A late night debate is currently underway in the House of Commons, on the subject of London buses.
Aside from a smattering of Labour MPs, there is one Conservative present – Bob Neill, the member for Bromley & Chiselhurst.
There is also only one Liberal Democrat present – Lembit Opik, the member for Montgomeryshire.
In case anyone wonders why this situation is a little odd:
- It’s 10:30pm. Lembit could be at home, rather than at work. With ten people in the chamber, clearly many members agree.
- Montgomeryshire is not, so far as I can tell, in London. Hang on, let’s check:
Hmm… it might be in travelcard zone 6, at a push.
The idea has been floated before that Lembit might run for Mayor of London, as the Liberal Democrats’ “Boris Johnson” – I didn’t believe it before, but I could start to now!
Another (perhaps more plausible) explanation is that as Lembit entered the chamber when the debate was already underway, the whips office noticed the Lib Dem benches were empty and decided that our nearest MP should get in there and sort that problem out. Hang on… doesn’t the chief whip represent a London constituency? 😉
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14 Comments
Perhaps he’s just fallen asleep 🙂
Cheeky is probably working tonight, so nothing better to while waiting to fill in some time.
Think that he would be a good candidate to put up against Red Ken. He has certainly captured peoples imaginations.
Older, wiser, experienced and with an eye on the younger voter.
Having read Hansard, and Stephen Pound’s response to an intervention Lembit made in the debate, I wonder how good a dinner Lembit had last night?
Lembits intervention went thus for those who haven’t read Hansard 🙂
“It was not my intention to intervene, but such was my enthusiasm for the hon. Gentleman’s arguments and comments that I seem to have nodded with excess vigour….”
Rather a classic of its kind I fancy 🙂
I’m more worried that the best thing Rob can find to watch at 10:30 at night is an adjournment debate though 🙂
How would his constituents feel about him standing in London? How would Londoners feel about having a Welsh-representing MP standing as their Mayor? Please, God, select him!
We don’t need another W..ker we’ve already got Livingstone
Since he rides a motorbike he knows somrthing about solving the problem of traffic congestion.
Hiwever unless the writer knows more than he is telling this seems like an attempt to erect a mountain from a molehill.
As too-hoarse would probably say, ‘send all these dam’ immigrants back where they came from – Wales, er, Northern Ireland, er, Estonia, or an asteroid…’
Why not Norman Baker as Mayor ? He must have time on his hands because he certainly does nothing for folk in Lewes !
No 9 – Are you sure it isn’t “ShortCAKE Man”? Since you sound as if you are short of a cake or two! (The OED says a “shortcake” is a kind of fruitcake!)
Presumably you think it is perfectly OK for security services to kill people who get in the way of billionaires helping themselves to other peoples’ oil? Might is right. (Good Tory principle.)
Oh my god, it was true after all. Ken vs Boris and Lembit, or Ken vs a joke and a complete joke. Someone tell my local council not to bother sending me a ballot paper.
Incidentally, when I say ‘it was true after all’, I’m referring to this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6926020.stm
How about Gabriela for Mayor?
Its OK Rob: that story now reads “Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik says he has no intention of standing to be the party’s candidate for mayor of London.” All is fine 😉