What kind of pressure is Charles Kennedy under?

He is faced with a mass walk-out of frontbenchers if he does not quit by Monday. Twenty-five MPs, including eight of his shadow cabinet, have signed a statement saying they are no longer prepared to serve him.

Is he going to go?

Mr Kennedy's spokesman says he will not resign "in any shape or form" this weekend. The Lib Dem leader himself has said it would be a "dereliction of duty" to walk away from his job and claims to have "overwhelming support" among ordinary party members.

What happens now?

Senior MPs and peers will continue to pile on the pressure for him to quit and if he fails to go are likely to call a confidence vote when Parliament returns next week to try to change his mind.

What is the point of a confidence vote?

Mr Kennedy has already called a leadership election so a confidence vote is not needed to force a contest. But critical MPs think it could still be a way of spelling out to their leader that he just cannot continue. Even if he lost a confidence vote, Mr Kennedy could still be a candidate in the leadership contest.

What has happened to the leadership contest?

The Lib Dem federal executive will meet in the next few days to start formally arranging the contest requested by Mr Kennedy.

Who will stand?

Mr Kennedy says he will stand but so far no other candidates have come forward. Sir Menzies Campbell, previously favourite to take over, and home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten both say they will not stand against Mr Kennedy. Party president Simon Hughes has yet to announce his intentions.

So the only name on the ballot paper could be Mr Kennedy's?

It could be - and if that happens he would be automatically re-elected as leader.

How would a leadership election work?

There would be a secret ballot of all Lib Dem members - about 70,000 people - using the single transferable vote system where members list preferences and votes from the least popular candidate are reassigned to others until a winner emerges.

Who can enter?

Any Lib Dem MP who is nominated by at least 10% of the parliamentary party AND 200 members from at least 20 local Lib Dem parties.

And how long would the election take?

The rules do not set a specific timetable but the last election took two months when Paddy Ashdown stood down and was replaced by Mr Kennedy in 1999.