Tag Archives: lembit opik

Mark Pack

London Mayor campaign update: three runners, one clear leader on Facebook

By Mark Pack | Mon 4th October 2010 - 7:03 pm

As Helen reported earlier today, there is now a third person publicaly in the running to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor – Jeremy Ambache.

With his Facebook page having only just gone up, it unsurprisingly only has 4 fans so far at the time of writing. Lembit Opik’s page is continuing to edge up – now at 225 fans – but, on Facebook at least, he’s been quickly and clearly overtaken by Duwayne Brooks who has 381 fans for his Mayoral bid.

Posted in London | Also tagged and | 7 Comments
Helen Duffett

Jeremy Ambache joins the race to be Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate

By Helen Duffett | Mon 4th October 2010 - 4:34 pm

A third person has come forward in the contest to be selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London in the 2012 London elections.

Jeremy Ambache, who was fourth on the top-up list for the London Assembly elections in 2008, has launched his campaign website: Jeremy Ambache for London.

Jeremy joins the two other candidates who have so far declared: Duwayne Brooks and Lembit Opik.

Posted in London | Also tagged and | Leave a comment
Mark Pack

Duwayne Brooks overtakes Lembit Opik on Facebook

By Mark Pack | Tue 28th September 2010 - 7:44 pm

Over the weekend I blogged:

In the London Mayor selection contest, Lewisham councillor Duwayne Brooks has just publicly thrown his hat in the ring. More information on his Facebook page.

The other declared candidate so far is Lembit Opik, who also has his own Facebook page. The number of fans for that latter page has been growing slowly but now there is a direct competitor to judge it against. So far, Lembit is ahead though Duwayne’s page has only very recently appeared.

Matters have moved on quickly since then, with Lembit’s Mayor page continuing to grow slowly (now up to 216 fans) …

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged | 12 Comments
Mark Pack

Duwayne Brooks to challenge Lembit Opik for London Mayor

By Mark Pack | Sat 25th September 2010 - 2:16 pm

In the London Mayor selection contest, Lewisham councillor Duwayne Brooks has just publicly thrown his hat in the ring. More information on his Facebook page.

The other declared candidate so far is Lembit Opik, who also has his own Facebook page. The number of fans for that latter page has been growing slowly but now there is a direct competitor to judge it against. So far, Lembit is ahead though Duwayne’s page has only very recently appeared.

Posted in London | Also tagged | 16 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV survey: who Lib Dem members want to be the party’s candidate for Mayor of London

By Stephen Tall | Wed 22nd September 2010 - 9:45 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the early race for the party presidency, the London mayoral selection, Trident, and the Labour leadership. Over 400 party members have responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

LDV asked: The following names have been suggested as possible contenders to take on Boris Johnson for the elected position of Mayor of London. Who would you like to see stand as the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London?

  • 12% – Lembit Opik
  • 11% – Brian Paddick
  • 15% –

…

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged , , , , and | 14 Comments
Stephen Tall

What Lib Dems are saying (or not) about Andy Coulson

By Stephen Tall | Mon 6th September 2010 - 7:00 pm

The official Lib Dem line on Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s director of communications, could not have been clearer prior to the election: this Voice headline from July 2009 gives the flavour – Huhne on Coulson: “either complicit or incompetent”.

Yet the party leadership has been noticeably more reticent to comment on the most recent allegations, triggered by the New York Times’s typically thorough investigation.

(What does it say, by the way, about the quality of the British news media today that — with the honourable exception of The Guardian — it was left to a US newspaper to …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , and | 33 Comments
Mark Pack

Who will be the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor?

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th September 2010 - 10:26 am

Yesterday London Region chair Jonathan Fryer outlined the timetable for selecting the party’s London Assembly and Mayor candidates. But who will be in the running to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London?

As previously covered, Lembit Opik has publicly declared his intention to go for the selection. Regular readers of this site will have seen how controversial that is amongst many Liberal Democrat members (along with other commenters on this site). He has some keen fans along with many ardent critics. The number of fans of his Mayor selection bid page on Facebook has moved up only …

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Posted in London and Selection news | Also tagged , and | 38 Comments
Mark Pack

Lembit for London campaign watch

By Mark Pack | Mon 30th August 2010 - 12:28 pm

Contradictory news from Facebook about the state of Lembit Opik’s campaign to become the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor. The number of fans of his campaign page is now up to 178. However, although his campaign says the page is “the main point of contact for those involved in the campaign to win the nomination”, the last update from the campaign team on the wall is now looking rather dated, having been posted on 18 July.

Posted in London and Selection news | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

Lembit for London campaign watch

By Mark Pack | Mon 23rd August 2010 - 3:26 pm

Lembit Opik’s plans to run for London Mayor have been widely trailed for some time and the man himself has taken steps such as a lengthy interview on London’s LBC radio station with Conservative blogger Iain Dale. His campaign for the Liberal Democrat selection has provoked many negative responses from Liberal Democrat members (such as in previous coverage on this site). The most vocal are not always the most representative, however, so a relevant extra piece of evidence is how the Lembit Opik for London Mayor Facebook page does.

Lembit’s own campaign describes the page as “the main point of …

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Posted in London and Selection news | 25 Comments
The Voice

What Lembit did next

By The Voice | Fri 6th August 2010 - 9:45 pm

First there was the venture into stand-up comedy. Then there was the throwing of his hat into the London mayoralty ring. And now he has a new job: as a presenter on Press TV, a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The Telegraph reports:

The 45-year-old former member for Montgomeryshire is presenting a show called A Simple Question. … “It is necessary for me to work. I don’t see that Press TV is ‘controversial’: that is to pass judgment and it is not for one media organisation to pass judgment

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 14 Comments
Mark Pack

Should Lembit Opik be the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor?

By Mark Pack | Tue 29th June 2010 - 9:20 am

The news that Lembit is interested in running for Mayor has produced a flurry of comment online from Liberal Democrats (such as Andrew Reeves’s piece) so over to you: what do you think?

Posted in London | Also tagged | 80 Comments
Mark Pack

Lib Dem MPs in the news

By Mark Pack | Sat 26th June 2010 - 2:20 pm

Lembit Opik is interested in becoming Mayor of London, while The Guardian has a round-up of comments from backbenchers about the Budget. Although all are anxious about one aspect or another, notably they all overall support is as with Annette Brooke:

I don’t like the budget but I dislike the economic situation we find ourselves in even more. The Lib Dems have done their utmost to address the fairness issue. In an ideal word I would not choose to put up VAT. But I was convinced, even at the hustings meeting, that the books were much worse than we

…

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Posted in Conference, London and News | Also tagged , and | 16 Comments
Helen Duffett

Lembit Öpik’s standup debut – a star is (re)born?

By Helen Duffett | Thu 3rd June 2010 - 7:20 pm

“Thanks to 13,976 Tory voters for kick-starting a career I didn’t even know I wanted.”

-Former Lib Dem MP Lembit Öpik performed his first standup comedy gig last night, winning plaudits for his delivery, if not his jokes.

Julian Hall of the Independent gave him two stars:

There was a kind of bittersweet irony that, on the day of the first Prime Minister’s Question Time of the coalition government, the former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik was performing an open-spot stand-up gig in a tiny basement comedy club. Opik, it could be argued, has performed comedy in a niche environment on both

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 4 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Saturday caption competition – the “Lembit pops his cork” edition

By The Voice | Sat 20th February 2010 - 1:45 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader …

Here’s Lib Dem MP for Montgomeryshire Lembit Opik celebrating the saving of Abermule Post Office from closure. What do you think Lembit, or those surrounding him, might be saying to each other, or thinking about each other?

The winner of our most recent caption competition, the “mine’s a large one” edition a fortnight ago – according to The Voice’s judging panel of one – was this one from Andy Mayer; with …

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Posted in Caption Comp | 10 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Lembit Öpik – Notes on a progressive decision

By NewsHound | Fri 5th February 2010 - 3:30 pm

Lib Dem MP Lembit Öpik has written an article for the Progressive London blog based on his speech to their recent conference on the topic, The Tories are not Progressive. Lembit reveals himself to be a “left-leaning libertarian” with deep scepticism that the Tories under David Cameron have actually changed. There’s lots of eminently quotable material, but here’s just a few excerpts:

I’m a practical kind of person. I don’t like the high levels of dogma which seems to attach itself to party politics and elections. There are good people in every political party, and no major grouping is

…

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Lembit wins MPs’ expenses appeal, is now owed £40

By Stephen Tall | Thu 4th February 2010 - 6:25 pm

Last week it was Lib Dem MP Jeremy Browne has won his appeal against repaying £18,000 of expenses. Now fellow Lib Dem Lembit Opik has also had his appeal against repaying hundreds of pounds in parliamentary expenses allowed by Sir Paul Kennedy, the judge brought in to arbitrate on disputed claims. The BBC reports:

Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Opik was ordered to pay back £900 he claimed for a mobile phone bill. Sir Thomas Legg, the retired civil servant auditing MPs’ expenses, said the Liberal Democrat MP should not have been able to claim for the phone bill. But Mr Opik won an appeal against the ruling.

Intriguingly, this leaves the taxpayer in debt to Lembit:

The MP, one of almost 80 MPs to challenge Sir Thomas, has actually repaid £195 in total, so is now technically owed £40 by the Commons authorities.

Now there’s an ethical dilemma for an MP just months away from seeking re-election.

Menawhile, here’s a brief clip of Lib Dem MP Norman Baker talking about the publication of Sir Thomas’s report.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
The Voice

Three Lib Dem MPs fighting Legg’s expenses judgement

By The Voice | Sun 31st January 2010 - 10:20 pm

Three Lib Dems are among the 70 MPs who lodged appeals after being told to pay back some of their taxpayer-funded Commons expenses by Sir Thomas Legg, reports today’s Telegraph:

At least 35 Labour MPs and former Labour MPs have appealed against Sir Thomas’s findings, as well as 30 Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats and two independents. Among them are MPs who made some of the highest-profile claims exposed by the Telegraph investigation, including £1,645 for a duck house.

Sir Thomas’s 30-page report is thought to identify more than 300 MPs — nearly half of those in Parliament — whom he found

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

Lib Dem MPs split on Euro referendum?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 21st January 2010 - 9:50 am

Almost two years ago, in the early weeks of Nick Clegg’s leadership, the Lib Dem parliamentary party managed to tie itself in knots over the question of whether to support a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. In the end three frontbenchers, David Heath, Tim Farron and Alistair Carmichael, quit after defying the party’s three-line whip to oppose a referendum.

Well, Sky News has the interesting story that the party still hasn’t managed to get its line straight and agreed, re-opening that split:

Now it seems to be deja vu all over again, with a new Lib Dem split in voting

…

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Posted in Europe / International | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 9 Comments
Alex Foster

Daily View 2×2: 31 December 2009

By Alex Foster | Thu 31st December 2009 - 7:37 am

A windmill made of the flags of Europe with the slogan "whatever the weather, we must move together"Good morning on New Year’s Eve 2009 as we here at LDV Towers celebrate the passing of the year and indeed the decade. There’ll be fizz spilled on the Night Desk for sure, and I’m cooking beef wellington canapés and a chocolate/chestnut torte.

But what, I hear you ask over the hubub, happened on this day in history? Well, did you know that until the 1750s, the new year actually began on Lady Day (no, not her) in March? And in fact that’s why the tax year is still based around that time of year?

New Year’s Eve is the day on which, in 1951, the Marshall Plan ended (did you know the UK got more money out of it than any other nation? It didn’t help we still had the vestiges of empire to spend it in). In 1960, the farthing ceased to be legal tender; and in 1998, the value of the Euro was first establised.

Birthdays include Ben Kinglsey, Donna Summer, Val Kilmer and Alex Salmond – together at last!

Don’t forget Lib Dem Voice is still seeking your nominations for Liberal Voice 2009.

And one more thing – today there will be a Blue Moon – the second full moon within one calendar month. This won’t happen again until full moons either side of the London Olympics, in August 2012

But, finally, what of the newspapers and blogposts? Read more, after this:

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Posted in Daily View | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | 1 Comment
Iain Roberts

Daily View 2×2: 11 November 2009

By Iain Roberts | Wed 11th November 2009 - 7:53 am

2 Big Stories

Woman loses appeal against noisy sex

You might have thought Gordon and that letter would be the big story, but the BBC website says differently, with this rated higher on the Most Shared and Most Read charts by yesterday evening.

And why not?  It’s got sex, crime and something odd – just the sort of story we, the Great British public, relish.

As a neighbour said:

“The noise sounds like they are both in considerable pain. I cannot describe the noise. I have never ever heard anything like it.”

But, in case you want your big stories to have a serious political edge, there are other issues.

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Posted in Daily View | Also tagged | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

Upick Opik? Not if you’re Hansard

By Stephen Tall | Tue 27th October 2009 - 7:25 pm

You’d have thought he’d be famous enough by now, but apparently not … The Independent reports:

Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik will complain to the Commons authorities today after his name was missed off a key internet search tool. The online of version of Hansard, which records everything said in Parliament, has a “search by Member” page – but Mr Opik’s name is not on the alphabetical list. It means his Montgomeryshire constituents cannot simply click through to find his written and spoken contributions.

When told of the error Mr Opik said: “I’m both appalled and amazed by this and will

…

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Posted in Parliament | Also tagged | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Kirsty on Lembit: “His approach to politics is different to mine.”

By Stephen Tall | Mon 19th October 2009 - 6:35 pm

Getting on for a year ago, Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik began writing a regular political column in the Daily Sport. Thanks to Lib Dem blogger James Graham – who set up the Prawn Free Lembit blog, so that those of us who don’t touch the Sport’s casually misogynistic pages can follow his writings – I’ve become a regular reader.

It’s a weird, dire mixture of straight news and forced comedy-innuendo. Commentary on Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace prize and the plight of British troops in Afghanistan jostle for space alongside groaning references to “Sport stunna Marlena …

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Posted in News and Wales | Also tagged , and | 10 Comments
Stephen Tall

Lembit: it’s time to pull out of Afghanistan

By Stephen Tall | Sat 17th October 2009 - 2:20 pm

Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik makes the argument in (where else?) his Daily Sport political column:

I AM delighted to see the Daily Sport taking a courageous and honest stand against the unwinnable and hopelessly expensive war in Afghanistan. The only WAY OUT is to PULL OUT. Then we can start talks with the other side and find a better way to sort out the mess. In hundreds of years, nobody’s ever beaten the Afghans on their home turf. It’s an away match the British and Americans cannot win — not least because, when they were our friends, we actually

…

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Posted in Europe / International | Also tagged | 8 Comments
The Voice

The Indy’s Q&A with Lembit

By The Voice | Mon 7th September 2009 - 2:15 pm

Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik is the subject of The Independent’s ‘You ask the questions’ feature today. In it he tells readers:

  • about his leadership aspirations (he has none);
  • how he thinks Nick Clegg is doing better as leader than Lembit thought he would be doing;
  • describes the Liberal brand as “public-service orientated, slightly left-leaning and suspicious of authority. We’re sort of courteously anti-establishment.”
  • his views on the Megrahi realease;
  • he favours research on the legalisation of the prescription of hard drugs;
  • he’s pleased to have the chance to write a politicla column for the Daily Sport.


    • You can read the     …

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    Posted in News | 3 Comments
    Mark Pack

    Lembit Opik bests Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jordon and others

    By Mark Pack | Sun 6th September 2009 - 2:20 pm

    Praise for Lembit Opik’s role in Britain’s rural communities comes with Country Life’s list of 100 most influential people. As the Evening Standard reported:

    The Lib Dem MP, more famed for his love life than political achievements, has been included in Country Life’s list of the 100 people who wield the most power over the countryside. “ often unintentionally adds gaiety to the nation for his romantic adventures, but is actually the Liberal Democrat MP with the most genuine, considered understanding for the countryside.” At number 44 he beats the likes of, Peter Florence, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Sir David Attenborough and

    …

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    Mark Pack

    Lembit Opik on internet piracy

    By Mark Pack | Mon 31st August 2009 - 9:49 pm

    From Lembit’s Daily Sport column:

    PIRATES could soon be in power in the UK! But they’re not the swashbuckling Johnny Depp-type –– or even our uzi-wielding chums from the Somali coast. I’m talking about the Pirate Party –– the Swedish outfit who campaign for free file-sharing online. They’re fed up of big fees being charged for music downloads, copyright being slapped on YouTube videos and internet usage being tracked. They won a couple of seats in Brussels and are now planning on standing in the UK general election next year. These buccaneers shouldn’t be underestimated. They’ve got a big supporter

    …

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    Posted in News | Also tagged | 5 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    Lib Dem MPs targeted by Nazi spoof websites

    By Stephen Tall | Fri 28th August 2009 - 11:30 am

    Powys’s County Times has noted the sudden spate of spoof websites linking some 90 Lib Dem MPs and candidates to the Nazis:

    Every Lib Dem MP in the UK has fallen foul of one political blogger, who goes under the tag ‘Illiberal Democrat’, and has created a series of blogs which appear to link the party to Naziism. Both Powys MP’s are Liberal Democrats, and both have their own page filled with anti-liberal propaganda and Swastikas.

    Roger Williams MP, Brecon and Radnorshire, was quick to condemn the blogs: “I think it’s rather pathetic and rather purile for someone to soil our

    …

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    Posted in News | Also tagged and | 13 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    Where next for Lembit?

    By Stephen Tall | Thu 30th July 2009 - 6:30 pm

    There’s a slightly plaintive piece in today’s Independent’s Pandora column under the self-explanatory heading, ‘Opik’s plea to Clegg: use me’. The paper quotes the Lib Dem MP for Montgomeryshire saying:

    I’m certainly available to the party in any way they want me, and that’s a matter for them.

    This all follows Lembit’s latest appearance in the spotlight since he joined forces with model Katie Green to front the ‘Give a big zero to size zero’ campaign. The trouble is, as so often with Lembit, that the celebrity gossip prompted by his friendship/relationship/whatever with Katie has overshadowed the worthy cause he is supposed …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 16 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    Daily View 2×2: 29 July 2009

    By Stephen Tall | Wed 29th July 2009 - 9:45 am

    2 Big Stories

    Kingman steps down from UKFI

    As the Press Association reports:

    The company responsible for the taxpayer’s stakes in ailing banks saw a leadership shake-up as chief executive John Kingman announced plans to step down. Mr Kingman, who has led UK Financial Investments (UKFI) since it was formed last November, will step down from the £143,000 post in “due course” for a career in the private sector.

    Lib Dem deputy leader Vince Cable is worried by this upheaval at the very top of UKFI:

    UKFI is one of Britain’s most powerful bodies and these changes at the top come at a very sensitive time. What is worrying about these changes is that Mr Kingman is leaving at a time when it’s clear the Government hasn’t really got a grip on the banks.

    “This is the one person within the Treasury who knew where all the skeletons are buried and what’s going on. His departure at this time will leave a massive hole.”

    Meanwhile in other Vince-related, recession-related news, our shadow chancellor has once again called for the big banks to be broken up for posing too great a risk to the taxpayer:

    He criticised the combination of ordinary banking, such as business lending and mortgage payments, and so-called casino banking.

    “These two things should not co-exist in the same institution,” he said. “It is highly unstable. It means the British taxpayer is underwriting very dangerous high-risk activities, so for that reason alone they should be split up. In addition the European Commission has made the case that there is now far too little competition.”

    He said increasingly concentrated ownership did not give the consumer a good deal. “It is dangerous in giving excessive market power and before these banks are returned to private ownership they should be split up,” the Lib Dem MP said. “This may mean reopening, for example, the whole issue of the Lloyds/Royal Bank of Scotland merger and possibly reversing it.”

    Lib Dem celebrity news round-up

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    Posted in Daily View | Also tagged , , , , , and | 1 Comment
    The Voice

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… Lembit Opik: We need a cosmic plan

    By The Voice | Wed 22nd July 2009 - 6:15 pm

    Over at The Guardian, Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik returns to the subject whence he first came to public attention: the threat to the Earth of an asteroid impact. Here’s an excerpt:

    The discovery of what appears to be a large crater caused by an asteroid impact on Jupiter provides a graphic illustration of the destructive potential of this type of cosmic event. Sixty-five million years ago, the reign of the dinosaurs was brought to a fiery end by a cataclysmic impact with a 10km-wide asteroid. It will happen again – we just don’t know when. However, for the first time

    …

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    Posted in News | 9 Comments
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