David Cameron rapped Vince Cable over the knuckles at Prime Minister's Questions today - insisting the business secretary's claim that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) were "Maoist and chaotic" was actually "not his view".
David Cameron rapped Vince Cable over the knuckles at Prime Minister’s Questions today – insisting the business secretary’s claim that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) were “Maoist and chaotic” was actually:
“… not his view.”
Watch it:
It’s not the first instance of splits not just between Liberal Democrat ministers but within them, and follows Danny Alexander’s internal devolution over forestry – exposed at last week’s PMQs. On the Scottish Lib Dem website, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury proudly shows off a “Save Our Forest” campaign banner – while taking a chainsaw to DEFRA in England, setting out plans to privatise forests.
And in July, Number 10 had to issue a clarification after Nick Clegg told PMQs that the Iraq was “illegal“, saying the deputy prime minister, the deputy prime minister speaking at the despatch box, was not speaking for the goverment, merely “expressing a personal view”.
As Next Left observed at the time:
“He was not speaking for the government when taking Prime Minister’s Questions today, as Deputy Prime Minister. So what’s the point?
“Next time David Cameron is unavailable, can’t we just cut to the chase and have Andy Coulson deputise instead.
“After all, it seems that he is equipped to speak for the government. And poor Nick Clegg is not.”
Neither, it seems, is poor Mr Cable.
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10 Responses to “Cameron: Cable doesn’t know what he thinks”
anyleftiwonder
The Prime Minister does not know what his own views are never mind anyone elses .
Bob Piper
Well, I was actually present at the dinner when Cable actually said this, so I can confirm that was what Cable thought before he was told he didn’t think it.
Mr. Sensible
Shamik I heard that and thought ‘what a mess. Who is speeking for the government?’
BTW, on the issue of Iraq to which you refer, did you notice how Cameron seems to have reverted to the Clegg line?
“We will not be employing Alastair Campbell to sex up dossiers to make the case for war.”
From the same section of Hansard.
Is the Prime Minister even speeking for the government on this?
Shamik Das
@debsalini See http://bit.ly/8YLld6 for Prisk's attack on LEPs & http://bit.ly/aaGdkX & http://bit.ly/d72DCZ for Cable's!
sonic
Andy Coulson is due to testify in a Scottish perjury trial. Yesterday the court was told that Glenn Mulcaire will also be a witness and the Scottish editor of the News of the World may also be implicated.
http://sheridantrial.blogspot.com/2010/11/bob-bird-cross-examination-day-3.html