Kennedy set to 'talk Britain up'

Mr Kennedy said he wants to talk Britain up

Charles Kennedy has attacked negative campaigning and said he will "talk Britain up", as Tories and Labour clashed over immigration.

He told the BBC's Breakfast with Frost his party had a "positive agenda" to offer such as axing tuition fees.

The Lib Dem leader ruled out joining a coalition with the Tories or Labour if no-one won an overall majority of MPs.

Opposition parties claim a "black hole" in Lib Dem spending plans, but Mr Kennedy denied that was the case.

Mr Kennedy said: "We can and must do better. We're not in the business of talking Britain down. We're going to talk Britain up. We are ambitious for Britain."

Level of support

He pledged that when the party's manifesto was published later this week all the party's plans would be fully costed.

On the idea of joining a coalition he said: "We will go into this election as an individual party.

"We've got a sustained level of support better than we've ever enjoyed going into a general election since I first participated in politics 25 years ago.

"We are not going to get involved in all this nonsense that's going on the other side of the railway tracks, with the other two parties, about negative this and negative that. People are bored with all that stuff.

"We will say to them, if you vote for us, we will deliver an end to top-up fees and tuition fees and we will actually go out there and make sure that old people who are suffering from terrible conditions like Alzheimer's get support for their washing and feeding and clothing and so on, and we will get rid of the council tax."

Talking Britain up?

Later Mr Kennedy unveiled his party's election battlebus and gave a speech to Lib Dem parliamentary hopefuls on the themes and tone of the campaign ahead.

"There have been issues in this last Parliament where we Liberal Democrats have had to provide the real opposition to the Labour government: over Iraq, over top-up fees, ID cards, the council tax.

"On each and every one of these issues, the Conservatives have lined up with Labour or flip-flopped on the issue under dispute.

"The Conservatives just can't offer credibly the fresh alternative that the country is looking for."

EU accusation

Mr Kennedy said under Labour the poorest 20% were paying more of their income in tax than the wealthiest 20%.

"When you break your promises over tax increases and student top-up fees people don't forget," said the Lib Dem leader.

"Nor will people forgive the fact that Tony Blair lined up with George Bush and we were misled into the Iraq war."

Tory leader Michael Howard accused Mr Kennedy of wanting the EU to decide how Britain policed its borders and he argued the Lib Dems would hand over control of immigration and asylum to Brussels.