually comes accross as a politician that is honest. i've always voted lib dem anyway but i think he's a very capable politician.

yeah but a drunken leader isnt good .. imagine if by some miracle the Libs got in power .. a pissed up PM?? NOOOOO

I'd rather have a p'ed-up PM than a clinically insane retard as US President. Anyway, didn't do Yeltsin any harm - helped break the ice at dull international summits

Personally not a liberal fan politically, but as all the parties are as bad as each other IMHO, I enjoy the politicians with a bit of personality not just retarded broken record (like most MPs).  Kennedy always struck me as a sound guy, and this has reinforced my belief that whilst he may have lied at first he is fundamentally an honest guy.  I find it hard to believe he's the only MP with a drink problem, but to my knowledge he's the only to openly admit to it recently.

do you think this could actually increase the lib dem vote if he remains?

I think if the Lib Dems don't tread very carefully they may lose a hell of a lot of voters (including me).

I'm already a little annoyed at the way the back stabbers have come out.

Can't see it he'll become nothing more than a Scotch drunk version of tabloid favourite Paddy Pantsdown.

Now there was a man made for headlines.

It may make him more popular with the electorate but undoubtedly less popular in the party IMHO, it does make it far to easy for the media to crucify now though.

I don't know a lot of older folks attitudes may well be one of sympathy but I’m not so sure they’ll be quite as accepting with an MP as they are with your standard musician or soap star.

Alkie is rather a grubby word and usually associated with a bit of a grubby person in a lot of people’s eyes when it comes to the real world.

But he's scottish it's second nature to him :wink:

Had to be said didn't a Scotch man that drinks?   :o

It's like eggs with sausage meat and breadcrumbs.  North of the border it's the law.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4587076.stm

Can't see him lasting much longer after this.

he says he's not going to resign though, and the two contenders to succeed him both say they won't run against him in the vote for leadership he's called.

stick in there i say, son.

C.K's job has been a bit in the balance for a while, he's been walking the tight rope of being pretty popular with the elctorate while not so popular within his own party. Pretty sure his drinking has been pretty widely known about for a while so not sure why it's all come out now. I guess it's pressure from the lib-dem mp's with them wanting to get in the news to prevent the conservatives regaining any seats against them with the tories big new flashy leader. Fair play to the libdems I say. Fucking tory cunts.

He's resigned,not much of a shock, its nots a good idea to have a alcoholic as leader of a political party even if it is only the Lib dems.

Politics seems in a sorry state to me.

Half arsed policies that don't make sense; parties concerned with image more than politics; parties pulling themselves in different directions. Seems that it's style over content these days which I guess was always inevitable but I was hoping it could be minimsed. Hopefully the country will pull itself out of this rut sooner rather than later.