Liberal Democrats are gathering in Brighton for their spring conference during troubled times for the party.
Lib Dem president Tim Farron has said the party is in a "critical state" and its survival is not guaranteed.
The conference comes a day after the wife of ex-cabinet minister Chris Huhne, Vicky Pryce, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Leader Nick Clegg also faces questions over his handling of claims against ex-Lib Dem chief executive Lord Rennard.
But the conference comes a week after the party managed to hold on to Mr Huhne's former seat of Eastleigh, Hampshire, in a by-election.
Mr Farron, in an interview with The House Magazine, likened the party to a "cockroach" for its ability to survive but said this should not be taken for granted.
The words "cockroaches" and "nutters" are rarely, if ever, seen as compliments.
But that's exactly how the Liberal Democrat President Tim Farron has described his MPs and activists.
And, yes, he does mean it as a positive. Cockroaches surviving after a nuclear war, activists who only survive by campaigning like nutters because there is no such thing as a safe Lib Dem seat, he argues.
Mr Farron is known as an energetic action man and this is a plea to avoid complacency after the party's success at the Eastleigh by election.
That by-election result will lift morale at the spring conference in Brighton.
But the likely big talking points there aren't exactly ideal.
The rows involving the former chief executive, Lord Rennard, and the former cabinet minister, Chris Huhne, could arguably have happened in any party.
But they happened in the Liberal Democrats and so they have to deal with the awkwardness of it.
Much, much bigger than the Rennard and Huhne business though is the party's appeal to voters at the forthcoming local, European and then general elections.
He said "99%" of people "don't care" about the sexual harassment claims against Lib Dem peer Lord Rennard.
But he said the Lib Dems "certainly appear to have let people down" over the handling of the allegations, which Lord Rennard denies.
Senior figures in the party are also facing questions about when they knew of allegations that Pryce had taken speeding points on her husband's behalf.
Pryce will be sentenced along with her husband at a future date. He pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The Lib Dems tasted victory in the Eastleigh by-election last week when they held the seat but with a reduced share of the vote, ahead of the UK Independence Party.
Mr Clegg said Lib Dem candidate Mike Thornton had pulled off a "stunning victory" which had been secured "against the odds".
The by-election was called after Huhne resigned as an MP following his admission he had perverted the course of justice over the driving licence points.
Poll ratingsFormer Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this showed that "rumours of our demise are grossly exaggerated".
However, national opinion poll ratings continue to hover around the 10% mark.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said there would be three names hanging in the air in Brighton - Eastleigh, Rennard and Huhne - with the first, at least, a positive one.
He said Mr Clegg was expected to tackle the issue of the claims against Lord Rennard head on at a rally on Friday night to mark International Women's Day.
Mr Clegg would talk about the need to change in terms of party structure as well as the potential for gender discrimination and abuse of power, our correspondent said.
The name of the independent chairman who would look into the issues for the party was also likely to be announced.
Mr Clegg will start the conference on Friday evening with a speech to a rally of party activists.
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