FORMER Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who died late on Monday aged 55, left a political bombshell behind him — he wanted to start a new left-wing Scottish party.

Alastair Campbell made the astonishing assertion in a tribute yesterday to Mr Kennedy, who had allegedly texted the former New Labour chief spin doctor saying: “Fancy starting a new Scottish left-leaning party? I joke not.”

The text came after Mr Kennedy lost his parliamentary seat to the SNP in last month’s general election.

“He said in some ways he was glad to be out of it,” said Mr Campbell. “I am not totally sure I believed him.”

He added that Mr Kennedy had spoken “fluent human, because he had humanity in every vein and every cell.”

But Mr Kennedy’s greatest political tribute came from the anti-war movement, to which he became something of a hero in 2003 when, as Lib Dem leader, he broke the Establishment line to condemn the Iraq war — although he did so on the basis that there had been no UN resolution.

Addressing the largest protest in British history that year, he said: “I can assure you there is no way, in all conscience, that the Liberal Democrats could, or should, support a war.”

Labour anti-war MP Diane Abbott said that opposing the war was a difficult call for Mr Kennedy to make. Establishment-minded Lib Dem politicians were pressing their leader to back the government.

“You cannot overstate Charles Kennedy’s bravery in finally coming to the right decision,” said Ms Abbott.

“I was on the huge Stop the War march and rally. It was the biggest ever and on the platform at the end was Charles Kennedy. He was not a regular on left platforms but his determination and convictions shone through and the crowd loved him for it.”

Mr Kennedy’s family announced his death in a statement “with great sadness and an enormous sense of shock,” adding that they would comment further following a post-mortem investigation.

“Charles was a fine man, a talented politician and a loving father to his young son,” said the family statement.

He leaves a parliamentary record of voting against the Lib Dems’ fatal 2010 sell-out over university tuition fees and for the raising of benefits in line with prices.