My favourite part of the Guardian’s interview with Vince Cable today? When the business secretary says that his sermonic prescriptions from during
the crash are of “enduring relevance” now. But there’s more to the article than self-aggrandisement, not least Cable’s gloomy overview of the British economy. It’s not quite the same as
Alastair Darling’s Guardian interview in August 2008, but there is a touch of that here. “I think it is not
understood that the British economy has declined by 6 or 7 per cent — it is now 10 per cent below trend,” says Cable, “Britain is no longer one of the world’s price setters. It is
painful. It is a challenge to us in government to explain all that, and it is a pity that the political class is not preparing the public for it to understand how massive the problem is.”
This frankness will not aggravate Cable’s coalition superiors, I’m sure — and neither will his observations about Labour being in a “state of denial”. But, as usual, there are one or two barbs aimed at within government. Once again, the Business Secretary sifts sulkily through the rubble of the AV referendum, claiming that, “The Tories spent years trying to progress from being nasty to nice, and that was being reversed by the attacks in the AV campaign.” And, perhaps even more provocatively, he seems to suggest that — their failures apart — Labour are part of “a progressive wing of politics”. They may no longer be sharing podiums, but the Business Secretary still appears to be buying into Ed Miliband’s definition of “progressiveness” and its bounds.
Which is to say: ah typical, Vince is Vince, and all that. But it’s still striking just how much further the Business Secretary goes with his sneers and asides than his Lib Dem colleagues, even including Chris Huhne. If there is anyone who exemplifies David Cameron’s unique personnel issues, then it is him.
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