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Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is addressing the party spring conference
The Liberal Democrats are no longer a "party of protest" but one of government, leader Nick Clegg is telling their spring conference.
Winning the Eastleigh by-election had provided "momentum" and debunked "the myth" that being in coalition has undermined the party, he wil say.
He will hit out at "naysayers" who had written the Lib Dems' "obituaries".
Mr Clegg is also promising to fight any Tory moves for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
Distinct identity
Speaking to delegates in his end-of-conference speech in Brighton, Mr Clegg will acknowledge some in the party have "quiet fears" that teaming up with the Tories was too big a risk.
But he will predict the risk could pay off in May's local elections and the general election in 2015, saying: "The longer you stand side-by-side with your opponents, the easier your differences are to see.
"We don't lose our identity by governing with the Conservatives - the comparison helps the British people understand who we are."
Mr Clegg is looking to distance his party from the Conservatives on issues like taxation, education and the NHS, saying it has "all the biggest ideas".
He is also focusing on Home Secretary Theresa May's speech on Saturday, saying leaving the European Convention on Human Rights remained "on the table".
He will say: "Well, I tell you, it won't be on the cabinet table so long as I'm sitting round it. Conference, make no mistake, no matter what the issue."
Mr Clegg is celebrating the winning of the Eastleigh by-election, which saw the party hold on to the Hampshire seat with a reduced share of the vote compared with the 2010 general election.
"The odds were stacked against us," Mr Clegg he will say. "A fierce campaign, under a national spotlight, dogged by difficult headlines from day one. Extraordinary circumstances. Yet we still won."
Secret courts rejected
His speech follows a difficult few weeks for the Lib Dems.
Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne has admitted perverting the course of justice by asking his ex-wife Vicky Pryce to take his driving licence points. Both could face jail when they are sentenced on Monday.
Accusations of inappropriate behaviour against former Lib Dem executive Lord Rennard have emerged, causing the party to launch investigations into what went on and the way it handled the issue. Lord Rennard denies the claims.
Despite holding on to Eastleigh, the Lib Dems' national opinion poll ratings have remained low.
Lord Ashdown, who is overseeing the 2015 general election campaign, told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that the party - in a coalition government with the Conservatives since 2010 - had been "courageous in the national interest".
He praised Mr Clegg as an "extraordinary and talented leader", adding that the coalition had to "last all the way through to polling day".
Meanwhile at the conference Liberal Democrat activists have rejected the government's so-called "secret courts plan" to allow some information deemed dangerous to national security to be heard in closed hearings.
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