For me, the little exchange of barbs between Vince and Boris Johnson, over the weekend, is an early sign of what a great leader Vince will be for our party.
It was a bit like tennis.
Vince served brilliantly with:
There is no cabinet consensus for moderation, and the rumours of Boris Johnson being about to resign fuel the uncertainty.
Boris Johnson returned the ball through a spokesman, as reported by the Guardian:
In response, a spokesman for Johnson said Cable was “making stuff up” and instructed the Lib Dem leader to focus on devising his own policies. “Boris and Philip Hammond are working closely to take the the UK out of the EU and are not going to be diverted from that important task,” the foreign secretary’s spokesman said.
Vince then ended the rally by blasting the ball back into Boris Johnson’s court with this priceless zinger. The bit that I have bolded is particularly exquisite:
If the foreign secretary is working so closely with the chancellor, can he confirm that he supports the chancellor’s call for a three-year transitional deal with continued free movement of labour? So far he has been uncharacteristically silent on the subject.
It is a simple question: does he support the position of Philip Hammond or Liam Fox? Because he can’t support both. And if Philip Hammond secures a three-year transitional deal, can Boris Johnson confirm he will stay in the government and support the policy? It is certainly bold of Boris Johnson to accuse others of lying. How is he getting along with finding that £350m a week extra he promised the NHS?
It reminds me of something a wise old friend often advises:
Always keep something in your back pocket. You never know when you may need to bring it out.
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
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13 Comments
Boom lol.
Vince has always handled this aspect of politics very well so I hope for more of it. The Mr Bean remark almost ended Gordon brown on its own.
Well, the most promising thing is that he is getting replies… Vince has been around for a long time and it is hard for Tory politicians to ignore him
Lovely stuff, Paul, thanks for bringing it to us. Vince’s ready wit and gift for repartee are certainly going to be an asset .
A great response from Vince. He certainly is getting noticed by the Conservatives. The more he can get in the media the better.
I’m a man with an excellent Thai, Vince is a man with many excellent ties.
Is Vince going to have a break this Summer, or is he going to keep up this level of activity until Parliament returns? At the moment we’re in the Phoney War phase, and he’s going to need all his energy when things hot up in September. Encouraging so far.
He’s certainly making his mark with the media. It’s great to see him being quoted and re-quoted. Media attention is what we need – hopefully he will get the same attention when he starts talking policy.
Couldn’t agree more. Vince is a man for our times, who will be invaluable, not only to Libdems but to the country in the months head. With him and Jo Swinson, and with Tim Farron still in there, we could be very valuable to the nation. We have to bide our time and be careful, but retain confidence that the worst of Brexit can be headed off if not the whole project.
Vince then ended the rally by blasting the ball back into Boris Johnson’s court with this priceless zinger. The bit that I have bolded is particularly exquisite:
…………………….. It is certainly bold of Boris Johnson to accuse others of lying. How is he getting along with finding that £350m a week extra he promised the NHS?………
An exquisite, priceless zinger???????????????
My gosh; you are easily impressed. That retort has been ‘done to death’ by every opponent of Brexit over the last year..
Vince Cable is a sophisticated man. Do not mistake a line about the £350m as being old hat, heard it before. It hit all the headlines at the same time as Boris’ comment. It will be new and fresh for the majority who are not as obsessed about politics as I am. It was well timed and well judged and beyond anything else it’s right. The Government is all over the place on Brexit and the reason they are is leave let people hear things that were not true. The £350m is a biggie but despite all the denials I think the public heard stay in the free market /have cake and eat it too.
Vince Cable has good judgement and knows what to say when for maximum impact.
Vince Cable is, and will be an excellent leader for our party 🙂 will strike fear in to our opponents who will know in their hearts that Vince is head and shoulders above may/corbin 🙂
Well said Andrew Fitton. I was impressed by the way he said it and the preamble.
I think we need to be wary of re-writing history when comparing Vince and Tim. Tim managed to attract a great deal of media exposure, not just as leader but before that, as President. He made very regular appearances on the Sunday politics shows for instance. I was certainly impressed by how often I saw Tim on’t telly. Vince is carrying this on and making bold statements to garner publicity, which is certainly a departure from Tim’s style.
Boris is unsuitable to be S of S at F&CO. If he was in the C of E he could be a loose canon.