Vince Cable spoke frankly
to two Telegraph reporters who were posing as constituents, at
his surgery. The Telegraph were reluctant to break the news of
the interview, [they are known as the most pro Tory paper], and
decided instead to let the BBC break the story.
The BBC , who are impartial were pleased to break the story and
run with it., even quoting other senior LibDems who had also been
secretly approached by the Telegraph, complaining about the Tories.
You may remember that when David Cameron was choosing his cabinet
and his ministers, it was Vince Cable who was called to No 10,
early on and stayed there all day, presumably to give advice to
‘newby’ David Cameron.
Vince Cable expressed some of his personal thoughts to the two
undercover reporters who recorded the whole conversation. It was
the remark he made, that he had declared
war on Richard Murdock over the purchase of BSkyB,
apparently he had discovered a legal precedent which would stop
the deal, hence the terminology ‘ declared
war’.
The Telegraph reported that he had been recorded telling its reporters
- who were posing as his constituents - that he had been involved
in a "big argument"
over dealing with the banks. He said he and other Lib Dems had
been pressing for a "very tough
approach", which had been opposed by "our
Conservative friends" and that he had been involved in a
"big battle"
over the cap on non-EU economic migration. He had criticised the
speed at which the coalition was trying to push through changes
in the health service, local government and other areas, which
he described as a "kind
of Maoist revolution", and said it was
"in danger of getting out of
control".
Mr Cable said, “the axing of child benefit for higher earners
had been carried out in a rather
cack-handed way", adding: "They
haven't yet done the winter fuel payments, but that's coming,
I think."
He also criticised the coalition by saying: "We are trying
to do too many things, actually. Some of them are Lib Dem-inspired,
but a lot of it is Tory-inspired. The problem is not that they
are Tory-inspired, but that they
haven't thought them through. We should be putting
the brake on.
When asked if he had any political power, He said he could "bring
the government down" if pushed and that being
in coalition was like "fighting
a war". "They know I have nuclear
weapons, but I don't have any conventional weapons. If they push
me too far then I can walk out and bring the government down and
they know that.
"So it is a question of how you use that intelligently without
getting involved in a war that destroys all of us. That is quite
a difficult position to be in and I am
picking my fights. Some of which you may have
seen."
Nick Clegg denied Mr Cable had been spared the sack to prop up
the coalition, telling BBC Radio Manchester the decision to strip
him of his regulatory powers was "taken
on the facts of the case" [if he
goes, so does the coalition], he still had valuable work
to do on issues such as apprenticeships as business secretary.
In the latest recordings to be made public, Scottish Secretary
Michael Moore said cutting child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers
was not "a fair thing to do". Business Minister Ed Davey
said he was "gobsmacked" by the child benefit decision,
while Pensions Minister Steve Webb said he had complained about
the policy. And Transport minister Norman
Baker said: "We've stopped
Murdoch taking over BSkyB, or referred it to the competition authorities.”That
would have never happened under the Tories. They would have just
said, 'Here you are Mr Murdoch,
how much do you want?'"
If anyone else but Vince Cable had made these damaging remarks
about the government, they would have been sacked within minutes,
which would indicate Vince Cable is able to fetch the government
down. Maybe now his voice will carry more weight, but what a responsibility
he now has to bear on his shoulders. He has strengthened the LibDems
and Nick Clegg, while laying down the ground rules on future Coalition
decisions.
If you like this article, hit
the “Like” button.
Vic Farron
RFT Express.
.
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