Oppenheim was unexpectedly elected with the largest swing in the 1983 election as the ConservativeMember of Parliament for the one time safe-Labour coal mining seat of Amber Valley. He represented it from 1983 until electoral defeat in the 1997 general election to Labour's Judy Mallaber. During his time in Parliament, Oppenheim served in various ministerial posts in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major and was also the parliamentary aide to Kenneth Clarke, the former Chancellor. While in parliament, he was known for strong free-market and free trade as well as socially liberal views, including supporting animal welfare issues and opposing the sport of fox hunting. As a Treasury minister, he toughened restrictions on imports of endangered species and introduced tax breaks on less-polluting fuels, including LPG. As a trade minister, he resisted efforts by the fur lobby to loosen restrictions on imports of trapped fur. He was also in favour of an elected House of Lords. An expert on trade policy, Oppenheim wrote two award-winning books attacking US and European protectionism against both Japan and Third World countries. He has blamed this policy for contributing to poverty in the developing world.
Life and business career
Before entering Parliament, Oppenheim was a businessman, founding an information technology company which was sold to Reed Elsevier. After leaving Parliament in 1997, Oppenheim became a columnist for The Sunday Times and other newspapers. He has criticised new Labour's spin culture, along with what he saw as the corrupt sale of peerages, and the Conservative Party for its rightward drift.
Oppenheim is founder and managing director of the Cubana bar and restaurant in London and is credited for introducing Mojitos to the UK from Cuba in the 1990s. He is also a founder director of Waterloo Quarter, a business-public alliance which aims to improve Waterloo. He trades directly with Cuba, importing rum and coffee and is also a director of Alma de Cuba coffee, a Cuban coffee brand owned by The Cuba Mountain Coffee Company, which has a project to help mountain coffee farmers in Cuba.
