Wokingham MP Clive Jones has paid his respects to former Lib Dem leader and mentor, Ming Campbell, who has passed away last week aged 84.
Ming Campbell was a Liberal Democrat MP for 28 years, and was a very well-respected politician, especially within the fields of foreign affairs and defence.
He was also the leader of the Liberal Democrats for a short time between 2006 and 2007, but when Gordon Brown decided not to call an election in 2007, Campbell decided to give way to a younger person – Nick Clegg – to fight the next election.
Jones had a conversation with Ming Campbell at Lib Dem Conference in 2014 when the MP was first a parliamentary candidate.
In this meeting, Campbell made it clear he was very happy to come to Wokingham to meet and support Clive’s campaign – subsequently coming to Wokingham six times to support Clive’s campaigns.
Since Jones’ election last year, the Wokingham MP met with Campbell on many occasions in parliament. His interest in Wokingham remained very strong and he wanted to come to open the parliamentary office.
Most recently only a few weeks ago, Jones saw the former leader who, though clearly unwell, was amazingly bright and wanted to know all about Wokingham and what certain people were doing – still taking a keen interest in the area.
Commenting on Ming Campbell’s passing, Clive Jones, said: “The news of Ming Campbell’s passing is very, very sad.
“Ming was a well-respected Lib Dem MP for 28 years, and a respected leader of our party too.
“Following our first meeting in 2014, Ming became a source of immense help and gave me lots of advice about how to conduct a campaign and win elections.
“During one particular visit, a local journalist asked Ming why he returned so often to Wokingham, and he responded that he had invested a lot of time in me, so wanted to make sure that I get into parliament.
“Ming was then delighted when I was elected as MP for Wokingham last year, and was one of the first people to phone and congratulate me.
“He became a great friend of both me and my family and will be very much missed.”
Jones added: “Ming was the nicest person to ever lead a major political party.”
