Nicol Stephen said his party is capturing young votes

At the party's autumn conference in Fife, Nicol Stephen said his party was "putting young people first".

He said policies on liberty, education, international affairs and the environment were winning youth support.

In his address, UK party leader Charles Kennedy repeated his call for British troops to leave Iraq.

The Glenrothes gathering was a key one for Mr Stephen, coming just over three months after his election as Scottish party leader.

He told delegates: "It is clear to me that our Liberal Democrat approach on personal liberty, the environment, international matters and education strike a chord with young people.

"That's why at the Edinburgh University Freshers' two weeks ago there was standing room only for a Liberal Democrat meeting in the very room David Steel started his political career.

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"And I was in that room with David Steel talking with young people who want to see a tolerant, diverse and inclusive Scotland.

"A Scotland that not only offers them opportunities as individuals to be successful, innovative and creative but also encourages them to be part of thriving local communities and a peaceful global community."

Mr Stephen said promoting a "liberal Scotland" was generating a greater commitment to the party from young people.

Mr Kennedy said British troops in Iraq were no longer seen as a "liberating presence" amid the continuing violence and should be withdrawn.

Charles Kennedy said British troops must leave Iraq

He told activists: "I think it's high time our troops began to come home, as simple as that.

"The reality is that the invasion, on the basis of which it was conducted, was a terrible mistake.

"If you are going to take that kind of decision for heaven's sake make sure you have got an exit strategy.

"To fail to plan properly for the aftermath, I think politically is the most unforgivable of all, because we have let down the very people the government claimed we are there to liberate."

Mr Kennedy added: "The presence of British and American forces in Iraq is no longer part of the solution, it's part of the problem.

He said the party was building on its success as a coalition partner with Labour in the Scottish Executive and he praised its achievement in the general election, when it won two new seats in Scotland.