Ming: we'll smash cosy consensus

Last Modified: 20 Sep 2007
By: Cathy Newman

Sir Menzies Campbell promises the Lib Dem conference he will smash the Labour-Tory consensus.

"With age comes experience, and with experience comes judgement" - that was Sir Menzies Campbell in Brighton today, confronting the issue of his advancing years and his critics calling for a younger, more energetic leader.

Squeezed between Gordon Brown, still enjoying a honeymoon bounce, and David Cameron's move to the centre ground, the Liberal Democrat leader claimed he would smash the cosy consensus between the main two parties.

And there was a policy too: Sir Ming promised a bill of rights which put the protection of the environment at the heart of Britain's constitution.