Ed Miliband: “Vince Cable was kept in his job… because he is a useful prop for David Cameron”
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Secretly recorded comments by Liberal Democrat ministers show the coalition government is “a sham,” Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.
He described Vince Cable as “a useful prop for David Cameron as he seeks to pretend this is something other than a Conservative government”.
Mr Cable was taped “declaring war” on Rupert Murdoch.
The Daily Telegraph has secretly recorded other ministers expressing concern over some government policies.
Mr Cable’s comments, captured by Telegraph reporters posing as constituents, caused a furore because the business secretary was to have the final say on Rupert Murdoch’s bid to take full control of broadcaster BSkyB.
He has now been stripped of his powers to rule on the BSkyB takeover but has hung on to his cabinet post.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called his comments “very unfortunate”.
Vince Cable’s concerns about government policy have thrown the spotlight on the convention of collective cabinet responsibility.
This is the principle that dictates members of the cabinet must publicly support all decisions made by the government.
Because Mr Cable’s misgivings were expressed in private, to undercover reporters, he has not, technically, broken the rule, which is, in any case, just a convention and not legally enforceable.
Also, collective responsibility has tended to be suspended on the rare occasions when Britain has been ruled by a coalition.
In the 1930s, Liberal ministers in the National Government were allowed to oppose government policy on trade tariffs.
The coalition agreement binding the Conservatives and the Lib Dems together also allows for some disagreement between the parties.
But that does not make the revelations about Mr Cable and the other Lib Dem ministers in The Daily Telegraph any less embarrassing for the government, which is trying to present a united front as it implements some difficult and controversial policies.
Did Cable get special treatment? Lib Dems ‘concern’ over policies
But the remarks – and those of Lib Dem ministers Steve Webb, Michael Moore, Ed Davey and Norman Baker – have been seized on by Labour leader Ed Miliband, as evidence that the coalition is starting to fall apart.
“These are decisions of a Conservative-led government propped up by Liberal Democrat passengers. Passengers not in the front seat, not even in the back seat of the car, passengers who have got themselves locked in the boot,” he told a news conference.
Mr Miliband also said that shadow business secretary John Denham would be writing to the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell to seek reassurance that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was a “fit and proper person” to arbitrate on Rupert Murdoch’s bid for BSkyB, given his past comments on the subject.
Mr Miliband was speaking at the launch of a scheme inviting young people to join Labour for a penny, in a recruitment drive designed to attract disillusioned former Lib Dem supporters.
He has said he would have sacked Vince Cable if he had been prime minister – but he also extended an olive branch to Lib Dem ministers unhappy with the government’s direction, saying he would “welcome” them on the Labour benches.
Labour has changed its tactics in recent weeks with shadow ministers ordered to describe the coalition as a “Conservative-led” administration, reflecting Mr Miliband’s claim it is driven by right-wing Thatcherite ideology.
But the row has been dismissed as a “storm in a teacup” by senior Lib Dems, with former leader Lord Steel saying similar complaints would have been heard if Labour ministers had been taped by undercover reporters.
And he said the row had “cheered up” Liberal Democrats, who have realised their colleagues in government are “fighting very hard”.
He accused the Conservative-supporting Daily Telegraph of “trying to undermine the coalition” and said MPs would now be on their guard when talking to constituents which was a “very serious concern”.
But former Conservative minister Lord Young told BBC Radio 4’s World At One the treatment of Mr Cable suggests there is one rule for Tory members of government and another for Liberal Democrats.
Lord Young was forced to resign as an unpaid business adviser to David Cameron last month after telling the Daily Telegraph that most people had “never had it so good ever since this recession”.
When asked if there were different rules for members of different parties, the Conservative peeer said: “Superficially, it does appear that.”
Lord Young also said Mr Cable was “slightly diminished” in the role of business secretary as a result of his comments, and the subsequent decision to strip him of regulatory powers, and that he no longer had the power to bring down the government by resigning, as he had claimed.
In the latest recordings to be made public, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said cutting child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers was not “a fair thing to do”.
Business Minister Ed Davey said he was “gobsmacked” by the child benefit decision, while Pensions Minister Steve Webb said he had complained about the policy.
And Transport minister Norman Baker said of the BSkyB: “We’ve stopped Murdoch taking over BSkyB, or referred it to the competition authorities.
Cable: “I have declared war on Mr Murdoch”
“That would have never happened under the Tories. They would have just said, ‘Here you are Mr Murdoch, how much do you want?'”
Speaking about Mr Cable, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the business secretary had recognised himself that he should not have made the remarks about “declaring war” on Rupert Murdoch to the undercover journalists.
But Mr Clegg said moving responsibility for deciding on News Corp’s bid for BSkyB to the Culture, Media and Sport Department meant Mr Cable and the government could move on.
The deputy PM added: “I don’t think anyone should be surprised by the reports of what other ministers have said. There are differences of opinion in a coalition as indeed there are in all governments.”
Downing Street has said David Cameron believed Mr Cable’s comments about Mr Murdoch were “totally unacceptable and inappropriate”.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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