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Opik leaves Lib Dem front bench | Opik leaves Lib Dem front bench |
(40 minutes later) | |
Lembit Opik is standing down as Liberal Democrat housing spokesman to concentrate on his campaign to succeed Simon Hughes as the party's president. | Lembit Opik is standing down as Liberal Democrat housing spokesman to concentrate on his campaign to succeed Simon Hughes as the party's president. |
A Lib Dem spokesman said the MP for Montgomeryshire was facing two rivals in the presidency election - Baroness Scott and Chandila Fernando. | A Lib Dem spokesman said the MP for Montgomeryshire was facing two rivals in the presidency election - Baroness Scott and Chandila Fernando. |
The housing portfolio will now be overseen by local government spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy. | The housing portfolio will now be overseen by local government spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy. |
Voting for Lib Dem president ends on 7 November, with a result the next week. | Voting for Lib Dem president ends on 7 November, with a result the next week. |
Segway protest | |
Mr Opik is one of the best-known Lib Dem MPs, hitting the headlines for relationships with weather presenter Sian Lloyd and Cheeky Girls singer Gabriela Irimia. | |
His hobbies include flying planes and playing the ukelele, and he recently tried to get himself arrested as part of a campaign to allow Segway scooters on British roads. | |
Baroness Scott, a former audit commissioner and councillor in Suffolk, is vice-chairman of the Local Government Association. | |
She recently served as the party's spokesman on local government in the House of Lords. | |
Mr Fernando is director of the Liberal Vision think-tank. He has called for the Lib Dems to employ a "new style of campaigning, simplify their message and become more professional in order to be considered a real force in British Politics by the voting public". |
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