Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Vince Cable on the chances that a new political party will be formed



Interviewed by Ned Simon for Huffington Post, Vince Cable has been discussing the possibility that a new political party will be formed after the general election:
Vince Cable has said the creation of a new political party in the UK depends on how the Liberal Democrats perform at the general election. ...
Cable said “politics after the election may be more interesting than before it” if Jeremy Corbyn refuses to quit and the Labour party “fragments”. ... 
Cable, 74, said it was “possible” a new party could emerge from the ashes of a left-wing collapse at the hands of the Tories as the structure of politics was now extremely “unpredictable”. 
“It depends what happens to us. I’m not predicting that. I think we will do much better. But how much better I can’t say,” he said
The dilemma for Liberal Democrats who are attracted by the idea is that, in order to be successful, a new party would have to win over a large body of Labour MPs, who would then proceed to dominate it.

Indeed, if we don't do well on 8 June then a new party may happen without our participation being seen as that important.

Elsewhere in the interview Vince suggests that Brexit is no longer the main concern of voters as they are focus more on bread-and-butter issues like health and education.

And he is pretty damning about Theresa May's predecessor:
Cable said David Cameron’s decision to hold an EU referendum was “one of the biggest political miscalculations in our history” which has had “devastating consequences”. 
“It was almost as bad as losing America in the 18th Century. He had to go. Of course he had to go,” he said of Cameron’s decision to resign.

1 comment:

Phil Beesley said...

"Indeed, if we don't do well on 8 June then a new party may happen without our participation being seen as that important."

Naah. Liberals are liberals -- the difference is about knowledge.

And I want to work with smart people.