Catching up on lots of goings on over the past week or so one of the major topics of conversation in the Lib Dem world that I seem to come across has been the selection of Brian Paddock to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for the forthcoming Mayor of London elections. Congratulations to Brian. I have previously stated that Mike Tuffrey had impressed me with his ideas, however Brian has also impressed me following the London riots in particular with his handling of the media. I'm sure he'll make an excellent candidate and I wish him the best of luck.
This isn't the main thing that has caught my attention however, it is something I have mentioned before and I know by writing this I am perpetuating it but still. Lembit Öpik was in the race, and to be honest he hasn't covered himself with glory since the election (comparing himself slightly to Mandela and appearing to blame bloggers for his loss of this election).
A lot of people who have picked up on this have made very valid points and valid criticisms, however my point is not who is in the right or wrong, it's the fact that we saw 13 years of in fighting (and more since) when Labour were in power. The last thing I want to see is people in the party throwing insults at each other or passing blame, in fact I find it a bit embarrassing and it can't reflect well on the party.
I was sure I blogged about this but I can't find it, but I do think that Lembit had a point that we needed a high profile media candidate if we were to stand a chance in the Mayoral elections, however I also don't particularly think Lembit would have been the best Mayor. I think it was good that he ran to give people the option, but he didn't win, it would just be nice if he showed a bit more humility in defeat and if others recognised that rightly or wrongly he is doing what he thinks is best for the party.
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