Vince Cable and his big betrayal

Vince Cable, with his coat turned.

By Lucy Hall


Vince Cable, MP for my constituency of Twickenham in southwest London is, or was, a local treasure. Being a Liberal Democrat, he was – until now – naturally inoffensive, and politics aside he is an indisputably charming old man.

He’s moderately pleased left-wingers like me because of his seemingly progressive nature, aligning himself with the left of the Liberal party, and he always seemed to genuinely care about the people he represented.

 All that has changed now of course. From the moment it was discovered he would be sitting in the cabinet of a - lets face it - Conservative government, I felt a little betrayed. When the cuts started, and the Big Society was launched, and the Free Schools and the effective denationalisation of the NHS were proposed, I felt sick just looking at the man.

I have vowed never to vote for him, or the Liberal Democrats again.

Perhaps you think I’m being too harsh. He is still a nice man and I’m sure he still thinks he has the same values. The trouble is he didn’t believe in them enough to turn down the part expected of him in what is proving to be the most rightwing government since Thatcher, perhaps even more so than Thatcher.

The  principles that everyone thought he had based his political career on, fought election after election to try and enact are all too quickly being thrown out the window in favour of pursuing some sort of vacuous personal ambition.
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The thing is, poor old Vince, who looks in genuine pain about the whole thing and is probably writhing with inner turmoil, is hardly alone in his decision. 
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The thing is, poor old Vince, who looks in genuine pain about the whole thing and is probably writhing with inner turmoil, is hardly alone in his decision. Politician after politician has sacrificed their principles all too lightly in favour of some sort of status rise in the Commons. The whole of the New Labour cabinet of the past 13 years is probably a good example (Tony Blair excluded – it is questionable that he ever had any principles, and for that matter Peter Mandelson too). And then of course what happens is you genuinely start believing in these ‘new’ principles, because how else do you live with yourself?

Vince might be telling himself he’s simply a moderating force on a radical Tory Government, but most people have now realised that’s not true. He actually voted for the VAT rise he so adamantly opposed before the election. How do you explain that? It’s starting already, the swapping of principles, the understanding that your former self was 'too naïve' - didn’t know what it was like to be in government.

Now of course, to a certain extent, compromise is an essential tool in politics. You have to accept that not everyone is going to agree with you all the time; that you might actually be wrong about some things. But at the heart of a politician’s actions should be a set of core values. Once these core values are strayed from, it’s dangerous. They become power hungry and will start doing anything to get to the top, and no-one believes them anymore.

 The exception is Tony Benn, a man who has never in his life strayed from what he believes in. Despite what it may have cost him (the leadership of the Labour Party some will say) I believe that people, even those who don’t agree with him politically, respect him more than they respect most modern day politicians put together. In a political climate where most people think politicians are liars and frauds, respect is exactly what they need to earn.