We try not to link to the Daily Mail if we can possibly avoid it, but on this occasion we reckon it’s worth it on this occasion. They have a video interview with former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell MP from the courtyard at Buckingham Palace. He was there to be admitted to the Order of the Companions of Honour at an investiture yesterday.

He speaks about how good it was to receive the honour from Prince William who had studied at St Andrew’s University where he’s the Chancellor. He said that the Prince had talked to him about the University’s 600th anniversary celebrations which he had helped to launch. Apparently they also discussed how Prince George was sleeping more.

It’s a very special day….nothing quite prepares you for the dignity and the splendour of the ceremony.

You can see the whole thing here and a lovely picture of Sir Menzies and his wife Elspeth after the ceremony on the British Monarchy’s Flickr site here.

Sir Menzies ended his special day by giving an interview to Scotland Tonight in which he talked about his life in politics and his retirement. You can watch it here – it’s the first item on the programme.

He said he was retiring because he would be 79 at the end of the next Parliament and doesn’t think it makes a great deal of sense to be in the House of Commons at that age.

He’d  joined the Liberal Party at university  as an act of rebellion against his Labour supporting parents and  never regretted it as he instinctively felt, reinforced by reading John Stuart Mill, that he’s  a natural liberal, a politician of the centre left. He spoke of the late night whisky induced ribbing he took from John Smith about not moving to Labour.

He felt that his contribution as leader had been to restore morale after the resignation of Charles Kennedy, to professionalise the party and to prepare for a General Election which everyone thought would take place shortly after Tony Blair stood down in 2007. When Brown decided not to go to the polls, he said it was appropriate to stand down and let someone younger lead us in to 2010.

He turned down a chance to serve in Gordon Brown’s cabinet because it wasn’t a formal Coalition with specified policies and priorities in a joint programme.

“I didn’t ask for any Cabinet position and I wasn’t offered one” was his response to a query about whether his generation was passed over. He said he has no regrets of any type whatsoever

How has the Coalition affected the Liberal Democrats’ prospects?

The Coalition was a Coalition of necessity to give stability to the economy and to restore the economic position of the UK. Very slowly, perceptibly, now, it looks as if we are on that road…we are getting back into growth. There are two caveats: we can’t have growth funded purely by a property boom or consumer expenditure based on the notional value of housing.

And post 2015, who would he like us to go into Coalition with?

It depends on the circumstances and the arithmetic. One has to look at the demands and requirements of the policy. The best way to ensure the implementation of Liberal Democrat policies is to get the largest possible number of Liberal Democrats elected.

Would he like a seat in the House of Lords?

That’s in the gift of the leader, but even though I am retiring from the House of Commons, I have no intention of retiring from politics.

You can watch the whole interview at the beginning of the programme here.

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