According to the Independent’s Pandora column:
“I’m back in business,” announces Lembit Opik. “I’m definitely going to stand for president of the Liberal Democrats. It’s the one job I’ve always wanted.” … With the campaign set to begin at the party conference, the Montgomeryshire MP’s only current rival for the post, which Simon Hughes vacates in November, is Baroness Ros Scott. And Opik is sure he can win. “I’ve got to be regarded as the odds-on favourite,” he insists. “I came runner-up last time.” …
“Who are these people saying I’m not going to stand?” he retorts. “People used to say I was standing for Mayor of London when I wasn’t, and now they’re trying to say I’m not standing for the presidency when I definitely am. “I have already got a couple of slogans ready: “Epik Opik” and “Take It… You’ll Lembit!”
Hat-tip: James Graham.
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7 Comments
I have just copied and pasted what I said on my blog yesterday…
“As a party, the Lib Dems are rather good at lots of things, but we are generally at our very best when we are beating ourselves up.
The latest excuse? A new President. This of course is nothing like the US Presidential race in that while contender Ros Scott has very publicly chosen her running mate, Lembit has equally publicly failed to chose his.
Presumably they represent different ideological strands in the Party? No, apparently not. One is a member of the House of Commons, the other the House of Lords, so that doesn’t help us a lot either. Now that Nick Clegg sits upon the right hand of ……, we have to ask ourselves, surely, if we even need a Party President?
After all, if the ‘reforms’ being proposed by the Bones Commission go ahead, the real power in the party will slip further from the hands of the membership. If the role of the President is to represent ordinary members, councillors and activists in the councils of the wise, then surely it needs to be one of ‘us’ in the job. I feel a little sorry for Ros Scott, who I suspect is on our ‘side’ but she has supped from the cup and should accept the consequences.
So if the presidency no longer fulfils its purpose shouldn’t we simply vote ‘None of the Above’ and drop the post from the Party Constitution? I suppose this is the sort of discussion that will take place in the more exotic bars and pubs of Bournemouth, but I don’t go to conference, so I’ll never know.
(Note to new President: The reason I don’t go to conference is that I don’t see why I should pay hundreds of pounds when I’ve already been given in the Media the policies that our Parliamentary Party has already decided upon.)”
I will not be supporting Lembit for a number of reasons, but he is an ambitious man and he is entitled to stand for whatever he wants.
Generally speaking we need more ambitious people and more ambition in general in the party. That ambition should be for our values rather than personal aggrandisement of course.
I suppose we have to accept a certain level of vanity in our politicians, but Lembit takes vanity into overdrive in a way that makes me cringe. I think it will do him some good to be beaten by someone that most people have not heard of. This is a man who needs a wakeup call.
I agree that he needs a reality check rather than even more reality tv but so does the political elite in general.
Ros Scott went from ordinary member of the public to Cllr, Leader of a Council and Peer in 10 years. Martin I disagree. I feel it’s not the cup that’s poisonous; it is how you presented yourself on the way. With a choice between cheeky, reality tv stardom or experience of running small local to large federal campaigns, council groups and councils themselves we all know what this party needs more of for us to get ahead and show what the other parties either can not or will not do.
We need competent, reliable people at the top of this party who are on top of their game. Can we say this of LO? I like him as he is intelligent, funny and well known and watched him in his Irish role which he handles very well.
While his antics at the time were tolerated when CK was at the helm due to the way the party was presenting itself, please, no more reality figures. After they are all well spent we go to virtual and while Big Bird may get a message across it’s a little A, B, C for me.
“So if the presidency no longer fulfils its purpose shouldn’t we simply vote ‘None of the Above’ and drop the post from the Party Constitution?”
What a pathetic denial of responsibility. The least worse option is always preferable to the worst one, even if you do follow Marin’s line of argument (which I don’t).
I but raise the question James. If the Presidency no longer serves a specific function then is it needed?
I’m afraid that the Lib Dems are the most conservative organisation I’ve come across. The Tories are far more open to change – in fact they will do anything if it means winning power. We seem to be the other way round sometimes.
The party must address the needs of it’s membership, otherwise it will simply decline in numbers year after year. Whoops. Isn’t that what’s happening?
“I have already got a couple of slogans ready: “Epik Opik” and “Take It… You’ll Lembit!”
I’m afraid that will be the ultimate political epitaph on Lembit. A very talented politician who was just incapable of being serious.
I have a message for Lembit :
“Go back to your constituency, and prepare for … a hell of a fight at the next General Election !!!”
[And if you lose Montgomery {which has passed out of Liberal hands for only 5 years in the past century} I shall never buy Hello! again, even when you’re in it !!}