The vindication of Vince Cable

This morning's Independent on Sunday has an in interview with the man who is, again, everyone's favourite politician:

Mr Cable is not triumphalist about the spectacle of the Murdoch empire crumbling, but takes time to point out that his "instincts were right and they are shared by the majority of people". He says it "looks like" Murdoch's days as an overbearing media mogul are over, and Ofcom's "fit and proper" test of ownership of BSkyB will be "critically important" in deciding if the Aussie octogenarian has a future in Britain. Mr Cable hopes the forthcoming reviews will lead to a "presumption against cross-media ownership".

He is "somewhat surprised by the scale" of Tory contact with media executives, particularly from News International. The Lib Dems have observed it all from the comfort of the moral high ground. "We have come out of that, as a party, creditably, because we were never part of the sucking-up to Murdoch that happened with the other two parties, for their own reasons. We were often on the receiving end, but we never compromised. We maintained our independence and that's what we are proud of."

As a result, the Lib Dems head to their conference in Birmingham next month in reasonably good shape. One poll put them on 16 points – double where they have been at their lowest ebb. The Business Secretary believes the Lib Dems have four years to prove their "economic competence" and brace themselves for another onslaught from the Tories as well as Labour. While Nick Clegg has taken a "terrible pounding", he has "shown strength of character" and the party as a whole remains strong. "There is not going to be any great bloodletting or calls for leadership change."