Sam Wheeler, who attended the Lib Dem conference in Brighton, reviews Sir Menzies Campbell's first speech as party leader.

Matt Pollard and Victoria Araj who are attending the Labour and Conservative Party conferences, watched the speech from home and share their thoughts on Sir Menzies' performance.

And so, we come to the whole reason I'm here, Sir Menzies' speech.

The Party treasurer, showcasing all the party's elected officials to a backing track of air-guitar inducing power chords was quite a special experience, especially while the collection bucket was passed around.

Ming Campbell holds his "safe" hands aloft following his first speech as party leader

I was about to put in 50p but I remembered Tuesday's tax amendment just in time.

It was worth sitting through three more montages, if only for the image of Ming in a fighter pilot outfit.

Then at last, the man we'd all been waiting for entered the hall to rapturous applause.

Mounting the stage and holding aloft the 'safe pair of hands' that the party members voted him in on, the crowd fell silent. And the speech that followed emphasised exactly that. Safe.

Beginning with the kind of snide jokes at Tony Blair you would expect in a sub-standard issue of Private Eye, Ming went on to condemn spin, before going on to, cite, justifiably, the lack of substance in Tory tax proposals, and secrecy in Labour's.

Foreign policy seemed a more sensible direction, with Ming decrying the obvious injustices of Guantanamo, rendition, torture and the Middle East situation.

However, even here, in prime Liberal Democrat territory an over-cautiousness belied anything said.

Perhaps I really am one of those people who falls for style over substance, politically shallow Sam's day at the seaside Click to see who Sam met

Sir Menzies condemned the war in Iraq, but didn't explain what he would do now.

He used Afghanistan in the same breath, muddying two very different operations in order to raise the death-toll he could hang around the neck of New Labour.

Of course, any condemnation of Israeli action was out of the question.

With a quick side-dig at "substance free" David Cameron and some nonsense about winning power in Scotland he got back onto local issues, wheeling out the old point scorers; tuition fees and free elderly care.

Sir Menzies then left the podium. He didn't stop talking, he just left the podium.

I thought he'd missed it. And then the safe pair of hands were aloft again and I was surrounded by cheering Liberals.

Unimpressed, I walked out.

Perhaps I really am one of those people who falls for style over substance, politically shallow.

Compared to the fiery rhetoric of Tony Blair or the smooth public school charm of David Cameron, I had one thought on my mind as I left the conference hall.

That old man from Fife just doesn't cut it for me.

It seemed all the gossip in Brighton centred on Charles Kennedy's return after his spell away whilst recovering from a drink problem.

I reckon this overshadowed Sir Menzies Campbell in the eyes of some and continued to undermine his leadership.

He needed to make a speech that would silence his critics and stamp his authority.

He had to prove he deserved to be leader, and he did so with gusto.

In one of his best performances so far, Sir Menzies launched a particularly scathing attack on the Conservative party and David Cameron especially.

He accused the Tories of being a "substance-free zone" and branded the last Tory manifesto - a document written by Mr Cameron - as "one of the most reactionary, unpleasant, rightwing manifestos of modern times".

Sir Menzies, who earlier this week persuaded his party to shelve their own plans to raise taxes labelled the Tory's tax plans "a slogan, not a policy".

Sir Menzies can attack David Cameron but the Tory leader may have the last laugh

With the Tory conference looming, it'll be interesting to see how the rhetorically talented Cameron will react to what Campbell has accused him of.

Sir Menzies - with the help of some clever stage managing - received a five minute standing ovation for his attack on Cameron.

However, unless Sir Menzies' soundbites result in an increase in support at grassroots, one can only question how long his support will remain strong.

Sir Menzies can attack Cameron for as long as he likes but unless support increases, the Tory leader may have the last laugh.

"A party of substance not spin" was Sir Menzies Campbell's punch line.

Due to how poor Liberal Democrat spin is - the modernizing presentation beforehand in black and white for example - the words "a party of neither substance or spin" comes to mind.

But let's not be too cruel.

Campbell has been the only party leader to defend our civil liberties, fight against 90-day detention and understand that the terror threat to our country is directly linked to our foreign policy.

But Sir Menzies condemnation of current British foreign policy didn't go far enough...

Why were the crimes committed during the recent conflict in Lebanon not condemned? Where was the condemnation of Israel for their disproportionate action?

Speaking of war, I thought it was hypocritical of Ming to call for the Tories to apologise for the war in Iraq.

Especially since it was the Liberals who supported the other war in Afghanistan, which has led to the death of more nearly 4,000 Afghans and where our troops are engaged in some of the fiercest fighting since WWII.

Sir Menzies condemnation of Britain's current foreign policy didn't go far enough

However, the Lib Dem leader was was right in his condemnation of the Conservatives and what I think to be their xenophobic manifesto from the last election.

With no mention of constitutional reform or Europe a scary thought came to mind.

Will I have nothing but this to vote for at the next general election?