speaker, of a card board cutout point scoring, party politician. brave, yet, brilliant yet flaunt. as he said about people, he admired most he was a fully signed up member of the human race. mr. speaker, he was funny. he was very funny. his good humor must not obscure the fact that there was a courage about him, most memorably on display taking the principled decision to oppose the iraq war. just because that might seem an obvious thing to have done now, it most certainly wasn't at the time. charles, a lone voice in the house, standing up against the consensus in favor of war on all sides. the fact that he was proved to spectacularly right is a tribute to his judgment and his

intuitive common sense. mr. speaker, i think charles would be the first to admit cheerily that he was not a details man when it came to policy. he treated the necessary, but often tedious detail of policy discussions within the noble democrats with the same attitude he viewed his constituency, admired from afar but a trial endured by others. [ laughter ] at one of his earliest decisions when he was leader of the liberal democrats was to end the long health convention the leader of the party, should attend all of the regular and invariably lengthy meetings of the democrat party committee. it was a characteristically wise decision for which i was forever grateful during my time as leader. [ laughter ] again, mr. speaker his disregard for the undergrowth of policymaking should not obscure his unusually instinctive and

deadly serious appreciation of the bigger picture in politics. whether in europe constitutional reform, arguments against national and politics of identity or lifelong belief in social justice, charles had a gut instinct about the big challenges and the big choices we faced, not the daily twists and turns and slight of hand that dominate politics. he understood above all i believe, that politics is at its best when it speaks to people's values in their hearts, not just a dry policy debates, and mr. speaker, there is so much i miss about charles, his wit, warmth, and modesty, but i suspect many of us feel absence keenly when our country decides in the next year or two whether we belong or not in the european union because of all his convictions

his internationalism endured most strongly. he was a proud high lander a proud scott, a man who believed in our community of nations within the united kingdom, but also a lifelong believer that our outward facing character as a country is best secured by remaining at the heart of europe rather than retreating elsewhere. as the debate becomes dominated as it no doubt will, by the noise of statistical claim and counterclaim, i will miss the lyrical clarity of charles' belief our future as an open heart and generous spirited country is unstately and must be defended at all costs. mr. speaker, couple years ago charles and i found ourselves cowering under the shelter on the terrace of the national liberal club in the pouring rain for what he called a wee bit of

fresh air. a wonderfully inappropriate euphemism for a quick smoke. we talked at length about difficulties liberal democrats faced within the then coalition government. it is a measure of the man that even though he was almost alone in our party in not supporting the decision to enter into coalition in may 2010, there was never a hint of approach or i told you so in the advice he gave to me then and in other conversations. he remained unstintingly loyal no matter what the circumstances and no matter how strong the temptation must have been to blow his own trumpet and say the events proved him right. he was far too subtle for that. he had made his views clear at the outset, but he respected in good faith that what his party colleagues were seeking to achieve in government and provide support and advice every stone of the way. which is why it was no surprise

when he said after being challenged about his loyalties, after the 2010 elections, the prime minister already cited, i will go out of this world feet first with my liberal membership card in my pocket. i'm just devastated that it's happened so soon. our liberal political family has lost one of its most admired advocates, and british politics lost one of the best story tellers. this house has lost one of its warmest wits and most loyal parliamentarians. mr. speaker, if we carry ourselves with the honesty and wisdom of mr. kennedy, politics would be held in much higher esteem than it is today. >> mr. clark. >> mr. speaker grateful for the opportunity to make a brief addition to the tribute already paid to the party leaders which i wholly agree. i, too, remember charlie kennedy

arriving in the house of commons in 1983 making a startling impression. he was very young. he was a student. he looked like a schoolboy. and rapidly people realized that in addition to all these rather striking attributes, he combined it with being intelligent articulate, self-confident, and capable of addressing the house in a very, very fluent and eloquent way with that joking relaxed charm, which was his very distinctive style which i don't recall anybody else achieving in the way that he did. he rapidly became because he was such an unexpected but unique figure very prominent, not just in parparliament, but nationally, and he looked as though he would have been

destined for a brilliant gnarl career apart from the limited expectations of the social democrats and liberal party which he then associated himself. well, he did actually achieve a good national career, and he eventually took his party to heights that would have been unimaginable electorally when he arrived, and i do believe his own distinct personality made a very great contribution to that. people who've said his great moment was the iraq war, and i do agree with that. but he actually made many others strong principled positions on europe, and he was wrong sometimes, as he was on the coalition, but he always had this candid censerty in which he expressed his views and always came to clear and principled conclusions, which was he was

prepared to argue for p. we will all miss him. his personal attributes, we all know but they never made him unpleasant if sometimes they made it a little difficult, and it made him a more rounded character. i'm glad to say that he was one of the last of that great tradition which said you should best address political problems in the atmosphere of a smoke-filled room, which has been lost today. [ laughter ] but, if i may, i agree with the right honorable lady. my main memories of charles apart from being on good terms with him always, did demonstrate that if you make a life in politics, you can be some remarkably decent, honest very highly principled people, and people like charlie kennedy will leave their mark on this house for many years to come. my sympathies also go out to his family and friends. >> sir general corker. >> mr. speaker, i first met

kmarls kennedy on his first day in the house of commons when i went into the members dining room and saw this young man looking forlorn and lost wapd wandering around and wandering what to do. i asked him to join me at lunch, and i found out who he was, and he was the youngest member of the house of commons, but the fact that he was young, although it moment that he was not of that stage going to assert himself did not mean that he didn't know why he was in the house of commons. he was in the house of commons to stand up for certain principles about which he felt strong ly strongly and he stood for those

principles in this house of commons and outside this house of commons from that first day right through to the end. he 4 very, very strong views but he was never vindictive. he was never benevolent in expounding those views. he knew where he stood worked out where he should stand and you knew when charles kennedy spoke, he had thought it out, he thought it through and at the same time, you would not budge him also you could argue him out of a position and his positions were pretty strong. he's been mentioned again and again and rightly so that he opposed the iraq war, and he's mentioned again that was not an easy thing to do at the time.

it was not the view of the overwhelming majority of the house of commons at the time, but you would not budge charles if he worked out a position and he believed that position to be right. he was always genial, fun, and good to be in his company. you rarely saw him without a smile on his face, but the senilesmile on his face was not a smile of apiecement, but of geniality and a smile of good will. over the years, i always valued his company and his opinions. i join with the rest of the house in expressing my profound sympathy to his family. we shall miss him. >> mr. robertson. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. i express my sadness, that of all members of the scottish

national party about the untimely death of charles kennedy. most people in the political village, most people here knew he was unwell for quite sometime. during the last parliament our offices in the third floor were just around the corner from one another, and we bumped into each other regularly, coming to the chamber or returning from committee, and it was clear that he was still having to battle challenges, but not in my worse dreams did i imagine he was taken from us at the young age of 55. politics is a hard business, mr. speaker, and while i and my colleagues are delighted that the snp won the constituency, i was saddened kennedy would no longer be in parliament. it's a mark of a man when i got in touch with him after the general election, he readily met up with me to share his experience of his leadership of the liberal democrats when that was the third party in the house

of commons. people across politics attest to the generosity of spirit that he showed to people on all sides of the party, and those who have not yet had the opportunity, i would strongly recommend they -- i strongly urge everybody to read the blog which illustrates friendship. my predecessor is a member of parliament parliament, i'm charles kennedy, very, very good friends, and there's others in the house and elsewhere that enjoyed that friendship and mutual respect tremendously. we all know that charles kennedy was a formidable and witty debater, and his skills honed edd long before he was in the chamber amazingingly at the age of 236789. they were honed at university. anybody who disabilitying against anymore from glasgow university, they attest to the talent that's come through the

union and speech society. it's won more world championships than oxford combined. they won more than any other university. charles kennedy was one of thee top debaters winning the observer mace, an accolade shared with the former leader of the labour party john smith, with the former secretary of state for scotland and french minister, and with my honorable friends. my avoiding memory of charles kennedy, however, is in the chamber, and it was in his condemnation of the iraq war position that was shared between the liberal democrats and scottish national party. they questioned the prime minister of the time repeatededly on the case for war, on the lack of evidence of weapons of mass destruction, on the role of the united nations, and international law. his speeches and questions at that time have stood the test of

time, and the underline that his convictions were right while others trooped through the lobbies in support of what was an illegal war. charles kennedy was a giant in scottish and in u.k. politics, and he was a was from an area of scotland where he was very proud and led the party to historic successes while remaining rooted in the real world and liked by people of all political persuasions, and there's few people in politics who can live up to that. it is such a tragedy that he died so young, and our con sympathies to his friends family his son, donald, and all the liberal democrats and his colleague. >> i had the honor and pleasure of knowing charles for some 37 years. when i went to glasgow university union, he was already the star of the debating chamber there, and nchtin fact, he was the preeminent debater of his

generation. he was terrifying to speak against, but a joy to compete alongside. he had tremendous debating skills with which he regularly enricheded this chamber, and it's a pity those members elected just last month will never have the joy of seeing how enriching he could be to this house of commons. he was a man of considerable wit as mentioned, great charm phenomenal intelligence. he was absolutely passionate about his poll teches, and he had very deep seeded views but however passionate he was, there was never a hint of malice or threatening behavior from him. he was one of those great politicians who would absolutely love to have a blazing row with you in the house of commons and a pint with you in the strangers bar a half hour later. he was a man of great authenticity in an era where the public feels that politicians are molded to be as colorless as

possible. he was a man of great integrity who spoke from the heart about issues that he cared so much about. he loved this place. from the minute that he came here, i remember coming to see him a few weeks after his election he absolutely loved the house of commons, but however important he became in this place, he was never self-important at any time. i will remember him for integrity, humanity, and decency, as many of us in this house, and i'm sad for his family, for their untimely loss but i'm sad for us all because our entire public life is poorer for his passing. >> dr. mcdonald. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. could i reiterate the words of my previous speaker here, it is

aed is a day for all of us in this house. i've been privileged to have this opportunity to speak and express my sympathies and those of my party the stlp to the family and friends of our good friend and colleague the great charles kennedy. from a distance i was aware of charles when something of a wonder he stormed to the elections, way back in the early 80s, and later had occasion to meet him at various events, and he was warm, humble humorous and very, very human. enough has been reflected by others here today. charles reached out to everyone, and as remarked earlier, this thing as much as talking. when i was elected here to the house, i got to know him better and he was always kind considerate, helpful and in a word, a genuine great human

being, and i'm so hardened to hear so many warm comments from people across the house today. we have he was a formidable politician and a great colleague not least in iraq, but across a range of issues including europe and great passion he has for europe. today, we are all much lesser for his going he's gone to his eternal reward much, much too soon and extend sympathies to family and friends and pray god and mercy look kindly on charlie's gentle soul. >> edward lee? >> if i may say a few words as i walked into here as a member with charles, 3 2 years to the day, he was already amongst new intake, quite a celebrity. we were just another large

intake. mr. speaker, they come and they go. [ laughter ] but he had fought and won his highland seat, and, really, for all those 32 years that i served with him in this house and on theon the counsel but in a way i felt we were soul mates, and sometimes he had to go against the groove and i had to but there was something there very powerful. i think his faith was powerful, and i like to think in a previous life, he and i might have marched together in a hopeless highland cause, i don't know. but his causes were never hopeless, and i think his legacy will live on. let me say a brief moment about that because i think it's been said, for instance about the iraq war, that he wanted to place his party as a radical

alternative to labour but i think it went much deeper than that and more powerful. we wouldn't have listened to his arguments and followed him into his lobby if we were not convinced by what he was saying, that there were limits to imperial yalism, and he understood the limits, and understood what a difficult part of the world it is and we met ever since. he's been proved right on that. if still here or another place shortly, he would have been really a powerful advocate for our union because his was a gentle patriotism not a narrow minded nationalism, and he would have been generous also i think, in terms of the participation of a scottish national parliament in this place, which i think is very important, and we must welcome and recognize they have to take part in the debates, and he

wanted to be a powerful voice in that too. it would have been also, a powerful voice and influence in other areas. for instance, his opposition of the coalition, i agreed with him in that. i never -- i thought it was disastrous for our party, but i was proved wrong, but it was principled, and i think it was not just that he recognized that it is difficult for a party protest to become a party of power. there was something much more principled than that. i think he instinctively believed that politics is not just about the pursuit of power, but it's about the pursuit of truth also and he was always a very powerful advocate and when i saw him operate in the council, i felt he was in the true mediate there. let's not be too serious there was more than that. he was determined to extend that freedom in democracy to eastern europe and played a powerful part in the body.

so all those years, i admired him, and i think it's truly sad, isn't it, mr. speaker, that when we die we can only take with us what we give away. this man gave everything to the house, and there was never a braver or truer spirit. >> mr. ian black. >> mr. speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak today as we make tribute to previous member, and charles loved by many in this house and deeply loved by many throughout the constituency. the prime ministers spoke about charles winning the seat in 1983 when he came from fourth place to first. i sus pebt that many of his then colleagues in the sdp did not expect that mr. kennedy would win that seat, but the studies around them are legend to me, of the campaigning that took place

in that period back in 1983. charles, traveling around the constituency with his father, his father playing the fiddle, and what truly happens in that election campaign is that charles charmed the constituents, just as he did when he came into this house when he burst on to the political scene, and he became a big figure, not just on scotland, but on the world stage as he became the leader of the liberal democrats. he loved campaigning, and, indeed, he still loved campaigning as we all saw in the recent general election campaign his desire to appear in front of the election, public meetings, and that don'ting style that's been referred to by so many, and it was an absolute privilege to campaign against him, and i would say when i look at the strength of our own benches here today with 56 members of the scottish national

party elected, it was truly the national type that meant charles lost a seat. i think what many referred to us as what we would call in highland terms that cheeky chap pi chappy, and that highland bra bravado. you have that exterior of being jov voef there was another character as well, shy character as well, the contrast between the two faces. i think much has been said about the humanity and the humility of the man himself. one that of course, was robust in debate, but had respect for those opinions whether on the iraq war or anything else. my avoiding memory of charles is

not from the recent period but first election to the scottish parol limit in 1999. i recall that evening that both charles and myself were in the television studios, and it was not up like the recent election a wonderful night for the snp great as we became in that occasion, and there's a number of seats that we had a hard time in debate, and i can remember charles talking to me and consoling me and actually rather than pushing the button, one recognized the evening we were having. that was the mark of a man, a decent, human man that saw struggles others went through. i regret as my constituents will, the passing of the this brilliant man. rest in peace. >> mr. henry. >> i'll pay a short personal tribute to roadway markble man, and i also, like my friend, came to the house on that hot day in

june of 1983 with charles kennedy, and he did not do hr, and he was not given an office for many months, so you got to know -- we all spent a lot of time finding our own level in this place mainly the terrace but i also had groups with charles kennedy, and after yet another precise iveive discussion, i remember saying to the party leader it is perhaps that my constituents have a good time, and, indeed he did have a very good time.

>> i last meant him about four days before the house, and he asked me how things were going and he asked me about the member, and we talked about the highlands, and i wished him well, but he did have that really quite amazing ability to make everyone feel that much better about the day, better about their lives, and he had passions, his family above all else and donald, and i think the highlands glasgow university and europe.

i will miss him to no end. quite remarkable person left our lives, and we'll -- all the people doing well will be poorer for it that many, many other people as well, mr. speaker. >> on occasion like this, our thoughts are first and foremost with charles kennedy and his young son, donald. on behalf of my right honorable friends in these benches, we offer all our sincerest sympathies. their loss is immeasurable, but i hope they find some comfort in the death on the extent of the tone of the tributes that have been offered here today and who left early and a country as a whole now mourns. charles kennedy was that rare thing, a professional politician from the public saw him as one

as their own not apart or distant from them, but bodied the point of why people vote and why they campaign and why they become passionate about causes to believe in politics. others have charted his whit and skills as a public speaker from early youth onwards you the man i saw in this place stood out most of all for his sincerity and his honesty. following the loss of the leadership of his party to his successors was nothing but public professional loyalty and the party he handed on to them, the party he led to greatest electoral heights in a century was one left in good political health. his personal tragedy was a terrible disease, one effects who are intermitten and cruel and momentarily robs the

suffererer the ability to be himself, but the real charles kennedy was the man we remember today and admire and mourn and believed utterly in the causes he stood for without hitting anybody else for believing in theirs. he approach each new day, i remember meeting him many mornings with good natured relish, free from attempt of political nows, but absolute in the convictions and from his youth in the house to a far too premature passing, the greatest memories he leaves with me and with most, i suspect is his warm heartedness, tremendous like ability and great, good humor. may god bless all his loved ones and comfort them in this time of grief. james gray. >> i rise quickly mr. speaker, because many colleagues today spoke of the great talents in this place, but in common worth

wealth, this i had the good fortune to spend a year with charles, as did mary mccloud, colleague from -- my experience of campaigning against charles if you like, during the election, resides well with the warm speech, i think, his successor made moments ago from this place. charles could have easily very much resented this english looking and sounding scott, which i am, turning up at his beloved highlands, trampling all over it and turning over every event, for example there was a good photograph in the journal with the magnificent headline, he's miles ahead, and i saw him, and he said -- they get everything wrong.

[ laughter ] indeed, i'm extremely glad in this case they got that wrong. he was warm in every dealing i had with him. the election campaign, for example, we met in public meetings, always kindness, and he turned to me, and he said i can't remember what the liberal democrat policies are, jals, can you just remind me? [ laughter ] i felt him in on a few details. five years later when i appear appeared, charlesfuls the first to welcome me with open arms when aarrived in the place and remained a good close friend ever since. his warmth and personality spoke for him. he was a highlander through and through, and highland warmth, highland welcomed, highland lack of interest in party politics, highland friendship for people of every kind, and he spoke for ordinary people, and they understood and sympathized with

him, even the true blue -- still a few left in north of scotland -- they, nonetheless absolutely loved their charlie. greatly missed a fine man, and a true friend. >> tom watson. >> mr. speaker i knew charles through sarah and got to see beyond the public figure and party leader. he was shy, but polite. he was kind. he was engaging. he was a good dad. i enjoyed his humor joking about how we shared the same private investigator from the news of the world. he had that ability to bring levity to even the dark corners of british political life that made the bad days at the office easier to cope with. yet as many members know, all

too painfully, politics takes a toll on the lives of our loved ones in a way we never properly know or understand. through you, mr. speaker, if i may, i'd like to directly speak to donald, son of charles and sarah. your father was a very great man. he stood up for what he believed in. he led a party of the center left with dignity and compassion. when you are older, you will know your mom and dad believed in a cause greater than themselves. you will be proud. >> he was an immense talent and says so much about the man that so many honorable members in the house have spoken with such complete genuine warmth about charles, and he had the

extraordinary ability to reach out beyond p the narrow confines of his own party to make genuine friendships with people of other political persuasions, and so directly speak to people in a language they understood, but not in the language of the village. that was a remarkable talent not shared by many people here, and i guess overall we probably all share an overwhelming emotion that our hearts just go out to young donald and to his family on this day. that is the most important thing, our thoughts very much are with you all. i have the privilege of working as a private secretary to charles in the first parliament here between 2003 and 2005, and i saw in close quarters his

extraordinary ability his compassion, his never ceasing curtesy to people. he never lost his temper in dealing with people. he was always polite. he used the power of arguments to win his case. and he trajgically suffered from an illness, an illness that afflicts too many people in our country. mr. speaker, there is still a stigma that attaches to mental health and to addiction and we all, all of us here and beyond still have a lot to learn in how we combat that stigma and treat it as a genuine illness and offer help to the individual as much as we possibly can. there are three things in particular that i remember charles for. first of all, and i think in a

way this was what defined him, his courageous stand on the war in iraq and the prime minister was absolutely right to reflect on the pressure, the strain he must have been under when he spoke in this house with the mass traits of the labour governments and conservative benches him, but he was steadfast. he knew what he believed. he articulated the case very strongly, and effectively in a very critical moment in our history history. the second thing that defined him for me is internationalism his total commitment to the european cause not for any narrow economic case, but because of the real power of the european union, bringing countries together, and working

together trading together bringing people together. his politics was about uniting people, not dividing people. that's what made his commitment so strong to the european union and then finally, his complete commitment to social justice, to challenge injustice wherever he saw it. mr. speaker, everyone will know that the liberal voice in our country has been diminished as a result of the general election results, but i and the rest of my party must do everything we can, united together, to ensure charles' legacy to rebuild the liberal voice in our country and i'm sure that everyone in this house, whatever their political persuasions will recognize the force of liberalism and importance that it has in this house of parliament. thank you very much indeed mr. speaker. >> mr. howell williams.

>> thank you mr. speaker, greatful for the opportunity to pay tribute. on behalf of my former colleague in the 2001 parliament and charles kennedy friend working alongside him to oppose the war in iraq. we opposed the war from the very start, and this was straightforward, our opposition, and for charles kennedy, though it was a bigger challenge taking the brave decisions towards against prevailing here and in the media, and having to fight to get some of his colleagues to follow. standing against the war was not easy for any of us, but it was not a comfortable place to be but, mr. speaker, we have come to this place not to be comfortable, but rather to do what we see as being right. charles kennedy took that path, and it's a fitting tribute that he prevailed.

today, our thoughts with the family and for his future legacy for me his family comes to mind, they declare, and it is the glory, and it's distinction. charles kennedy achieved many things, but i think his opposition to the war in iraq will prove to be his distinction. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i was elected to the house on 5th of may 2005 with charles kennedy as my leader and he was meant to in the weeks running up to the election pay a visit to us and d.c. university, on both sides, and he had a very good excuse to miss that appointment, which was the birth of donald, and i remember at that time

immense pride we felt in charles as our leadership, for the immense pride he felt in becoming a father and in the weeks past, the election, winning by 236 -- 267, and the publicity of donald's birth probably helped and i say this, as the months went by and there were a good number of them, i did not get the phone call. there were positions appointed, and then i got a phone call, probably in the september from charles, and he said, i'm sorry i've not given you a job but i just completely forgot about you. [ laughter ] and would you like to be the spokesperson, an entirely natural facility? that was the only time i ever felt forgotten by charles. the year before that a year younger than charles at his passing, i lost my mom after a

long, and horrific illness and i remember seeing him amongst dozens of other candidates and he knew exactly about the situation that i and my family were going through, and he had immense compassion for me, and he never stopped asking me about the situation, and once she passed away about how i was, and that was a measurable man. he went through difficult times in terms of personal health primarily concerned about the well being of others. he was a persuader. he was a persuader because he was able to reach people in their good. people make their minds up on the basis of all sorts of things, but generally speaking, you only move people if you get people there. he was elected for the only the only stp ever to gain his seat in the general election by the way, and he did that and went on four years later to win the liberals merge to argue on the floor against his own leader, and you could see the faces of

the people in the hall changing minds because they reached in and turned hearts. in my mind what she was so good at was the ability to just communicate and get to people, and he was not contrive. he would say he was human, yes, he was, but he was not contrived. first time i went on, and he questioned -- a few years ago, gave me advice, just said, be yourself. be yourself. charles is successful because he was himself. my advice, i guess, to you, if you are invited on do i have news for you, say no unless you want to be a pratt or unless you are charles kennedy because there's a natural ability to communicate to people, that humanity is one thing. spoken of, and it's not said enough against the iraq war, popular and right thing to do from tea. 12 years ago it was not,

surrounded by people banging at him as if he was somehow an apiecer, and there was a son of his son with a rattlesnake, and he must be doing something right when that happens. he was principled, changed people's minds, and he was right. home human, principled and effective. he led our party to the largest numbers of people in this house, and i want to suggest this to you, that humility humanity, that principle, and that effectiveness, those three things are connected. if we want to understand what charles kennedy was great or why charles kennedy was great it was because he was himself. people say, politicians should have a life in politics before they become members of parliament. maybe. he was elect the at 23. hard to argue he did. reality is not what you have done, but it is who you are, and charles kennedy was a very, very special man. donald you should be really

proud of your daddy. i am proud of your daddy. loved him to bits. glad to call him my friend. god bless you, charlie. >> he was one of the social editors of the house magazine, and we'd have meetings ever tuesday morning for an hour to discuss what happened during the weekend, where we would go the following week, and charles made some of the meetings and not others but what was very clear is we had extraordinary indiscreet exchanges of opinion which never, ever left the room. for something of 15 years; what was said in the room stayed in the room. the discussions were always enlightening because he had points of views that just had not occurred to you, and with extraordinary generosity not just people standing in the back

with people stabbing him but to the front, he was nevertheless generous towards them p. i just want to say something very briefly given that there's people outside will hear this as well. i think donald should read a book by a little prince explains why he's about to die, and he said, i will be a star and every time you look up in the skies, you will see that star and it is my smile, and you will end up -- and i think all of us will end up saying we were glad to have known charles. >> thank you mr. speaker. charles kennedy was one of those people you remember meeting for the first time. distinctive look his very

attractive highland accent his unusual and warm manner as a politician, and i remember meeting him excitedly as a new perspective parliament, and i was touched how genuine and he wanted to know how i was, and how things were going in leads and i was very proud to have not one, but two visits from charles. the first was to an older people's residence, and the second was a rally towards the end of the campaign when it appeared i might make the breakthrough for liberal democrats in leads. on both occasions, charles lit up the room when he walked in. the rally he inspired people to

go out and do a bit more over the last 24 hours to win the seat, but it was the ordinary people, not the party activists who were particularly touched by charles, and by his natural style, and the way that he gauged so humbly with the older residents, with the hard working care staff at the home and people at the cricket grounds, and everyone commented, isn't he such a nice bloke. they were surprised that a party leader could be such. i'm very proud i was elected in 2005 with charles kennedy. as a great leader of my party the liberal departments, he -- best ever results for the liberal democrats, something we will not forget and i was doubly overjoyed when charles became a new father with the

joyous news, and a few months later, i had my own first child my daughter isabelle, and we would meet and chat and having been up would talk new father talk how we were getting on, and charles always asked and causealways cared. he was a truly, genuine warm and humble man and always asked how you were and how your family was before he got into politics. my sincere sympathies go to his family and his friends, and all who knew him, you are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time and it's already been expressed i just hope that the jen u knew win outflowing of tributes to charles is some comfort at this time. i was one of the eight liberal

democrat members of parliament rather than 62 in 2005. we now have the job to restore the liberal democrats to where charles took us to in 2005. that is what charles would have wanted, and that is what we will work and stooif to do. >> mr. speaker, many many hearts broke, i think yesterday morning when we heard the news. it came as a dreadful shock. it was equally heart breaking, i suggest, that charles kennedy, our friend, our colleague, cannot be aware of his great outpouring of affection that is swept up across the nation, and, in fact, wider than the shores of these islands. i think we could have done more to help and support charles, and to let him now how loved he was

because it may be too late now, but it's comfort to the family for them to know that this is a man who was loved and adored right the way across the political spectrum, the national spectrum, and across the world. certainly, all those who came into contact with him grew to love him and hold him in great affection. and i think we shoulding perhaps cherish those with us now and never forget that we do actually, owe that support friendship, but i have to say, charles kennedy set the industry standard for humor and wit in politics for many years and i have to say this is distressing to some people who aspired to the foothills of that great wit that was charles kennedy. for many years, he and austin mitchell enlivened the airways with a three way commentary on

current affairs. known as mitch, critch, and titch. i think that's unfair but titch for charles kennedy? no he was a fine figure of a man in every sense, a great, great figure of a man, and my memories are not just of him absolutely lyly greasing the sides of the nation until our ribs ached with hue nor, not just on the radio or television, but comment to the earlier remark that i have news for you, you had to be a pratt or charles kennedy, i appeared on "have i got news for you" -- [ laughter ] i'm not charles kennedy. [ laughter ] there was another side to him. he was a man of very great and deep faith who drew great strength from the well of that faith, and some people in this

house in the chamber today know that on wednesday evenings when we celebrate mass here he would be there very quietly, very much in the background. i appreciate as a roman catholic tradition that we stand in the back of the church in case of collection -- [ laughter ] but he charles would be there very, very quietly just worshipping with his god, and he drew such strength from him, and i hope you forgive me, mr. speaker, for pointing out that tonight mass will be celebrated for the repose of his soul and comfort of his family in the chapel. charles kennedy, even the words must give us pause to realize how much we have lost but how blessed we were to have known this great man. charles kennedy, may light eternal shine upon him, and may he rest in peace. coming up thursday on c-span3, a house hearing on the

fda's labeling guidelines requiring restaurants and retail food vendors to provide calorie and nutrition information to consumers. see it live at 10:00 eastern. later, a hearing on health care federal exchanges and subsidies that comes ahead of an expected decision from the supreme court on whether to authorize tax credits for purchases made in these exchanges. that hearing gets underway live at 2:00 eastern. >> this weekend we're live for the chicago fri bun row lit fest including our in-depth program with lawrence wright and your phone calls. end of june, watch for the readings festival from the presidential library. in the middle of july, live at the harlem book fair the literary event with panel

discussions. and at the beginning of september, we're live from the nation's capital for the national book festival celebrating its 15th year, and that's a few of the events this summer on c-span2's book tv. >> next, monetary policy hosted by the brookings institution. staffers look at federal bonds purchasing and the impact it has on economic inequality. this is 90 minutes. >> good morning. i'm david, director of the hitch center here at brookings, and our mission is to improve the quality of fiscal and monetary

policy and public understanding of it. hopefully we'll not be judged by performance, but it seemed to us that one of the most vexing questions that comes up with monetary policy is did the feds very aggressive buying, bond purchases contribute substantially to the increase in equality equality, and if so, how much? now this is a topic on which there are strong opinions. there's been some analysis and we are -- our intent is to build on that analysis to think through the extend to which it's true, if so how did it work, and if not, why is it that so many people think that inequality did result from the feds' quantitative easing. we have three papers to present, all of them already posted on the website, three cuts of the issue, and our plan this morning is to have each of the papers

presented, we have a discussion then take the questions and for a few minutes after each paper, and then at the end of the morning, we'll end with a panel discussion that includes a few of the presenters along with my colleague, don cone and kevin of the federal reserve now at stanford. now, it seemed to me as i was reading these papers some of which are more technical and economic model based and some of which are not, there are two really important things to keep in mind. the first is if all that the federal reserve did was increase stock prices, then there really wouldn't be much to talk about. stocks are widely held by people at the top and people in the middle and bottom, and stock prices go up, they benefit more but as josh points out in the paper, they talk about in a moment, house prices are an important factor in this, and for the middle class, house prices are a large part of the

assets, and the extent that house prices go up it kind of muddies the story a little bit, just looking at what happened to stock prices, but the other thing that's important to keep in mind is one that economists do very well and few other people do, which is to keep in mind the counterfactual. what would have happened had the fed not done quantitative easing? compared to what question, by its nature, is hypothetical is really important because you can't assume that something would have happened, or you at least have to examine the alternatives, one of the things we'll do here this morning. before introducing josh, i want to point out that berne nan ke is not with us today but traveling in asia, and weighed in on the issue on his blog this morning, and no surprise bottom line, he rejects the view that the feds' monetary policy hurt the poor and middle class and relative to the rich. you can see that on his blog. we're joined this morning by web

cameras from brookings and c-spans so this is live. don't say anything you don't want the rest of the world to hear, and i'm going to start by introducing josh, the chief economist at the economic policy institute in washington. he's going to look at the channels through which monetary policy works and discuss the distributional consequences of each, and then do that important compared to what question, what would have happened had the fed not done quantitative easing, and what's the consequences of that? after he presents, susan lund of the global institute doing interesting work on the subject will respond, and then the two join me in discussion to take questions before we go to the next paper which i'll describe when that time comes. captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008 captioning performed by vitac