I woke up this morning to the absolutely shattering news of the death of Charles Kennedy.

A very human man who led us to our most successful general election result in 80 years.

A man who spoke out against Blair’s illegal war in Iraq.

A man who would have made a great leader for the YES campaign in the EU referendum.

He had a way with him that meant people of all parties and none listened.

A mixture of humour, principles and humility.

He came to speak at a dinner in Mid Beds when I was PPC and before he was Leader. Dinner guests had a real treat.

A blazing star has left my politics.

Absolutely the best thing I can do in Charles’ memory is to make sure the flickering flame of liberalism gets stronger and stronger.

My deep condolences go out to his family and friends. A terrible time for them. Our sorrow is nothing to that they are suffering.