LIBERAL Democrat leader Charles Kennedy's current difficulties show how much the balance of politics has shifted in the last couple of weeks.

It also gives an indication of the battles ahead in the New Year.

At the last General Election the electorate asked why the Tories still existed. They offered re-tread ideas and were led by a re-heated leader. In terms of an opposition to the powerful political machine that surrounds the Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Conservatives were pointless.

But now the Tories have David Cameron as their leader. He has suggested that they can, once again, be a genuine opposition to Mr Blair: holding him to account, even holding him up to ridicule.

The question is now why the LibDems still exist. They have a hazy direction, appealing both to those on the left of Mr Blair (and, for that matter, of Gordon Brown) while at the same time picking up support from exasperated Tories.

It is because of that new question that Mr Kennedy is in such trouble. Despite his party's good showing at the election, Mr Kennedy has to provide a new impetus for the LibDems.

At the moment, those demanding his removal are probably panicking unnecessarily. They want change purely for the sake of change.

Yet, in a way, we welcome Mr Kennedy's discomfort. It shows that the Opposition is itself being held to account. He is being asked if he is doing his job properly.

This is because of the Cameron effect - even though we know nothing about Mr Cameron's policies, whether he's an insufferable right-winger or a wishy-washy lefty.

He has an eye for the photo-opportunity and the soundbite, from casting off his tie to recruiting Bob Geldof. This is putting pressure on Mr Blair, with the unfortunate Mr Kennedy sandwiched in between.

We hope, though, that in 2006 Mr Cameron's opposition will push Mr Blair into better thought-out decisions, particularly in his school reform agenda.

And we hope, too, that the concept of opposition spreads locally so that council decisions are also tested rigorously. For example, in Darlington, what are the political alternatives to the merger of Hurworth and Eastbourne schools, and in Wear Valley is the row over the EU flag - although symbolically interesting - really the most politically valuable form of opposition?