At the recently concluded Liberal Democrat party fringe meeting, Business Secretary Vince Cable issued highly-controversial statements. According to an Independent article, Mr. Cable said that he supported the Coalition Government and wants it to carry on right up to the last moment. He added that it was the right decision then to form a coalition with David Cameron in 2010; however, he expressed disgust how the Lib Dem leadership has been leaning toward Conservative policies. His statements were explicit warnings directed at party leader Nick Clegg.
The Independent quoted Mr. Cable expressing the certain possibility of an earlier end to the Coalition, with himself walking out of government if his personal ‘red lines’ were compromised. While Mr. Cable was the first senior Liberal Democrat to express this possibility, not a few Lib Dem members have earlier suspected that Mr. Clegg has a tendency to sway favorably with Tories’ policies. This was clear in the statement of Lord Oakeshott that the local elections in May will determine the party’s only hope to redirect its course.
When asked what policies Mr. Cable found unacceptable, he quickly cited the Conservatives’ dog-whistle politics that reveal their dislike and opposition to immigrants, benefit claimants, fairness in tax and corporate reforms. He expressed sadness over legislative moves to detrimentally curtail workers’ rights. The “anti-wind farms” stance of right-wing Tories didn’t escape Mr. Cable’s criticisms. The Liberal Democrats have always aggressively fought anti-wind cultures in government. The Independent also wrote that the Business Secretary finds very distasteful the anti-immigrant vans that roam the city and the £3000 bond imposed on some people entering Britain.
Mr. Cable’s remarks were tirades against the Conservatives and their right-leaning policies. However, his statements were strong assaults targeted at his own political party and colleagues, obviously not sparing the party leadership. He said that the Tories’ politics is not the Liberal Democrats’ politics. The former’s legislation ia downright ugly and he exhorted that his party shouldn’t allow itself to be smeared or influenced by it. He cited how the Liberal Democrats fought against legislation curtailing workers’ rights. He considers that as a major win in government legislation.
Mr. Cable underscored the need for the Liberal Democrat Party to delineate itself from the Conservative and Labor parties. The Independent quoted him that the party must live up to its core message of fairness, and speak with that language when tackling the issues of tax reforms and other important government policies. He spoke of the distinction between the Lib Dem and Tories, that the former is not merely a better variation of the latter. The Lib Dem is fundamentally different, according to Mr. Cable, and this must not be lost on the party’s legislative stance on strengthening the nation’s economy.
Mr. Cable insisted that he had to make a stand on important issues and that it was, in fact, his duty. Alluding to future Cabinet positions, he was asked what post he has laid his eyes on. He didn’t deny that the Chancellorship is not far from his mind. He was quite amused at the question posed. He said that his interest lies in economics, and he already runs one of the two departments. He hinted that he wanted the other, the Independent wrote. In another note, he talked about the government’s “Help to Buy” program. His strong recommendation was for the scheme to be delimited to locations with low real property price.
bloggedforbusiness 