Photograph: Martin Argles
Leaving the Lib Dem conference it's hard to work out what it all amounts to. Days spent debating policy initiatives, spending plans and tax rises that will never happen, culminating in a somewhat anticlimactic leader's speech.
Strangely, little that the Lib Dems say actually impacts on their standing at the polls. The party has rather prospered by its brilliantly targeted campaigning – led by its election guru Lord Rennard – and the increasing unpopularity of the other two parties.
Perhaps that explains why after listening to Charles Kennedy speak for an hour - and days of policy debate - I'm still unsure what the party's role will be after the general election. If the third party does not seek coalition government, what does it seek?
