The Liberal Democrats' theme for Thursday is top-up fees and tuition fees – and their policy for the scrapping thereof. Mr Kennedy begins "on a personal note", recalling his time 25 years ago at Glasgow University on a full grant, saying his parents would have moved "heaven and earth" to get him there no matter what – but how many students from "modest circumstances" are being denied the chance of tertiary education now?
"I think there is no more nauseating sight in public life than Labour MPs who, like me, came from less privileged backgrounds, trooping through the lobby to pull up the ladder on the generation coming behind them," says Mr Kennedy, before quoting, with relish, Labour's 2001 manifesto commitment to oppose top-up fees. Students now graduate with average debts of £13,000, set to rise to £20,000, says the Lib Dem leader, quoting the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
7.40am: Education spokesman Phil Willis gets an ironic round of applause from journalists as he's introduced as the "Times Educational Supplement's Man of the Year, 2003". Also on stage is Brent East byelection victor Sarah Teather. The Lib Dems will also be unveiling a poster outside in Smith Square after the press conference, it is announced.
Elinor Goodman asks if it's "progressive" to fund children going to university with taxes paid by families who have no interest in going into higher education. "We've got say to ourselves as a society, we're in this together," replies Mr Kennedy.
7.55am: Andrew Marr wonders where the "tough" message to students is, while the Glasgow Herald asks if the Lib Dems have a target for higher education admissions, akin to the government's 50%. No, is the answer.
Nick Robinson turns the focus to postal voting, and asks if the Lib Dems are preparing challenges to results. There's still time to toughen up the regime before the election, says the party chairman, Lord Razzall. Mr Kennedy takes on the Lib Dems' "soft" reputation on crime by saying that in Liverpool and Islington, where they run the local councils, they have shown the people trust them on crime.
Adam Boulton asks about the appeal for parole of a man who killed a policeman in the 1960s, which clearly catches Mr Kennedy unawares. Poster time ...
