Cable: the scourge of the government
Updated on 21 September 2009
In the last two years Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable has pulled up the government time and again over its economic blunders and short-sightedness.
On 25 March 2009 Vince Cable criticised the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, for dealing with the economic crisis by "effectively seizing control of the British economy through his command of monetary policy".
"We had a very British coup d'etat when the governor of the Bank of England sent his tax down the Mall.
"What freedom of manoeuvre do the PM and government have in respect of taxation and public spending?"
On 4 March 2009 Vince Cable said the government should use existing legislation to look at the pensions of bankers, civil servants, ministers and other "fat cats".
"Instead of this rather eccentric proposal for a Harriet's Law to stop Sir Fred Goodwin's pension, would it not be more sensible for the government to use existing legislation under which pensions can be forfeited in cases of employee negligence which is surely the case with Sir Fred Goodwin, Adam Applegarth of Northern Rock and the others who bankrupted their banks?
"Isn't this part of a much bigger issue which is there is growing anger in what she calls the court of public opinion not just about the pension and renumeration of what are now public sector employees but about other public sector fat cats including senior civil servants and dare I say it ministers about their very lavish and generous pension?"
On 19 September 2008 Vince Cable once again expressed concern for taxpayers. He claimed short-sellers speculated against the taxpayer because the institutions knew that the banks would precipitate an intervention by the taxpayer if shares were to go down. Mr Cable was concerned about what the government would do with these bad debts.
"The British government, having drifted for the best part of year, has within the last 48 hours done several sensible things - the HBOS-Lloyds merger. They were right to prod the FSA into taking action on short-selling alongside the US.
"But I would have great worries if we were simply taking all the rubbish loans of the banking system and the taxpayer simply acquired it, while the banks and other institutions just continued as before."
On 17 December 2008 Cable was concerned that amid the recession housing starts were at their lowest level since Ramsey MacDonald.
"When the leader of the house last stood in at PMQs I asked her about the vicious spiral that was developing in the economy with rising unemployment and the collapsing housing sector.
"Since then it's been confirmed that housing starts this year are at the lowest level since Ramsay Macdonald lead a Labour administration in 1924. They're in danger of repeating that history.
"She may not be aware either that a few days ago the regulator of the housing associations warned that six of the leading associations are in grave financial difficulty and are in danger of collapse."
On 20 May 2008 on the eve of the Crewe and Nantwich by-election Vince Cable attacked the government's 10p tax proposal claiming it would be a burden for low income families.
"We voted against the 10p tax. We saw immediately what the problem was. That millions of people on very low incomes were going to lose out. The best way of dealing with the problems of people on very low incomes is to lift them out of tax altogether.
"People who are very wealthy, particularly payers of capital gains tax, people on very high incomes who get substantial income relief under the income tax system should pay more, in order that poorer people and indeed people on middle incomes are lifted out of tax altogether."
