Lembit Öpik

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Lembit Öpik MP
Lib Dems Spokesperson for Housing
In office 20 December 2007 – 24 September 2008
Leader	Nick Clegg
Preceded by	Paul Holmes
Lib Dems Spokesperson for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
In office 4 July 2007 – 20 December 2007
Leader	Menzies Campbell
Preceded by	Susan Kramer
Succeeded by	Sarah Teather
Lib Dems Spokesperson for Wales and Lib Dems Spokesperson for Northern Ireland
In office 15 May 2003 – 4 July 2007
Leader	Charles Kennedy Menzies Campbell
Succeeded by	Alistair Carmichael (Lib Dems Spokesperson for Northern Ireland) Roger Williams (Lib Dem Spokesperson for Wales)
Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire
Incumbent
Assumed office  2 May 1997
Preceded by	Alex Carlile
Majority	7,173 (23.8%)
Born	2 March 1965 (1965-03-02) (age 44) Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Welsh Liberal Democrats
Alma mater	University of Bristol

Lembit Öpik (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈlempit ˈøpˑik]; born 2 March 1965 in Bangor, Northern Ireland) is a British Liberal Democrat politician of Estonian descent. He is currently the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales. He served as the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2001-07, and stood unsuccessfully for the position of president of the party in 2004 and 2008.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Member of Parliament 2.1 Welsh party leadership 2.2 Campaigns for party presidency 2.3 Support for party leadership candidates 3 Personal life 4 Charitable activity 5 Public appearances 6 Parliamentary scandals 6.1 Expenses row 7 References 8 External links 9 Offices held

[edit] Early life

Öpik's parents were from Estonia, but they fled to Northern Ireland after the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin had annexed Estonia. He was born in Bangor, County Down, the son of physicist Dr Uno and Liivi Öpik, and grew up there with sister Urve Öpik (born 1960, a psychotherapist) and brother Endel "Tal" Öpik (12 April 1968 - 21 November 2005)^[1], a musician). His grandfather was Ernst Julius Öpik, an Estonian astronomer who worked at Armagh Observatory.

Öpik was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and later took a degree in philosophy at the University of Bristol. While at university he served as President of the University of Bristol Union (1985-86), and as a member of the National Executive of the National Union of Students (1987-88).

In 1988 Öpik joined Procter & Gamble Ltd in Newcastle upon Tyne as a brand assistant, but soon moved from developing brands to developing people. In 1991 he became Corporate Training and Organisation Development Manager, and was promoted to be Global Human Resources Training Manager in 1996. Öpik was elected to the Liberal Democrats' Federal Executive Committee in 1991.

Öpik stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for Newcastle upon Tyne Central in the 1992 general election, and for Northumbria in the 1994 European Parliament elections. He was elected as a councillor on Newcastle City Council in 1992.

[edit] Member of Parliament

At the 1997 general election, the Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, Alex Carlile, retired. Öpik was elected as his successor, with an increased majority. He retained the seat at the 2001 general election and at the 2005 general election, increasing his share of the vote by 3.5% in 2001^[2] and by a further 1.8% in 2005, giving him a majority of 7,173 over the Conservatives.^[3]

Öpik has served as the Liberal Democrat spokesman on education (1997), Northern Ireland (1997-2007), Wales (2001-07), business (2007), and housing (2007-08).^[4]

During the 2001-05 Parliament, Öpik was a member of the Agriculture Select Committee in the House of Commons.

Öpik was the joint chair of the Middle Way Group, a cross-party parliamentary group which supported the regulation, rather than the banning, of fox hunting. In 2001-02, he chaired an Ethics Committee overseeing production of the BBC series, The Experiment, a reproduction of the Stanford Prison Experiment.

To some sections of the general public he is perhaps best known for concerns about the possibility of an asteroid impact on Earth.^[5] He advocates increased funding for attempts at detection, under the banner of Spaceguard, and describes himself as a "keen astronomer".^[6]

Öpik has been rated as the most socially liberal/libertarian of the Liberal Democrat MPs in Parliament.^{[7] [8]}

[edit] Welsh party leadership

Öpik became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats in 2001 following the retirement of Richard Livsey. He stood down in 2007^[9] and was succeeded by Mike German.

[edit] Campaigns for party presidency

In September 2004, Öpik stood for the position of President of the Liberal Democrats, but was defeated by Simon Hughes. (The party president chairs a number of party committees and also represents the party at official functions.)

In 2008, a campaign amongst grassroots party members backing him as a successor to Hughes, under the slogan 'I Pick Öpik', emerged at the party's 2008 spring conference in Liverpool. On 24 September, Öpik announced that he was standing down as the party's housing spokesman to concentrate on his campaign for party president.^[10] However in the party ballot in November, Öpik was defeated by Baroness Ros Scott by 20,736 votes to 6,247.^[11]

[edit] Support for party leadership candidates

In successive Liberal Democrat leadership contests, Öpik has garnered an unfortunate reputation for backing campaigns that soon collapse, leading some to talk of the "curse of Lembit" making his backing undesirable.^[12]

In 1999, he was one of only two of the party's 46 MPs to back the abortive leadership campaign of Don Foster. Foster abandoned his campaign before nominations even closed, and backed Charles Kennedy, the eventual winner, instead.

During the 2006 leadership crisis, Öpik was a initially fervent supporter of Kennedy, and then became campaign manager for Mark Oaten. However, Oaten quickly withdrew from the contest, having failed to attract enough support from within the parliamentary party following the revelation of a personal scandal; his only backers were Öpik and Baroness Ludford.

In the 2007 leadership election, Öpik declared his backing for Nick Clegg, and when Clegg won the election Öpik said "My man won, so the curse of Öpik has at last become a blessing".^[13]

Lembit supported Jenny Randerson in the 2008 contest for leadership of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Jenny eventually lost to Kirsty Williams.^[14]

[edit] Personal life

Öpik speaks fluent English, Estonian and German, and is learning Welsh.^{[citation needed]}

On 13 April 1998 Öpik came close to death in a near fatal paragliding accident. He fell 80 feet (24 m) onto a Welsh mountain in his constituency, and broke his back in twelve places, as well as his ribs, sternum and jaw.^[15][16] This experience caused him to take a keen interest in the Spinal Injuries Association, of which he is a member. Despite the accident, he continues with his interest in aviation. He has since become a glider pilot at the Midland Gliding Club in Shropshire. He holds a pilot's licence and speaks for British Gliding in the House of Commons. Öpik also rides motorcycles and is a member of the Motorcycle Action Group. He lobbies for the interests of bikers when occasion arises.

Öpik was engaged to the ITV weather presenter Siân Lloyd from 2002 to October 2006. They lived at his constituency house in Powys and were due to marry in 2006. They appeared on Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on 15 April 2006, winning £64,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Action for Children.

In December 2006 it was revealed that the relationship had broken down, as Lloyd became more frustrated with Lembit for his heavy workload and late nights.^{[citation needed]}

Öpik later become involved with then-24-year-old Gabriela Irimia of pop music double-act The Cheeky Girls. He announced his engagement to her in a popular magazine, after proposing in Rome.^[17] They split up in July 2008 after a "difficult period" in the relationship.^[18] In 2009, tabloid newspapers reported he was dating model Katie Green.^[19] Öpik and Green denied the rumours while appearing on Sky News, clarifying that they are just friends who share an interest in "campaigning against the fashion industry's continued use of too-thin models".^[20]

Öpik supports the English football club Leicester City.^[21] His mother lives in the city of Leicester.^[22]

On 4 November 2008 he sent an email to supporters of the Liberal Democrats urging people to consider him fit for presidency. The message touched on personal aspects which is, as he mentions, rather unusual in politics. He believes that not only does he have a passion for life, but a passion for leadership. He also acknowledged that he can never get everything right. However, despite the immense focus he put on his presidential campaign, including stepping down from a frontbench job in September 2008, Öpik lost the election to Rosalind Scott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, on 8 November 2008.

[edit] Charitable activity

Öpik became a member of the Spinal Injuries Association^[23] after his paragliding accident in 1998. In 2006 he became President of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, following his father's death from the disease the previous year.

He participated in a celebrity edition of The Apprentice in order to raise money for charity.^[24] Sport Relief Does The Apprentice was part of Sport Relief, the Comic Relief/BBC charity initiative that aired on 12 and 14 March 2008.

[edit] Public appearances

Öpik has appeared several times on the BBC satirical current affairs quiz show Have I Got News for You, as well as Question Time and Any Questions. Away from politics he has also appeared on Al Murray's Happy Hour, All Star Mr and Mrs, Loose Women, Bargain Hunt Famous Finds and the All Star Talent Show.

[edit] Parliamentary scandals

Öpik has criticised the tabloid press for portraying politicians as "liars and opportunists" in their coverage of scandals. He writes a column in the Daily Sport newspaper earning him up to £5,000 a year.^[25]

[edit] Expenses row

In May 2009 The Daily Telegraph published details of Öpik's parliamentary expenses claims. It showed that between 2008/09 Öpik claimed £23,083 in second home allowances out of public funds, including various items of furniture and a £40 summons charge for non-payment of Council Tax. After being discovered, Öpik told the Telegraph "I am willing to pay back the £40" but did not offer to repay anything else. The Telegraph also outlined a rejected expense claim Öpik attempted to make for £2,499 for a plasma screen television.^[26] after which he bought a TV costing £750.^[27]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ePolitix.com - Lembit Öpik official website
• Lembit Opik MP profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
• Lembit Öpik MP profile at the site of Welsh Liberal Democrats
• The Parliamentary Middle Way Group
• Times Online Student Section: Lembit Opik Interview with Lembit Opik
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Lembit Opik MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Lembit Öpik MP
• The Public Whip - Lembit Öpik voting record
• Open Directory Project - Lembit Opik directory category
• BBC News - Politics: Lembit Opik profile 10 February 2005
• Evening Standard (London); "Lembit and his Very Cheeky Family"

[edit] Offices held

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Alex Carlile	Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire 1997–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Richard Livsey	Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats 2001–2007	Succeeded by Mike German