Priceless Paxman interview with Vince Cable...
On Newsnight last night, Paxman asked Vince Cable a few gentle questions about when he changed his mind about the £6bn cuts announced by his partners yesterday, and about how friendly he is with George Osborne.
Cable, looking like a man who would rather be tied down naked in a pit full of stinging ants, replied with a complete lack of conviction that he was convinced by a first glance at the books and by the eloquence of the Governor of the Bank of England, and of course he and George had a perfectly good relationship....
Given that he is a Keyneseian and is deeply worried that early cuts are a real risk to the recovery, that he fears that we have cut too early and will cause a double dip recession, and that he regards George Osborne as practically economically illiterate, it's no wonder that poor old Vince looked grumpy and ill-at-ease.
Before the election he opposed early cuts because of the potential economic consequences for unemployment, growth, economic capacity, the availability of credit and its potential to damage us in the eyes of international money markets. For a politician who made his reputation on being right, being honest and being outspoken, swallowing his words is a real dent to Cable's self-esteem. Being asked to publicly defend the cuts by a sneering Paxman must feel like torture.
It is obvious that Cable still believes what he said pre-election, that he fears the risk that is being run with the economy, that he has been blocked by Osborne in his bid to regulate the banks and that he instinctivley flinches with obvious Tory relish at the cuts.
Expect more dissafection from Cable.
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What was interesting was that cable claimed to have changed his mind after hearing from the governor of the bank of england, 'a day after the election'. The governor didn't intervene until a week later, by which time the cuts had been agreed. Cable forced to ditch his principles and now cornered into lying about the reason.
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ReplyDeleteThe Governor has been playing politics for months, both in public and behind the scenes, so Cable must have known his opinions while he was campaigning on a totally opposite platform. It wasn't news to him.
He was the one Government Minister looking distinctly out-of-sorts today during the Queen's Speech. While Clegg looked like the cat that got the cream, Cable looked like a bull that got its balls caught in barb wire fence.
Watch this space....
The fact that he was coming out with a provably untrue reason for his u-turn is a sign of how pulle dout of shape he already is. All this bull about 'the sovereign debt crisis', it's this week's 'strong and stable government'. Clegg will happily join the Tories when the Lib Dems finally shred themselves.
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