Lib Dems 'could be main opposition'

The Liberal Democrats will have to display commitment and discipline "of the highest order" if they are to overtake the Conservatives as the official Opposition, the party's foreign affairs

spokesman, Menzies Campbell, said today.

And he rejected the idea that the leader Charles Kennedy's latest reshuffle was a sign that the party may be shifting to the right.

"It was a reward for competence and ability and it is an effort to make maximum use of the talent that is available."

Interviewed on the ePolitix.com website, Mr Campbell was asked whether he thought the claim that the party would be the official Opposition by 2009 was a case of setting their sights too high.

He replied: "What I argue is that this is a time of opportunity. It is not a time of certainty by any stretch of the imagination.

"But the gap is there, created by the levels of disappointment with the Government and disillusionment with the Conservatives.

"The gap is enormously wide. The question is, are we able to be disciplined enough and committed enough to fill it?

"I think we are but we will only achieve what is possible if our commitment and discipline is of the highest order. Any hint of complacency and we'll simply get knocked back."

Mr Campbell said he did not think the party was in the business of needing an Alastair Campbell.

"I don't think any Liberal leader would want to

be subject to the influence of one man to the extent Tony Blair was with Alastair Campbell."

He stressed that Mr Kennedy had been right to say that the left-right notion did not matter any

more in politics.

"The old notions of left and right are much less relevant. I don't think they've disappeared entirely but they are much less relevant."

Asked how he assessed President Bush's achievements, Mr Campbell said: "If you draw up a profit and loss account of President Bush's foreign policy you wouldn't need to do too much creative accounting to reach the conclusion that he had made net losses."

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