Ed Davey, Lib Dem MP for Kingston and Surbiton, and Ming Campbell’s chief-of-staff, gives his views on a range of issues over at ePolitix – you can read the interview here, or listen to it here.
Topics covered include:
* Whether Lembit Öpik would make a good Lib Dem candidate for mayor of London;
* What date an early elections might be (26th October is Ed’s top tip); and
* Who the Lib Dems would back in the event of a Hung Parliament?
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4 Comments
26th October?………elections on a Friday now?…..or are we just going to run 24 hours behind everyone else?
“Whether Lembit Öpik would make a good Lib Dem candidate for mayor of London”
The answer to the question is “NO”.
Has Lembit ever run a large organisation? Does he have proven management skills?
He is less of a buffoon than Boris Johnson (not a difficult feat) but equally lacking in the attributes required to run the GLA.
Archer would have been useless, too, and for much the same reasons.
If London matters (and I think it does), then the GLA is worthy of serious attention. The Mayoralty should not be a dumping ground for troublesome celebrities.
Lembit is doing a perfectly good job where he is at the moment. If he can resist his Oatenesque penchant for inviting the media to gawp at his private life, he will rebuild his reputation and hover around the upper echelons of Lib Dem politics for decades to come.
PS: Perhaps I should rephrase what I said, as it is a bit unfair to compare Lembit with Mark Oaten.
Lembit was unlucky enough to have an ex-girlfriend sufficiently callous and embittered to talk to the press. The worst the woman could say about Lembit was that he was “immature” and often came home late.
Lembit has kept his mouth shut with regard to his relationship with Sian Lloyd. What he did and probably should not have done is allow himself to be featured in a celebrity magazine.
If not Lembit then who. Surely you need somepone with star quality and if the best you have is Paddick then suggest you don’t put anyone up.
You know with Boris and Ken you are likely to be very seriously squuezed out of coeverage in a way you have not been before.