It's up to us to make our luck. Nobody else is going to make it for us.

Charles Kennedy

As party members gathered in Bournemouth for the conference, which starts on Sunday, Mr Kennedy said the fuel protests had vindicated the Liberal Democrats' position on taxation, adding that governments had to be honest about it.

The Lib Dems would not hide the fact that people would pay more in tax under their party's proposals, but they should see where their money was going.

"The government began by arguing fuel taxation was for environmental purposes, then they argued that without this revenue they couldn't provide more doctors and nurses and all the rest of it. People see through that rapidly," he said.

"We have always argued that fuel taxation should be ploughed back into transportation policy to make it more environmentally friendly.

"It means more public transport, it means tax incentives for the motorist to use more fuel-efficient cars, it means we are willing to confront the issue of congestion charges in cities.

"People will pay more tax under our proposals. The fuel tax, we want to see that capped and then we want to see the investment put in."

Higher tax demands

Mr Kennedy added that his party would ask those earning more than �100,000 a year to pay more tax, so that those at the bottom end of the income scale would not have to pay tax, and more money could be given to pensioners.

"That's a clear choice for the country and I'm very encouraged that our party's going to go forward and present that clear choice," he said.

Among the Lib Dems' policies to be debated at the conference will be its stance on crime and policing.

On Saturday, the party's home affairs spokesman Simon Hughes MP revealed details of a letter written to him by the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, about policing levels.

Mr Hughes said the letter indicated that several police forces were still expected to face cuts in police numbers in the next two years, despite the government's police recruitment campaign.

The Lib Dems' policies include boosting initial funding to get more officers on the streets and creating a new category of part-time retained police officers.