kennedy s cautious optimism charles kennedy is far too canny to make any grand claims about how his party may fare at the general election.  in his 22 years in the commons  he has seen his fair share of such claims dashed on the rocks of bitter experience and  he might say  the uk s political and electoral system. but even his caution cannot hide the fact that this is a party and a leader that believes it may well be on the way to something special in a few months  time.  look  i have already said i am not going to put any artificial limits on our ambitions this time around   he said. he still seems to accept that the most likely outcome is another labour victory of some sort. and his general election pitch is designed around the notion of the lib dems as the  real  opposition.  but doesn t that lead to the jibe that his is a party actively bidding to come second  he is prepared to go this far:  a clear conclusion has been reached  including by conservatives  that the conservatives are not going to win this election.  therefore the potential is there for the liberal democrat advance to be one of the big stories of the election  given that we have the capacity to take on labour and win as well as take on the conservatives and win.  this is really going to be the first modern three party uk election that we have all experienced . but haven t we been here before  with suggestions in the 1980s that labour was finished. won t voters looking for an alternative to labour still naturally gravitate to the conservatives   the problem is that  geographically  the conservative party has melted away in about a third of britain.  we have supplanted them as the main alternative to labour in whole tracts of mainland britain. and they are a party with an ageing and declining membership base and they just do not look vibrant or vital or in touch any longer with contemporary britain .  mr kennedy is also eager to dispel any impression his party is the new party of the left and is likely to attract mostly disillusioned labour voters.  he insists his three headline commitments  to be financed from a 1% tax increase on those earning over £100 000 a year  will appeal right across the political spectrum. they are to replace the council tax with a local income tax  provide free long term care for the elderly and scrap student fees. he also believes being the only major party promising to increases taxes will not land him in the same trouble a similar policy did to old labour.  i think the tax argument has moved on a lot in british politics particularly in the context of the forthcoming general election   he said. under a labour government the tax burden would have to rise  while the tories  plans to increase spending in some areas while also reducing taxes is just incredible  he claims.   we are being straightforward with people  saying you know there is likely to be an increase in the tax burden  we are only recommending one specific tax rise for the top end of income scale earners to fund three specific policies .   that is a clear cut choice for people  one i am very comfortable with and i think will distinguish us from the others . as to his own future  he is clear. if  as expected  his party increases its showing at the election  he intends to go into the next parliament  on the front foot with a view to leading it right through that parliament into the next election because i see that as the decisive opportunity for us . that last remark reflects a view gaining ground in westminster that  if the tories do as badly as some fear  the election after next might really see that historic breakthrough by the third party. perhaps then mr kennedy will be ready to put some of the caution to one side.