Sacking people turns some Tories on, says Vince Cable

 
Vince Cable - Pic: Sky News
Sky News
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Vince Cable rocked the Coalition today by accusing Conservatives of finding sacking people an “aphrodisiac” as he predicted another hung Parliament in 2015.

He warned that the Liberal Democrats must distance themselves from the Tories and fight the next election as a “totally independent, national, credible challenger for power”.

Mr Cable was set to open the door to a coalition with Labour, telling the party’s annual rally in Brighton: “We remain willing to work with other parties in the wider national interest.”

The Business Secretary was ratcheting up pressure to boost growth, calling for a plan A++ and warning that Britain had yet to escape the threat of “economic disaster” and the Coalition of “political oblivion”.

While defending spending cuts, he was set to state that the UK economy is still in a “dangerous” place, adding: “The country must not get stuck on a downward escalator where slow or no growth means bigger deficits leading to more cuts and even slower growth.” After over two years in Coalition, and struggling badly in the polls, Liberal Democrats were “battle hardened” but not “war weary”, he was to argue.

Aiming to please grass-root supporters, Mr Cable was to take a series of swipes at Tory MPs and advisers in his keynote speech.

“We have seen off the ‘head bangers’ who want a hire and fire culture and seem to find sacking people an aphrodisiac,” he was set to say.

He was to poke fun at Cabinet colleague Andrew Mitchell, saying: “I’ve been told jokes about social class are not good for the unity of the Coalition but as a mere pleb I couldn’t resist it.”

He was to attack “Tory backwoodsmen” opposing a “mansion tax” and even suggest Socialist French president François Hollande should follow his lead and bring in a “chateau tax”.

Lib-Dem members have seen the party flatlining in the polls and the loss of hundreds of local councillors.

“We must fight the next general election as a totally independent, national, credible challenger for power,” Mr Cable was set to say. “I don’t believe the British people will want to entrust their future to any one party next time.”

Mr Cable argued that a Government of sustainable growth, competence with compassion, fairness with freedom and more equality had to have “Liberal Democrats at its heart”.

Mr Cable defended reaching out to Labour, including exchanging texts with Ed Miliband, as part of a consensual approach to politics.

But he accused Labour of lacking “soul and new ideas”, having lost its reputation for economic competence and “scarcely begun the long march back” from abandoning its principled foreign policy with the Iraq war.

Mr Cable notably toned down his attacks on the City, as he announced a new business bank aiming to deliver a £10 billion lending boost for struggling small- and medium-sized firms.

Calling for a culture of responsible capitalism, he branded tax havens “sunny places for shady people”, urged the largely State-owned bank RBS to boost lending and backed an “aggressive” house building programme, with an extra 100,000 homes a year.

With speculation that Mr Cable could become leader if the Lib-Dems fail to pick up in the polls, he praised Nick Clegg’s “political courage”.

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