- 29 Aug 06, 12:25 PM
So, at last, Greg Hurst's biography of Charles Kennedy is out. I know Greg well - we used to be colleagues on the Times - and the extracts of his book live up to his reputation as a journalist - it's splendidly written, well-informed, and right. There are no angry denials pouring forth from Lib Dem HQ this morning.
Based on just the , there is no new killer fact that makes you drop your toast. We already knew the former Lib Dem leader had a drink problem, we already knew there was a plot to oust him last Christmas.
But that doesn't mean the new detail isn't important. For example, when Mr Kennedy resigned in January, he said he had been fighting alcoholism for eighteen months. According to the book, he had actually had a problem since before he became leader in 1999 and his aides knew all about it even then.
This prompts a big question. Mr Kennedy led his party through two general elections, the Iraq war and many other crucial events - while trying to cope with alcoholism. Did the millions of people who voted for him and his party have a right to know? It's a difficult one.
The conclusion that the current leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, and other senior party figures came to was no. They knew about the problem in 2003 when Mr Kennedy and they came close to revealing all at a news conference that was cancelled at the last minute.
They decided the best thing to do was to offer help to Mr Kennedy in private, urge him to get treatment and hope it went away. It didn't and eventually MPs found the situation untenable and forced Mr Kennedy out in a messy confrontation last January.
Was it a cover-up? "No" says the party, just MPs behaving properly and loyally to maintain Mr Kennedy's right to privacy. In other words, it was a cover-up but an honourable one.
The other question is what difference it would have made to voters' behaviour if they had known about Mr Kennedy's drink problem. Seven months on from his resignation, the former leader is still popular in the polls, and the Lib Dem grassroots are still not quite sure what to make of Sir Menzies.
After remaining largely silent since his resignation, Mr Kennedy is in the process of trying return to the political frontline. A big speech is planned for the party conference next month, he's hinted he'd welcome a frontbench post if one came up. This book makes some form of a comeback more difficult but certainly doesn't rule it out.
