Liberal Vision

Vince Cable – Player or Prima Donna ?

The accusation of Anne Widdicombe pre-Strictly-Come Dancing …was that she would lose herself to the giddy world of fame (and presumably fortune) and be led like a donkey down the route of becoming some mad media tart..  She didn’t… She consistently and eloquently explained that she understood perfectly the difference between being a serious politician in her hey day – and a dancing anachronism in her twilight years.

With really heavy heart (witness my tribute to him ), I have to say that it looks like  Vince  seems unable to do the same.Vince is acting out the role of the love-child  of Nick Clegg and Pamela Stephenson. Bright-Politician-come-OAP-media-ballroom-star.

Well my friend – You are not . And it’s time  for your to choose. You are either a serious politician who is signed up to the coalition..playing by the coalition rules  – as the Tory boys have to -and is willing to take on the responsibilities of that job….

Or you are a retired old has-been looking for a way to fund your retirement years with a bit of a reputation, a couple of books – and a nearly successful Strictly-Come-Dancing career.

Which is it ? A player ? or a Prima Donna ?

You are one man – who apparently thinks he is so big and so clever  – that YOU can bring down the government…  Is that really the Vince Cable I saw in action just a few years ago ? Has power really gone to your head that much ?…

…  Put another way. In footballing terms… Are you a Beckham – rooting for the team that you are playing for and  the country that you love …  or you are Tevez /Rooney – looking for the next big chance for yourself?

If I were Nick I would tell you to sling your hook. I doubt he will. Not because he is weak. But because I think he knows your value. Do you ? Or have your forgotten ? I am guessing that Nick will tell you that this is your ”AABF” ( absolutely absolutely bloody final) warning. 

On balance he may be right, but it is “too close to call”. Your Ego seems to be taking hold.

If Mr Ego hasn’t seized control ..and you simply can’t stomach the necessary cuts that you yourself said were necessary… then retire gracefully – with your dignity intact. Write your books, do your cruises and Waltz your way around the country.

If you are are not yet ready for the sell out. Prove it. Stand by your colleagues and the Coalition Agreement.

Tags: Add new tag, Vince Cable

Vince the invincible..

Ok. In the past 24 hours (since the Leaders Debate as it happens ) we  have received dozens of emails asking us to reinstate the link to the “Vince video” . To my knowledge the link was always there….and anyway I think that Nick has proven he is “de man” but hey… here is the link again

(ps.. it is a year out of date….but you know that ….right  ??)

 

Tags: general election, I agree with Nick, Leaders Debate, Nick Clegg, Vince Cable

Thatcher’s think tank slams Tory policies..

A week or two ago I thought the Tories had it….They were the ones who were talking about the need for spending cuts… And the need for them NOW…. That seemed credible to me and I thought they were on to something.

Ok Ok the liberals were talking about cuts … and we had been more specific about where the cuts would come from….and Vince is …well Vince…. but we seemed reluctant to commit to them anytime soon  – and that worried me. I could not (still dont) get why we weren’t the “totally honest party” that actually said it as it was…we’re f*cked.. the cuts need to be bigger than anyone has told you, and by the way we can’ actually carry on with more people working on the “spending wealth” side of the scales, than the “creating wealth” side…  

The Tories on the other hand seemed to be grasping that spending cuts nettle with a vengence. Whoa I thought…these cats have got it. Any day now, the Tory’s will deliver the coup de gras and “come clean” with the voters about the future we must all face up to. And the liberals at that point might as well pack up and go home….

But no such thing.  The Tories look to me like they are determined to screw this thing up. No sooner have they marched down the spending cuts route like a well-drilled army …then they swerve off down some blind alley to have a some silly punch up with the Government about National Insurance and then stagger around blurting out some ill-conceived bribe for the “poorly weds“. Confused? You betcha…. 

Tough on debt, tough on the causes of debt one week…err….its a freebie giveaway ..the next week…. oh please someone get some sanity back into the debate..

..Ah, the big daddy of all Think Tanks – the IEA – enters (stage right obviously) to bring us back to the real world…. It blasts, all over the front page of the Business section of the Sunday Telegraph today , both main parties….

“Labour and the Conservatives both stand guilty of presenting vastly under-ambitious economic plans which fail to address the dire state of the public finance“….

and…..”The National Insurance row, which has dominated the headlines this week, disguises the fact that none of the parties have offered the scale of spending cuts necessary to heal the economy“.

The Telegraph goes onto report that the IEA “will this week launch a campaign urging the winner of the election to reconsider the entire edifice of public spending“.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

And why not start by getting the IEA and Vince Cable together? The IEA sits within 20 yards of Lib Dem HQ. And surely Vince has the number of the DG over there – afterall one of them used to work for the other.Then perhaps we stand a chance of getting this election debate on track……

Tags: economy, IEA, Labour, NI, Tories, Vince Cable

Vince the invincible….

Vince has got his mojo back, and some…..

 

OK, lets be honest, “Ask The Chancellors“, was little more than a supporting bout ahead of the main show – the leaders debate. A useful rehearsal for all three parties and a way for Channel 4 to get a slice of the TV political debate “action”.

 

But given all that,  it is hard to see how Vince could have done much better…

Am I the only one who thinks that this ups the pressure on Nick for “the main event”?

 

It seems pretty clear that Vince was THE man last night. I say that not as a Lib Dem. That seems to be the consensus. New Statesmen “Cable Triumphs” , Channel 4 “Cable wins” and “Cable impresses“ and “Cable is public’s choice for chancellor” , Guardian “Vince Cable draws first blood in battle of the chancellors“  , Reuters “”Third man” stars in TV election debate” , and so on…..

Of course there were dissenters – e.g. Quentin Letts over at the Daily Mail tells us “I resist the cult of Vince the wizened seer“  – but as Daisy McAndrew tweeted at the time “Audience pretty much unanimous cable won, hacks too privately, but many sticking to party lines in their copy“.

And Vince had some things in his favour. Was it accident or design that as we looked at the screen, Darling was on the left, Osborne on the right and, well Vince in the middle (always the best place to be).

He is also built for this kind of show. He is has a confident, school masterly air about him, is always across his facts and has, as he shows at his occasional appearances on PMQ’s an undeniable gift for witty one liners – which endears him to any audience no matter how cynical.  

People can, and have said, that Vince can say what he likes as the Lib Dems don’t have any chance of getting into power. That might have been an easy stick to beat the Lib Dems with before, but with the polls refusing to shift far away from “hung parliament” territory, that’s an argument that’s much harder to make right now. I very much doubt that Vince will actually end up in no11 – but how much money would I give to hear Cameron try to rationalise to the public why Osborne should have the keys over Cable….

No. Vince did not win last night because his policies don’t stand a chance of being implemented. Vince won because he is clearly a man who knows what he is talking about, he was more honest about the cuts, more specific about where they will come from, more direct in answering the questions, and more authoritative whilst being warmer and funnier than the other two (you gotta feel for the other two guys really). 

But what can we learn from this that will inform the leaders debates? Much will be outside of the leaders control – the order in which you stand, how much public interaction there will be etc…

But some things are clearly in your gift…e.g. Get your make up sorted.George Osborne looked pale bordering on vampiric. Try very hard not to nod all the time when your opposite number is speaking. George (again!) was like a nodding dog most of the time – nerves maybe – but do try to keep the head still. Oh and answer the damned question!! You might think you got away with it on the night. But I have spent a morning listening to various phone-ins observe the fact that Vince seemed much more willing than the other two to address the question put – not some question they might have liked to have been asked.  

We can’t and shouldn’t expect Nick to mimic Vince’s naturally comedic timing or instinctive turn of phrase. You either got it or you ain’t – and there is nothing worse than a joke falling flat, or a one liner – that you then have to explain……oh dear no.

But Nick CAN do the honest thing. He can do the “sound of reason” thing. He can do the passionate thing. And he can answer the questions. He can and must be prescriptive in his recipe for change, he can and must be bold about the need for cuts, he can and must speak with authority on parliamentary reform…

Vince will be a hard act to follow…It’s do-able …but my word it wont be easy.

Get thee to rehearsal Nick - the bar has been set pretty high.

Tags: Ask the chancellors, Channel 4, Nick Clegg, Vince Cable

Coalition or chaos – it’s your call, Nick

So now its a real fight. Who do we choose? On my left I give you the bullying, bullshitting, bad tempered – bad man of politics – GORDON BROWN. He who wants to be judged on his moral compass yet surrounds himself with unpleasant characters who intimidate and smear his political opponents, from whatever party, at every turn. He who talked up “Prudence” whilst on the biggest spending binge ever, who raided pension funds, sold our gold at its lowest level for years and who invested more of his time and effort undermining the then Prime Minister, than he did keeping watch on the finances of this country. Hmmm.

On my right I give you the smiling snake oil salesman -the suave, the slick - DAVID CAMERON.Yes the one with the airbrushed photos and dyed hair who beams benignly and promises his party has changed but who cannot be pinned down on anything of any substance. Who talks about being liberal and wanting government with ” a lighter touch” but then brings the full force of his party heavyweights down on his own party regional offices if they dare defy him. The man who has talked such a lot – delivered polished speeches to perfection…and yet said so very little. A man who surrounds himself with friends in Notting Hill kitchens (Coulson, Ashcroft, Osborne and co) no matter how dubious their actions, history or levels of competence best that can be said of him is that he is not Brown – the worst that he is another Tony Blair. Been there done that.

Added to this we have seen what happens when one party wields total power – with a huge majority. The party whips rule; minsters all powerful; bright intelligent MPs sidelined because they challenge the leadership; loyal and dimwitted MPs more likely to end up in the cabinet; debate stifled; decisions taken behind closed doors with little or no scrutiny; laws rammed through.

Why would you want either of those leaders in power? Why would you want either party to win a landslide election when we have felt the pain that they bring, one too many times ? No wonder people are confused. No wonder the polls are erractic.  No wonder, people are talking …correction.. welcoming… the prospect of a hung parliament. None of the other checks and balances have worked. Maybe this one will.

BUT!  The prospect of a hung parliament – without a clear view about what that will mean for the finances of the country – is going to send the markets into tail spin. Why? Because they assume that we will end up with a fudged government with no power to make the cuts necessary, fighting day to day to get each tiny bit of legislation through, and almost certainly resulting in another election within twelve months. What the markets want is certainty and that is not what it looks like.

Of course at the moment we don’t have a single party willing to be honest with us about the economy - the severity of cuts necessary. We all know we are being lied to. And every day our debt gets bigger. So it could be argued that it is not clear that any party will do what is needed.

So we are standing on the brink of disaster. Nick, its time to bring some honesty and forthrightness to the debate. Specifically on (1) the economy and (2) what you will actually do if there is a hung parliament.

1. THE ECONOMY : Be honest about the level of the cuts necessary. Vince Cable is the most trusted politician there is on financial matters. He was the lone voice of caution in the boom years. Yes he was derided by both Tories and Labour (and the media) when he told us bust was waiting round the corner. But he was also proven right. So where is he now? We seem to be arguing about the small stuff . Is it green enough, are we too reliant on banks. Maybe, maybe. But can talk about that when we have an economy worth squabbling about? Where is that beacon of light – that honesty now when we need it ? Show us the real Vince. Show us the real plan – not the sanitised one.  

2. HUNG PARLIAMENT: If we were in “the boom years” Nick, you could fudge what the Liberals would do in the event of a hung parliament. If Britain had cash sloshing around in our coffers, if we had a strong £, if we had shrinking unemployment, if we had financial institutions that were lining up to invest in Britain, if our AAA rating was not hanging in the balance yes then Nick, you could get away with it. And it would probably be the right strategy. The dangers of speaking out are immense and caution might be wise.

But country is not in that position. This country is in dire financial straits. The £ is stuttering at the news of the possibility of a hung parliament. Don’t play politics with our lives and livelihoods.

This country needs a strong Lib Dem party to tell us where it stands. Not a sit on the fence - play it safe – we haven’t planned for hypothetical situations - Lib Dem party. (What ? you only make your plans AFTER the event?). We need a bold and brave – forget the past – lets start a new period of politics- tell it how it is – get the country out of this mess  Lib Dem party. 

At the moment no one is at all clear what “working with” the party with a “mandate from the voters” means. Not me. Not the voters. Not the markets. Stop talking Westminster speak and tell us what you mean. Coalition or not?  The Guardian says you are planning to rule out coalition “because aides and senior MPs argue it would be highly dangerous for the Liberal Democrats to become minority partners in a coalition government”.

That would seem to suggest that , in the event that no party gets an outright majority, you allow either party to pass a Queen’s speech if it makes some concessions to your four prioirities (fair tax, investment in education, a rebalanced economy, political reform).

But whispering tit bits to the Guardian is not the same as telling it straight. OK you’ve let the Queen’s speech go through… Will you abstain or vote through the budget ? Shove in loads of amendments to make it more to your liking? How will you vote the next week or the week after that? Will a weak minority Government lurch from one deal to another as you stand by mildly and meekly watching sterling plummet, and the stock market nosedive? Is Vince Cable destined to spend the next 12 months commentating on the news or making the news?

The country goes to the wall because some of your aides and MPs care more about their political careers than the state of the nation? Maybe they just dont like the idea of actually being in power.

Or perhaps it’s that you can’t go into coalition. With all the will in the world you dont have the power to make that decision? The BBC reports that you “would have to get a formal coalition deal past (your) members” . If true then change the rules at next week’s conference. Tell them you can’t run a party on that basis right now. 

Cowardly or castrated. Which is it ?

The madness is, from what I have seen, you are neither. You started slowly (not a bad thing) but it looks for all the world that you are just hitting your stride. Perfect timing. You have the honesty, integrity and personal belief to make a difference. To change politics. So what’s stoppping you?

You will be dogged by these questions and many others of a similar vein over the coming weeks. Constant reference to a 4 point plan is not going to cut it with the voters, with the media or with the markets. Come on Nick. Step up to plate. The Liberals have to piss or get off the pot. If we are not prepared to take up coalition – to take up the reins of power when the country needs it most (now) then we don’t deserve to be the third party. 

I think I am right in saying that both you and Vince have said publicly that the country’s plight is more important than petty party politics. Prove that you mean that. Give us some honesty. Show us your mettle. I think if you will do that, you will win the hearts and minds of this country. Hell, maybe even save it.

Tags: coalition, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, hung Parliament, Nick Clegg, Vince Cable