The Liberal Democrats are to stage their annual conference in Brighton next autumn after a gap of four years.

The party has booked the Brighton Centre between September 22 and 26 2002.

The last time the party met in the city it was under the leadership of Paddy Ashdown.

This time the party will return to the resort in good heart, led by Charles Kennedy, after confounding critics by winning more seats in the General Election.

The Lib Dems will help fill a gap left by Labour, who met in Brighton last year and will return at the end of this month but will not visit Brighton next year.

The party will bring 2,500 delegates, thousands of visitors and plenty of free publicity to Brighton and Hove.

September 5 2001