Vince is fked and so are we ... doo-dah, doo-dah!

[non sociopath skin]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/21/vince-cable-news-corp-bid

What a stupid, stupid, stupid man.

How on Earth can he have so little integrity as to stay on after this debacle? A parish councillor who made this kind of cock-up would have no future!

Cameron and Murdoch must think that Christmas has come early this year.

What on earth are we going to do with this shower? The thought that they're in charge of the destiny of me and mine makes my blood fair run cold.

The Skin

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. Maybe it is a boon for Murdoch. Probably not so for Cameron

He needs to keep the Lib Dem heavy-hitters onside. If Cable had been a Tory MP he'd already have been sent packing to the backbenches.

A continued meltdown of the Lib Dems in government might satisfy the Tory right but it poses headaches for Cameron. Hence his none-too-subtle preference for a Lib Dem victory in Oldham (or even a 2nd place ahead of the Tory candidate).

Cameron needs a strong Lib Dem party for the medium term. A weakened party could abandon the coalition and force Cameron to duke it out with Milliband (and the latter could gain a Labour majority on his own or with the Lib Dems). Alternatively fearing electoral wipe-out some centre-left Lib Dems could turn And take the Labour whip. Some right-wing Lib Dem MPs could even take the Tory whip especially if they are facing being squeezed by a swing to Labour in Tory/Lib Dem marginals. Any defections or collapse of coalition could wreck Cameron's time as PM. It would be very different however if he was riding 5-10 points ahead in the polls, but he is not. I do think that if the Tories were to ride as high in the polls, coalition government would be made as intolerable to Lib Dems as possible to force them to quit.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. And Cable is the only visible face of the Lib Dem left in the cabinet, as well.

Which also enteres into the political calculus, I should imagine; no 'left' Lib Dem voices in the cabinet, then it may as well be an all-Tory government, from the perspective of a lot of people (may as well be anyway, but perception counts for a lot).

[LeftishBrit]

5. Yes. And to add to that, the very fact that Cable can be regarded as 'the LibDem left' shows how far

right Clegg is dragging his party.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Agreed!

[T_i_B]

3. Yet more...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12056554

Liberal Democrat ministers have been recorded expressing private concern over coalition government policies on welfare reform and tuition fees.

The Daily Telegraph secretly recorded Michael Moore, Ed Davey and Steve Webb saying they were unhappy over some government policies.

The paper had previously taped Business Secretary Vince Cable saying he had "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch.