Charles Kennedy
| Charles Kennedy | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Name | Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959- 1 June 2015) |
| Nicknames | ChayKay (fandom) Chatshow Charlie (press following his appearance on Have I Got News For You) |
| Politics | |
| Party | Liberal Democrat |
| Constituency | Ross, Skye and Lochber (1983 - 2015) |
| Positions | • Leader of the Liberal Democrats • Shadow Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs • Shadow Spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs • Shadow Spokesperson for Health |
| Likes | Federalism |
| Dislikes | The Coalition, Iraq War |
| Friends | Alastair Campbell[1] |
| Enemies | No one |
| Relationships | |
| Partners | Sarah Gurling (2002 - 2010) |
| Children | Donald James Kennedy (2005) |
| Personal Attributes | |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Height | In feet and inches |
| Eye Colour | Grey-ish? |
| Handedness | ? |
| Accent | Scottish |
Charles was the “boy next door” of British public life. ~ John Bercow[2]
He had — and still has — that rare gift for someone in public life: when people think of him, they smile ~ Nick Clegg[3]
The most electorally successful leader of the Liberal Democrats and generally nice person.
Life and Career[edit | edit source]
Early Life[edit | edit source]
Charles was born in Inverness and went to Lochaber High School in Fort William. He went on to study Politics and Philosophy as the University at Glasgow where he joined the Social Democratic Party. He was also a keen debater and won the Observer Mace which for anyone who knows about Scottish debating society competitions is pretty amazing. He graduated in 1982.
Pre-political Career[edit | edit source]
After graduating he went to work for BBC Scotland and was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship with allowed him to carry out research at Indiana University in the US. Despite having a job outside Scottish politics, Charles' first love was back in the thick of it and a year after graduation he won election to the House of Commons for the first time. He would remain the MP for his first constituency (in its various guises through boundary changes) for over 31 years.
Early Political Career[edit | edit source]
While studying in America Charles won the SDP nomination in his seat and won a shocking election victory over the sitting Conservative candidate. He was 23 at the time, making him the Baby of the House when he took his seat.
Parliamentary Career[edit | edit source]
Since the SDP was such a small party when Charles was elected and the fact that he was incredibly clever, he quickly rose through the ranks following his surprise victory.
SDP-Liberal Alliance and merger[edit | edit source]
He was the first of the five SDP MPs to support the merger with the Liberal Party since they were already cooperating in the SDP-Liberal Alliance. The merege finally happened in 1988 and the party eventually became the Liberal Democrats.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats[edit | edit source]
Charles was elected Leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Paddy Ashdown, winning 57% of the vote under AV. His style of leadership was more laid back than that of Paddy Ashdown which was nice.
During his time as Leader, Charles oversaw a huge change in the Liberal Democrats and their campaigning strategy. He decided to focus on marginal seats and key issues to grow the party. In particular, Charles led the Liberal Democrats' campaign against the Iraq War, at the time a controversial position to take. Using this and the expanding network of local political groups, Charles led the party into winning the biggest number of seats the Liberal Democrats have ever held - 62 seats (22.1% of the vote) in 2005. However, the party and press saw this as a failure, as polls had previous put the Liberal Democrats on a far higher vote. A number of key party members resigned, claiming that Charles had taken the party too far to the right. Concerns intensified within the party following the election of David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party with many in the party worrying that they Liberal Democrats would lose votes to the modernising Tory.
Resignation[edit | edit source]
On 6 January 2006 Kennedy was informed that ITN would be reporting that he had received treatment for alcoholism. He decided to pre-empt the broadcast, called a sudden news conference, and made a personal statement stating that he had been receiving treatment for the illness over the past eighteen months. He told reporters that recent concerns within the party about his leadership were in part due to his issues with alcohol but that he had not had a drink in two months and would fight a leadership contest to settle the matter. Following supportive messages from grassroots Liberal Democrats but facing calls from parliamentary colleagues to step down, Charles later chose not to take part in the leadership election.
Backbench career[edit | edit source]
From the backbenches Charles focused on by-election campaigns, internal party politics and working for a "Yes" vote in the referndum on changing the electoral system to the Alternative Vote system in 2011 and for a "No" vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014. Charles was a critic of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government following the 2010 general election. There were rumours that his dissatisfaction was extreme enough to cause him to defect but these were swiftly denied by both the Liberal Democrats and Charles himself.
2015 General Election[edit | edit source]
I am very fond of political history and tonight, if nothing else, we can all consider and reflect in years to come, perhaps tell our grandchildren, we were there on the night of the long skean dhus.~ Charles Kennedy[4]
Charles lost his seat to the SNP in the 2015 general election after a particularly nasty and personal campaign.
| Full List of Appointments |
|---|
| • Shadow Spokesperson for Health (1989 - 1992) |
| • Shadow Spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1992 - 1997) |
| • Shadow Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1997 - 1999) |
| • Leader of the Liberal Democrats (1999 - 2006) |
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
I am enjoying the Loch Ness monster exhibition with my nine-year-old son. I told him it's the world's most famous floating voter~ Charles Kennedy[5]
He married his former wife in 2002. The couple were granted a divorce in 2010.
Charles was fluent in text speak and terrible at answering his phone[6].
In 2008 Charles was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow, serving in the post for 6 years.
Death[edit | edit source]
It was announced by his family on 2 June 2015 that Charles had passed away during the night. Following a post-mortem, the family put out a further statement explaining that his death was the result of a hemorrhage linked to his alcoholism[7].
Charles' father passed away in April 2015.
Have I Got News For You[edit | edit source]
If any hon. Member is ever invited on to “Have I Got News For You”, my advice is, “Say no, unless you want to be made out to be a prat or unless you are Charles Kennedy.”. ~ Tim Farron, [8]
Throughout his political career, Charles appeared on Have I Got News For You nine times[9]. He was generally seen as competent and funny which is why he was invited back on to the show so many times. Following the news of his death, the show ran a small tribute compilation to him showcasing a few of his best moments on the show[10].
| Greatest Moments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Summary | Video | Transcript |
| 19 December 2008 | Charles putting Clarkson in his place | "Don't worry, Jeremy, most people watching this in Scotland can't understand voting Tory either." | |
| 21 December 2001 | Charles talks about John Prescott's fish | Captions on the video | |
Portrayal[edit | edit source]
In the Media[edit | edit source]
Prior to his struggle with alcohol being made public, the media generally viewed Charles as affable, clever and a great asset to the Liberal Democrats. His profile initially took a hit following the story, but over time his reputation recovered.
In Culture[edit | edit source]
His many appearances on Have I Got News For You and Question Time allowed people to make up their own minds pretty quickly.
In the Liberal Democrats[edit | edit source]
A controversial figure within the party, his charm charisma won him many fans. He attended Lib Dem Glee Club and there was even a song dedicated to him, which he was known to lead (even when he was party leader):
In Fanon[edit | edit source]
Fandom generally liked Charles for the same reasons that most of the rest of the public liked him - he was funny and generally sensible and appeared on some great TV shows.
Meme[edit | edit source]
Charles has appeared in a number of types of fic, from crack to angst and multiple AUs. Sometimes appears as a background character giving sage advice to the younger MPs in shipping fic.
Shipping[edit | edit source]
Shipped (surprisingly often) with Peter Mandelson and Sarah Teather.
Prominent Portrayals in AUs[edit | edit source]
Charles appears in Boxes!Verse as a child who causes trouble but is good at heart.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Charles looking fly in 1999
Charles growing wild and free
Charles with Charles
Charles with a couple of other funny men
Charles getting pelted with custard pies in Glasgow in 1980
Srs bb!Charles
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ http://www.alastaircampbell.org/blog/2015/06/02/charles-kennedy-a-lovely-man-a-talented-politician-a-great-friend-with-a-shared-enemy/
- ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150603/debtext/150603-0001.htm#15060324000831
- ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150603/debtext/150603-0001.htm#15060324000834
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32971204
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32971204
- ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmhansrd/cm150603/debtext/150603-0001.htm#15060324000834
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33025795
- ↑ HC Deb, 3 June 2015, vol 596 col 604
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Have_I_Got_News_for_You_episodes
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcOQ2juWM1U
