Freedom Central » Lembit Opik

Lembit Öpik to seek Lib Dem nomination for London mayor

Peter Black — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:32:18 +0000

If there is one thing that Lembit Öpik is good at it is getting publicity. He has proved this again with his announcement that he will run for the job of London mayor if he wins the party’s blessing:

“If there’s enough interest in London to do it, I’ll stand,” he told the Guardian today as he prepared to join Billy Bragg on stage at Glastonbury.

“I’ve had a conversation with the leadership and they say they won’t take a final position. I’m not narcissistic or precious about it. If the party doesn’t want me to stand then I’ll respect that.”

The 45-year-old, who has reinvented himself as a stand-up comedian since leaving Westminster, said he was not “trying to be a member of the awkward squad”, adding: “I just think I could run London well and my libertarian approach could be good for the city.”

He has recently toyed with the notion in his comedy act, telling audiences: “There is one job that seems to suit me – a funny name, little bit odd sometimes, quirky, a chequered background and ex-MP – Mayor of London.”

The capital, he said, had already shown a willingness to be amused by electing the current mayor, Boris Johnson. “Boris has proved that London likes personality, [but] I am leftwing and libertarian.”

Asked whether he would have to give up comedy were he to win, Öpik said: “Boris didn’t. And my comedy is laughter with a purpose. If you can’t do politics with a smile, why should people take you seriously? But I’m at the mercy of London. If they want me, they can have me.”

The party is staying tight lipped about the announcement, as they need to because the final decision will be made by the membership. Those members however, will have to weigh up Lembit’s high profile against his occasional lapses in political judgement and consider how seriously voters will take him when faced with a choice in the polling station.

Lembit embarks on stand-up career

Freedom Central — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:41:34 +0000

Wales-on-line reports that former Montgomeryshire MP, Lembit Öpik is to make his stand-up debut tonight:

Ex-MP Lembit Opik said today he wanted to see whether stand-up comedy was “like being an MP but a bit funnier” as he prepared for his first gig.

The Liberal Democrat earned a quirky image thanks to his romantic ties with a Cheeky Girl, interest in meteorites and appearances on television comedy shows.

Now he is hoping to turn the “awesome shock” of losing his Montgomeryshire seat to the Tories on May 6 and other political experiences into a new career in entertainment.

Mr Opik accepted the gig, at the tiny Backstage Comedy Club in London, after a friend who comperes the night told him: “People are going to laugh at you anyway so why not get paid for it?

“You don’t have to be a comic genius to see that my recent history writes itself as a comedy script and the challenge really is to see if comedy is something completely different to what I have done before or whether it is like being an MP but a bit funnier,” he told reporters.

Good to see that he is moving on.

Off Message

Freedom Central — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:56:18 +0000

George Monbiot in this morning’s Guardian takes an amble around Elfyn Llwyd’s Dwyfor Meirionedd constituency and finds that the Plaid Cymru leader can be very off-message:

The lack of party discipline became clear as we talked. After he said some robust things about supermarkets, I asked him why Plaid had allowed Tesco to sponsor its conference last year.

“I refused to attend the Tesco event. I’ve had words with my party about it: perhaps we’ll ask Saddam to sponsor it next year.”

Not a sentiment that will endear him to his party’s officials.

Mr. Monbiot has some nice things to say about his own MP as well:

With the possible exception of my own MP – the ubiquitous and surprisingly effective Lembit Opik – I have never met a backbencher who is so widely recognised in his constituency.

#wldconf the movies Part Two

Freedom Central — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:34:46 +0000

Here are the rest of our videos from yesterday’s Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference in Swansea, starting with Baroness Ros Scott, the Federal Party President:

Jenny Willott was outstanding:

Whilst Lembit was, well Lembit:

No one likes a grass, so let’s be upfront about it

Freedom Central — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:17:38 +0000

By Dwylo Cerrig

Dwylo Cerrig takes a look at the weekly sport the bubble has with our former leader’s column.

Class and grass, sometime partners in rhyme (depending on where on the former’s spectrum you are), have been much in the political news this week.

The Prime Minister’s clunking move from class warfare to the battleground for Middle Britain and his rejection of Alan Milburn’s social mobility proposals, alongside the consistent focus on Dave Cameron’s blue riband background, means that this week is not uncommon in seeing class near the top of the political agenda.

Grass, or to snitch, tell tales, sneak on your buddies has been put up front by our colleague from Montgomeryshire. His reaction to the political and personal relationship between Northern Ireland first couple has exercised many commentators worth listening to, including y Brenin Bubble at WalesHome and Valleys Mam as well as those with more vested interests.

The man himself hasn’t come out all segways blazing to defend himself, but I would venture that his defence of the Robin(son) Peter to pay Kirk family fits in with his own personal narrative of defending his honourable profession from the press pack’s wish to only focus on the sleazier parts of politics. In that, he has a point. The dumbing down of political coverage and much of the media’s reluctance to inform, educate and explain is an opinion shared by others.

Yet this is not a fight he can win – the message will not be listened to if it comes from the Daily Sport via Hello, All Star Talent Show and Ant and Dec. Sir David Frost used to say that “the clues are there, as we go through the keyhole”. With Lembit, you know that the talent is there, but we have to go through the dodgier cakeholes first.

He is proud (and should be) of proclaiming that he is the most libertarian MP in the house. We need to see more of that in his policies and writings. He can be an advocate for cutting through the liberal-left consensus on the nanny state and obsession with telling us all how to live our lives. Why then does he stand up for a woman who not only describes gays in the worst possible way but also believes that homosexuality can be cured? Someone who epitomises the worst excesses of “do as I say not as I do” political leadership, let alone her alleged financial misdeeds.

One of the factors behind the electoral shake up in Northern Ireland in recent years was the perception of the gulf between the political class (the traditional mainstream parties) and the working class voters. Hence we arrived at a situation where the Robinsons’ DUP was top of the pile. It’s not surprising to see alleged financial impropriety and sexual adventures catching up with them. Alongside money, sex and class are the two constant factors in political developments of these islands.

If we’re cleaning up politics, perhaps it’s time to think a bit more about how we associate with one, and show a bit more of the other.

Chocolate Santas and Oliver Cromwell

Montgomeryshire Plaid candidate concedes that Lembit will win

Freedom Central — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:57:09 +0000

Fascinating blog entry yesterday from Heledd Fychan, the Plaid candidate for Montgomeryshire at the next General Election in which she makes it clear that her experience of talking to people in the constituency indicates that Glyn Davies’ hype about winning is largely self-delusion and that he has a very steep hill to climb indeed if he is to oust Lembit Őpik.

She joins Tory blogger and political pundit, Iain Dale in predicting that the Liberal Democrats will hold this seat.

Yes, the Tories did top the poll here in Montgomeryshire at last year’s European election. BUT, and this is one thing political reporters continue to ignore – they also topped the European poll in the county in the previous European election only to be thrashed by Lembit Opik in the following General Election. One win doesn’t necesserily mean another.

Journalists have certainly bought into the Glyn Davies hype, which has largely stemmed from the popularity of his blog and the confidence he has in his campaign. He’s also campaigning hard, and has been for ages, and is lucky that the media give him as many opportunities as when he was an elected official. If not more! His campaign is certainly quite effective, and he is doing everything possible to win. But will this be enough in the end? Personally, I wouldn’t place a bet on it.

Whatever I think of Lembit Opik, he does have one things that every politician would like to have within the county (but not for the same reasons I hasten to add!) – name recongnition. Everyone, from young to old, know who their MP is, and how many other politicians can boast of that? Yes, Glyn is well known in all the right circles. But do those people who aren’t interested in politics know who he is? And what about the young? Does he appeal to the majority? What can he offer them? And how is he different from any typical middle-aged politician? That’s definitely not clear. To overturn Lembit’s majority, Glyn will have to appeal to these people and I’m not sure, personally, if he will be able to do so. He is a man of his generation, with traditional views and a traditional approach to politics. Yes, like Lembit, he is a bit of a maverick and he doesn’t just tow the party line. But he is in general quite safe, and his ideas not that radical and different. And though he may think its manly not to use deodrant, as he confessed on his blog, sweat doesn’t really appeal to the electorate!

It’s an interesting battle for me to be involved in. Obviously, there isn’t the same amount of pressure on me as Plaid traditionally come fourth in the seat. Yes, I’m determined to increase the vote, I’m running to win and I’d love to do so. But by being in this position, I can be quite objective in looking at the race between Glyn and Lembit. Those who are predicting publicly that Glyn will definitely win should spend time in the seat and actually speak to the electorate, rather than just observe via the blogosphere. I think you’d find a different reaction to both Glyn and Lembit there – one which would probably surprise you.

Öpik backs calls for step change in UK climate change response

Freedom Central — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:24:58 +0000

Montgomeryshire’s Welsh Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Öpik has backed calls for a ‘step change’ in the speed of emissions reductions in the UK.

The Committee on Climate Change, an independent body which has been charged with examining the Government’s work on reducing emissions and fulfilling Carbon Budgets, has said that, at the current rate of reduction, the Government will fail to meet the emissions targets set out in its own Climate Change Act.

In its first progress report to Parliament, the Committee found that between 2003 and 2007 the UK cut its carbon emissions by around 0.5% per year. However, to meet the Government’s intended Carbon Budget the UK needs a reduction of at least 2-3% a year.

Committee Chairman Lord Adair Turner said that the Government needed to move away from relying on market forces to cut emissions and put in place a comprehensive delivery framework which builds on the existing “Low Carbon transition Plan”.

Commenting on the report, Lembit Öpik said:

“The findings of the Committee on Climate Change are yet more evidence that while the Government talks tough on climate change they continue to believe that carbon emissions will somehow magically reduce themselves.

“We need definitive action if we are going to meet our emissions targets, let alone go beyond them.

“The Liberal Democrats want to see a comprehensive programme that will reduce energy consumption and emissions in every sector, from how people heat their homes to sustainable transport.

“These targets are achievable but we will not succeed unless we put in the hard work and make the difficult choices to ensure that the UK does its part in reducing emissions and combating climate change.”

Some Conference videos

Freedom Central — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:59:27 +0000

As usual Welsh Liberal Democrats are playing an active part in Conference both in the main hall and on the fringe. This first video is of Kirsty summing up on the debate on devolution yesterday morning:

Later in the day Mike German summed up the motion that made the Liberal Democrats the only party to have official policy on a way forward in respect of the Severn barrage:

In the evening Lembit Opik MP went onto the fringe to call for the renationalisation of the railways, which is apparently already Welsh Liberal Democrat policy. The Federal Party debates a motion on Tuesday.

A privacy law for MPs?

Freedom Central — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:43:24 +0000

Lembit Öpik has an article in the Western Mail responding to David Babbs of the campaign group 38 Degrees, who believes that the public have a right to know what MPs were doing on their summer break.

Lembit rehearses the usual arguments that MPs use recess to work in their constituencies and then concludes that politicians need protection from people like Mr. Babbs. In particular he advocates a privacy law for MPs:

Despite the dangers of censorship which accompany such a measure, this may be the only way we preserve enough private space in the parliamentary – and public – world to enable the preservation of some semblance of a hinterland, away from the lurid gaze of websites masquerading as organisations.

His justification for this stance is that there is a need to protect the families and loved ones of MPs from unnecessary intrusion into their private space.

Lembit on Segways

Freedom Central — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 06:59:00 +0000

This is the text of Lembit Őpik’s adjournment debate speech to the House of Commons on Wednesday 14th January:

Lembit Öpik: To paraphrase Shakespeare, I come to legalise Segways, not to praise them. The evil that machines do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their cogs, and so it could be with the self-balancing personal transporter. My goal today is to change that. I seek agreement to a pathway to determine how this creative, convenient and eco-friendly device may be formally embraced by the UK. I declare an interest. Segway loaned and subsequently succeeded in selling me a self-balancing personal transporter. I have since got so versed in its use that I believe I am now the most well-balanced parliamentarian in the UK, albeit with the assistance of gyroscopes—something I would have welcomed in 2008, but I digress.

I have personally converted 120 British citizens to the personal transporter, or PT for short. Converts include those outstanding presenters Penny Smith and Kate Garraway on that excellent programme GMTV”. All of them have seen how PTs can help with pollution, traffic and even commuter stress levels. In this debate I will explain what a PT is, its benefits and what I hope are reasonable steps for us to take next in pursuit of my ambition.

A self-balancing personal transporter is a celebration of human ingenuity, electrical innovation and the laws of physics. In fact, it appears to defy gravity by mysteriously keeping itself and a passenger of any shape and size upright, with no visible means of support, bar the wheels. But this is no illusion. Twin gyroscopes lie at its heart. The device is controlled by pedals. Without the operator’s assistance, it will not travel anywhere. Once on board, the operator directs it by leaning forwards or backwards on the pedals, and moving the handlebar left or right. It is switched on and off with an electronic key—and that is it. The only transport device that we could think of which is simpler to use is a Space Hopper, the two differences being a smaller choice of colours in the case of the Segway and the fact that one does not hold on to a self-balancing personal transporter by its ears.

I have always wondered what the Health and Safety Executive’s view of an underinflated or, worse still, an over-pressurised Space Hopper might be. It surely carries with it the risk of explosion. No such problem exists with the PT.

As I said, one working example is the Segway PT, a specific model, and I invite the Minister to try one outside the Chamber after our debate. The top speed is 12.5 mph, at which velocity a PT consumes around 190 W of continuous electrical energy. They have a range of 23 miles on a full five-hour charge. Segways were invented by a Dean Kamen and are manufactured in Boston, USA.

Andrew Pelling: I have had the opportunity to see the Segway in operation in Washington DC in the United States, where there are wide sidewalks. Surely it is not a good idea to legalise the operation of Segways here; I cannot see how they will work safely on our roads or pavements.

Lembit Öpik: That is a fair point, but I offer a reassuring answer. First, I use a Segway on the United Kingdom’s roads, and indeed the byways of Montgomeryshire, and not once have I come to grief even though I have the road-based model. Secondly, there are off-road models. If the hon. Gentleman’s roads and paths are not as flat and smooth as those in America, he simply needs to get the version with the wider tyres. He could play golf with that as well. I can see that that reassures him. I have another convert.

I have told the House what PTs are, but that does not begin to describe the miracle that they represent. They are not primarily a replacement for bicycles; they are a replacement for cars. At more than £4,000 each they are aimed at people who know that the average speed of city traffic can be 8 mph, which is 4.5 mph less than a Segway’s maximum speed. Their commuting effectiveness was proved by James Brown’s interesting research at the university of Derby, in collaboration with the BBC. Segways are an antidote to gridlock and are parked in the time that it takes to lean them against a wall.

For those whose work requires them to patrol areas, self-balancing personal transporters have already proved their worth. I am told that 750 police forces around the world use PTs. They are also used at Heathrow airport and other locations around the UK. We estimate that a bobby on the beat can cover three times more area using a PT than on foot patrol.

As for the public, some prefer to walk, and that is fine, but others do not or cannot. Those with mobility problems find the PTs, with their powerful gyroscopes, safe and secure. They are almost impossible to fall off. When I investigated the accident record, I found that one President George W. Bush did fall off one. Segway experts analysed the photographic footage of his misfortune and concluded that the probable cause of his accident was that he had not turned it on. Gentleman journalist Piers Morgan ridiculed Bush for that, and then fell off one as well. Probably inadvertently, he attempted to scale a high kerb, rather as one might ride a motorbike over a wall and then be surprised by the ensuing crash. That President Bush and Piers Morgan are the only two notable Segway casualties on earth should reassure normal citizens that, when used intelligently, this technology is safe.

Environmentally, PTs are absolutely in line with Government targets for carbon dioxide reductions. Personal transporter fuel, which is electricity, causes 16.6 g of CO2 per kilometre. By comparison, let us consider human fuel, known more commonly as food. A beef eater, by which I mean an eater of beef not a Yeoman of the Guard, who could of course be vegetarian for all I know, causes about 497 g of CO2 emissions per kilometre by expelling energy from that food. Egg eaters produce more than 105 g per km, and that does not even take into account the 11.25 g per km that people create merely by breathing. It can therefore be revealed, for the first time in British history and the history of the House of Commons, that it is greener to go to work on a personal transporter than to go to work on an egg—even if you hold your breath.

Per passenger, a London Underground train produces three times as many carbon dioxide emissions, a small scooter four times as many and the average petrol-fuelled car more than eight times as many as a personal transporter. PTs are environmentally unsurpassed by any motorised transport available in the United Kingdom. Car-pooling and public transport are valuable, but PTs take eco-friendly travel to new levels. Even their carbon production cost can be offset.

With more than half a million sales globally, the public have already voted for PTs en masse with their wallets, so what is the problem in the United Kingdom? Understandably, given that this is new technology, the Department for Transport has been cautious. That is fair enough—it is the Department’s job to protect the public from unnecessary risks. However, I can find no restriction in law to bar PTs from Britain’s roads. I believe that we simply need clarity.

To help the Department, we examined every part of the PT in preparation for the debate—the pedals, the wheels and the motor—and they all seemed to conform with the current law. We even tried to test the motor to establish whether the continuous peak power output fell below the notional 200 W limit for electric bicycles on a rolling road. What we discovered was remarkable: the power usage was so low that we could not even measure it.

That is a moot point in any case, because continuous peak power is only a concern in relation to top speed. PTs are regulated to a speed of 12.5 mph uphill, downhill and on the level. Most bicycles can travel faster than that. PTs even have an auto-slow mechanism which operates if people try to travel too fast or the batteries are low. Incidentally, the meagre power usage facilitates the exceptional 23-mile range.

In my opinion, existing legislation does not outlaw PTs. They have an operator to assist them in the form of pedals, modest power usage—in line with that of electric bicycles—and a speed restrictor. Indeed, they are safer than bicycles, because the gyroscopes keep riders upright even when they are not moving. Moreover, riding a PT is easier to learn than cycling. This morning, live before millions of viewers, GMTV presenters Kate and Penny learned to ride a PT in just a minute, never having been on one before. Since November, I have taught people aged from nine to 87 to use a PT. None of them experienced any trouble, and most of them wanted one afterwards! I even conducted a Segway session at my local place of worship in Newtown, the friendly and inspirational Hope community church. Its popularity was, in a word, miraculous.

But now for some shocking news: the PT is wanted by the police. However, it is wanted not for law-breaking but for law-enforcing. Sutton police in London have already tested it and they loved it. Other forces and organisations are also eager. Commander Hussain of the Metropolitan police has said he is keen to conduct a trial of the device. What greater endorsement is needed?

This is what I think should happen next. I ask the Minister to allow trials in February 2009 under section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, following which a report would be made to him in March 2009. He could then make an informed decision in April 2009 about the status of self-balancing personal transporters. When it comes to categorisation, grouping them with mobility carriages is an option, but I think that they should be subject to the same regulation as electric bicycles owing to technical similarities in regard to, for instance, pedal assistance and the limited top speed. Perhaps I could discuss the options with the Minister and his team in the coming weeks.

In the context of mobility problems, congestion and climate change, the adoption of the personal transporter for public use is not only attractive but essential. My goal is not party advantage but public advantage through good decisions based on solid science and fact. I have always respected the Minister for approaching such matters in a similar vein. I believe that he and, indeed, the Government are truly committed to addressing climate changes that threaten our eco-sphere. Now it is time for them to stand up and be counted.

I appeal for courage, and I appeal to the Minister to be mindful of past lessons. The Duke of Wellington said: “I see no reason to suppose that these machines will ever force themselves into general use.”

That was not a 19th-centiury premonition about Segways—the duke was referring to steam trains—but, prophetically, his words echo some of the ill-informed commentary on PTs and, in my view, against progress.

Let us consider instead the words of Anna Bluman, the remarkable and forward-looking marketing manager at Kingdom shopping centre in Scotland. She reports: “we have been successfully using a Segway in the malls for over a year now. The Segway is used in partnership with Fife Constabulary with both Centre Police Officers and security staff using the unit to increase their visibility and effectiveness. It offers a reassuring presence to customers in the malls and also acts as an ‘ice-breaker’, gaining visible interest from members of the public, thereby increasing interaction with security and police officers.”

Here is a final word of testimony from my very good friend, the Parliamentary Secretary Cabinet Office, Mr. Watson. After trying it out only this afternoon, the Minister said, “Yeah, it’s bloody great—really bloody good. I want one.” This caused terror in the eyes of his driver, whose fear of replacement by ministerial Segway even overrode his shock at the Minister’s uncharacteristic departure from parliamentary language.

Riding a self-balancing personal transporter does not end gridlock or global warming, but it is part of the solution—an ingenious response inspired by carbon, convenience and common sense. Working together, we can bring to the UK the benefits of this extraordinary technology, proved by users globally over millions of hours. It is a device that is greener than walking, and wanted by the police. That is my case for the PTs.

In conclusion, the adoption of self-balancing personal transporters may not in itself be as earth-shattering as a moon landing, yet we must never forget that saving our planet will not be achieved through one giant leap by mankind, but rather through one small step after another by every man and woman. Let us take one more step today.