I can’t imagine Vince Cable is looking forward to work tomorrow. His new ministerial team, Michael Fallon and Matthew Hancock, are both Tory reformers who are committed to liberalising the economy and taking a torch to red tape. Precisely the type of activity that Cable usually loves to stand athwart, as he did the Beecroft proposals. Quite a few Tories would like him sacked, but David Cameron has decided to have his Business Secretary restrained instead and has sent in the heavies.
Fallon is a fairly serious character. Last year, I was at a party where Fallon accosted a Tory government member and asked him what he had done to make life easier for small businesses. The answer wasn’t forthcoming, so Fallon laid into him saying it wasn’t any surprise that the economy was not moving.
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