Party 'cannot cling to ideology' if it is to attract voters from left and right

The Liberal Democrats will remain in "permanent opposition" unless they embrace fresh ideas and attract progressives from both the left and right, one of Charles Kennedy's senior aides warned yesterday.

Mark Oaten, chairman of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party, set out his vision for achieving government within eight years time and warned that the party cannot afford to "cling on to its ideological purity". He said moderate Tories had expressed interest in joining the Liberal Democrats and argued that the party should capitalise on Conservative disarray and infighting to usurp its position as the official opposition.

He said the party should not fear an influx of Tories into the party, arguing that this would only enhance its electoral prospects and not compromise its identity. "Some Liberal Democrats are concerned about the impact that Conservatives joining the party might have on our policies," he said. "You can attract Conservative votes and members by staying true to Liberal values, and these days you don't even need to wear a Barbour."

Mr Oaten has played a role in shifting the aims of the Liberal Democrats away from third party politics to replacing the Tories and aiming for government, and warned that the party cannot risk another lurch to the left. "To gain from Labour's failings the party must avoid moving to the left," he said. "We need to have the ambition to set out our own vision for the future and challenge ourselves to question some of the traditional positions we have taken on tax and spend and the role of the state."

Mr Oaten also argued that more progressive policies should be developed including the creative use of the private sector in public service provision. But he said the party could not afford to attract Tory support alone and should not close its doors to disaffected trade unionists. "A new younger generation of progressive Conservatives and moderate trade unionists are now starting to look to pursue their ambitions through an election-winning machine called the Liberal Democrats, and we should welcome rather than fear this," he said.