Had the media on today, asking me what I think of the decision of my political opponent at the next General Election to become the political columnist of the Daily Sport. I did know about this story already, because I'd seen it on Guido Fawkes' blog. (don't read the comments unless you're at least 18 years old.) What on earth could I say. So I said something like;
"Lembit Opik is entirely within his rights to become the political face of the Daily Sport, but its not something that I would ever want to do. Its obvious that we have a very different approach to politics"
Now, I did once make it to the front page of the Daily Sport myself (and every other newspaper in the land). It was one of those really silly stories that seemed totally innocuous to the central character (me) but capable of presentation in a way that made it one of the biggest media stories to emanate from the National Assembly. It involved a Welsh Conservative politician, who was also a sheep farmer, being stopped by the police while driving a Landrover and a trailer load of sheep, and doing so without trousers. It was nothing more than improvisation on my part, but a deadly combination of innuendo ingredients to everyone else. If you google my name, it'll still be one of the first stories to come up. But the point is that I was horrified that this became a story at all, let alone one for the Daily Sport. To be fair, all the media ran it as the 'silly story' it was, so in the event it did no damage to my reputation.
But to actually agree to become the political correspondent of the Daily Sport, in return for payment, is an entirely different matter. I'll be interested in what the media makes of this one. And the voters of Montgomeryshire for that matter.
19 comments:
What on earth is the matter with this man? Has he no advises to gently dissuade him from this sort of publicity? The Daily Sport is a repulsive newspaper, and does he really imagine the readers of this horrible tabloid will be remotely interested in politics? Just another nail in his political coffin!
I wonder what Liberal Lembit thinks of The Sport's attitude towards women.
I've just read Guido Fawkes blog - and some of the comments made my eyes water! Rather goes to show though, that I'm not the only one who thinks Lembit is a tw*t - and that's not an i!
Frankie/JPT/anon - I think he genuinely believes that writing for the Daily Sport is a way of reaching a new audience. Personally, I don't agree with his, and think that writing for this newspaper is something that an MP shouldn't do, in my opinion.
Clement Davies, Emlyn Hooson, Alex Carlile, the fine tradition of Liberal "mwynder Maldwyn". And now Lembit and the Daily Sport. What an embarrassment for Montgomeryshire. Good luck Glyn - we need you!
This 'new audience' that Lembit might be reaching for might not be the voting kind; to the extent that they might be the voting kind they might not like to vote for Lembit.
Further, this 'new audience' might not exist in sufficient numbers within the constituency of Montgomeryshire and, in addition, Lembit might create or consolidate a get Lembit out audience - meaning some of the voting public resident in Montgomeryshire might take exception to learning that Lembit is the new political face of the Daily Sport. If Lembit fancies he will be voted out come national election time then earning some extra money might seem rational (to Lembit). Has Lembit run the numbers? Done some polling about how his constituents might feel about all this?
I've 'got it', Lembit knows, and has known for some time, that the Earth is not going to survive long enough to make any difference to 'the numbers'.
U see, or rather Lembit sees, an asteroid cometh our way. Lembit figures if he can be a tourist passenger on a Soyuz re-supply mission to the orbiting international space station, and if the ISS is located on the side of the earth facing away from the impact zone, then Lembit can become the next President of the Earth.
What cunning, what 'Deep Thought'! Lembit will outfox us all. What did the Bible say about the meek inheriting the Earth?
PS Lembit has plans to go on an outward bound course 'meek-week'. You see, Lembit has gone to the earliest translations of the Bible and discovered that 'meek' really meant meek-week or rather 'mid-week' in plain English.
Lembit knows to the second when the asteroid is going to hit, knows where to be when said asteroid hits, and in a Robert Maxwell-Kafkaesque way has calculated the solution - be on ISS meek-week.
There's a Scandinavian doctor someplace who argued that not wearing trousers while driving is a good way of staying more alert.
Apparently direct air/skin contact helps with cooling the body. The doctor was aware that people during cold winters put their car heating up to max and can nod off with disastrous consequences. He said if you don't wear trousers and feel sleepy, putting the heating down means you will get less hot more quickly than if you were wearing trousers.
Applying this analogy In re Glyn's sheep truck case. Glyn could argue that not wearing trousers would help him loose heat more quickly if the truck heating system was set too high, and upon switching to cold air our Glyn would not fall asleep and the sheep would arrive safely at their appointed destination.
I will fix that typo for you Glyn: "... he genuinely believes that writing for the Daily Sport is a way of reaching a new [[audience]] low ..."
Perhaps Lembit is missing (as in missing a few slices) Weather Girl a wee bit more than he realizes.
Only in Wales - Since the sheep were en route to the slaughterhouse at the time I dont think that 'arrived safely at their destination' is appropriate.
All - I was expecting some criticism for being a bit un-modern in respect of my opinion here, but it seems there's not much support for his Daily Sport contract.
The Daily Sport is a disgraceful rag though - there is absolutely no point about it that redeems it. The only justification is that he's getting paid for it.
Glyn> to the extent that Lembit is or is not in it up to his knees, pelvis, chest, neck or top of his head, the guy is a beaver at reinventing ways to stay in the pubic eye and making some money while he is doing it, but in the final analysis, isn't he just a quintessential eccentric 'Englishman' often loved in times past?
But juxtaposition Gordon Brown for Lembit – much of the public has seen through Lembit, but Brown? What do the public see in Brown?
Has Brown captivated the public to the extent that they are like pigeons eating offerings from his hands? What is Brown offering? Short term pumping of the economy to be followed by long-term future pain – yet so worried is Joe public that they are willing to accept Brown’s ‘solution’.
What alternative is Cameron offering beyond looking cool and every inch the nice guy with the nice wife, and photogenic kids? That is, what is Cameron offering as a solution in place of Brown’s economic stimulus packages that are going to come at a severe downstream price?
The public is being suckered into accepting a short-term band-aid. Where is the thinking, the insight, and the solution that will fix our economy without burdening ourselves with huge national debt?
There is a solution out of this mess, and it has nothing to do with Brown’s short-term series of band-aids powered by a burgeoning national debt.
Gordon Brown has lit the fuse – whose going to put it out?
DP - MPs are quite well paid - and anyway, there must be a limit of what can be considered tasteful
Where do we go - I don't agree with your analysis of David Cameron. Over the last week or so he's positioned the Conservative on very distinctive ground. He's opposing the maniacal short term spending, and refusing to stick by Labour's spending planns in the medium term. He's been prepared to accept that Brown will attack him for supposedly doing nothing, and cutting public spending - and has developed a position of fiscal responsibility. This is very firm foundations for a Conservative manifesto designed to clear up Brown's appalling mess.
This really is the final nail in the coffin of Idiot Opik. One wonders just HOW much he'll get for "writing" for this soft porn rag. He looks set on alienating his constituents once and for all. He obviously realises he's going to lose the seat and now just does not care about his reputation one iota. Anyone giving him the benefit of the doubt will back right off now. The seat is yours Glyn
Isn't this the Lembit Opik who wanted to be taken seriously as a politician?
Could he BE more stupid?
Does he think people who read the Daily Sport actually vote?
This is a smut rag owned by a dodgy man, convicted at one time for living off immoral earnings.
Lembit Opik just sinks lower and lower
Glyn (06:55)> keep your hair on! The falling value, sadly, of the British pound verses the Euro supports your analysis that Gordon Brown is dead wrong and the leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron is right to "Protest too much" - likewise with respect to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
So this raises another question ... will Wales see more tourists from the continent for that matter more EU students studying at Welsh universities?
Perhaps switching bank deposits into German banks will get the triple whammy of buying Euros while the pound is dropping in value and benefiting from better interest rates in banks less likely to fail verses British banks.
Glyn, The Daily Sport has always been full of tits, so I guess Lembit feels at home?
anons - I don't suppose many Montgomeryshire people will ever find out that he's now working for the Daily Sport. If they did find out, I think they would be disgusted.
L's left hand - There will always be some winners from a massive devaluation. We already know what the German Government think of Gordon Brown's economic management, and its clear that the markets think even less of it.
Gordon Brown said in 1995
"A weak currency is a sign of a weak economy which is a sign of a weak Government"
Then why don't you tell the poor constituents of Montgomeryshire what's going on?
Perhaps a little more of an attack from the Tories is what's needed here?
After all, do they not deserve to know what their part-time MP is up to? After all, they're not psychic.
Gary - I only alowed that because its you.
anon - Well I did publish on my blog. And I was surprised by how many knew about it at a function I attended this afternoon. So perhaps they do know.
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