Cable struggles to contain discomfort
By politics.co.uk staff
Vince Cable has yet again signalled his ongoing discomfort at the coalition government’s agenda in a newspaper interview.
The emergency Budget, which included the controversial VAT hike to 20% and plans for departmental budgets to be cut by a quarter, has left many Liberal Democrats uncomfortable.
None hold as senior a position as the business secretary, however, who told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper he did not enjoy being in government.
“People sometimes ask me ‘are you having fun?’ No! It’s hard work and it’s tough, but it’s important,” he said.
Dr Cable said he was “content” with the coalition’s tax policies, which he had previously defended as being “slightly progressive”.
He added: “I worked for some years to get us committed in our party to what we call fair taxes, lifting low-paid people out of tax, we got that in the coalition agreement and it was in the first Budget.
“So I’m content that that’s being carried forward.”
The business secretary said reforming corporate governance and the higher education sector were examples of “radical” actions being taken by the coalition.
But he hinted his own feelings ran deeper than those expressed to journalists as he explained the constraints faced by his job.
“Obviously I’m less free than I was, that’s the nature of the beast,” he said.
“You’re part of a team and you have to operate on that basis. I’m not free to go around saying what I want to say.”
