| Lembit Öpik, the Liberal Democrat who lost his Montgomeryshire parliamentary seat last month, has said he will run for the job of London mayor if he wins his party's blessing.
He told the Guardian newspaper, "If there's enough interest in London to do it, I'll stand."
"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 worked 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."
A spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats said that the party was aware of Öpik's desire to run, but added that no decision had been made on who would stand as the Lib Dem candidate. |
