Vince Cable live webchat Tuesday 20 December 1.30-2.30pm

grannyactivist

I would like to ask Mr. Cable what he thinks the impact of the Con-Dem coalition will be at the next election? I ask this in view of the fact that my in-laws, who have been lifelong supporters and activists for the party, have cancelled their membership and say they were betrayed by the LibDems. Similarly my son, a third year university student, also voted for the LibDems and says that he will never vote for them again for the same reason.

The impact of the coalition in a 2015 election all depends heavily on how the public react to our handling of the profound economic crisis we have inherited.
As someone who was, and still is, left of centre and an opponent of Tories for 40 years I sometimes feel uncomfortable with the coalition too. But working with other parties in the national interest is only ‘betrayal’ in a very tribal view.

distaffgran

I would like to ask, what is your attitude to the Occupy movement and their slogan, "we are the 99%"?

Do you think they have something important to say? And do you think the fact that there has been a surge of people power movements in the developed world suggests that politicians and mainstream politics have failed to take on the big corporations and the banks?

Yes I think the Occupy movement does have something to say. They don't have the answers but they are posing a real challenge to politicians about the big divide in income and wealth. I accept that we have to come up with answers on extreme and unjustified pay and I'm embarking on policy initiatives in the new year in this area.

JessM

I would like to ask Mr Cable what he is doing to help the growth of SMEs (small/medium enterprises) to grow and prosper. Most people in the private sector work for these businesses and unless some of them thrive and prosper there will be no future prosperity for the UK.

I agree. SMEs are the key to job growth. We are trying to help them by concentrating apprenticeships, export promotion activities and advice/mentoring services at the SME sector – particularly the 10,000 or so rapid growth medium sized companies. We are also making it easier for SMEs to get the access to finance they need for expansion.

politigeek

Is 2019 soon enough to implement the proposals of the Vickers report into banking? Why the very long delay?

The aim is to finish the key policy reforms by the end of this parliament, ringfencing the banks and separating the casinos from high street and business banking. Four years is a long time, I accept, but the details are very complex. We will have done more than any other Western country, and we need to.

frangipane

What will you be getting the woman in your life for Christmas? What are you hoping for yourself?

I promised Rachel a Kindle. We both devour books and travel a lot, so we'll see what this new technology has to offer.

crumblygranny

I'd like to ask how you felt, personally, after being duped by the journalists posing as two young mums for the Telegraph sting? I have to admit feeling very sorry for you. Is that why you choose Gransnet not Mumsnet? (We're very pleased to have you though).

I felt sick as a parrot, to coin a phrase. Several Lib Dem ministers in the government were subject to undercover recording by journalists who falsely represented themselves as constituents in confidential advice surgeries. The behaviour of the Telegraph was (unusually) subject to serious criticism from the press complaints commission.
I chose Gransnet since I am a Granddad, with two grandsons, and married very happily to a Gran with five grandchildren of her own.

Cassandra

Have you paid back your winter fuel allowance?

What do you make of the suggestions it should be means-tested?

I haven't given it back. But I do a lot for charities anyway.

People like me don't need it, but we have to be careful about rushing into more means testing. The system is already complicated enough.

carer

At the Lib Dem Conference this year a motion was successfully passed to oppose various aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill including opposing the Employment Support Allowance time limit. However it appears that very few Lib Dem MPs and Lords are taking action with regard to this issue. Why are they not abiding by the motion and what is the point of motions being passed at Conference if no one takes any notice?

Of course we respect and listen to conference motions. But in government the disciplines are different from opposition. It isn’t just a question of taking up priorities but negotiating compromises within the coalition and then honouring agreed positions, even if they are unpalatable.

bigknitter

Do you cook? And what is your favourite cake?

I'm a good assistant cook, chopping onions and taking instructions. I usually help with the Christmas cake.

HOTNANA

Whats your favourite Christmas song, and what will you be doing this Xmas?

I've got a wonderful Pavarotti CD of seasonal but religious songs. Christmas will be with children and grandchildren and long walks.

NativityQueen

Before the 2010 election, the LibDems peddled themselves as being the party of 'No more broken promises'. Nick Clegg on Broken Promises. "Broken Promises - there have been too many in the last few years".

What was the LibDem's biggest promise? "I pledge to vote against ANY rise in tution fees".

I have heard the argument "But we didn't win the election, and therefore couldn't enact all of our manifesto". Frankly that is a ridiculous argument. Because the pledge to VOTE AGAINST any rise in tuition fees would ONLY be valid in the event of the LibDems NOT winning the election outright. If the LibDems had won outright, they presumably would not have introduced a bill increasing tuition fees, and therefore there would be no opportunity to VOTE AGAINST such a rise. The only opportunity to vote against a rise in tuition fees would be if the LibDems were in opposition, or in coalition, not in government on their own.

Bearing that in mind, how can you possibly expect a voter to ever trust a word a Liberal Democrat says again? Your manifesto will not be worth the paper it is written on, because you have proven that you will say anything to win votes in the election, and your promises that you bought the votes with may be cast aside immediately. I (to my shame) voted Liberal Democrat because our candidate assured me that in our area, the only way to keep the Tories out was by voting Liberal Democrat. He reassured me they would not be enabling a Tory Government, because Nick Clegg 'would not be a kingmaker'. For the first time ever I am glad a Conservative won our area, because at least I know my vote has not gone towards electing this terrible Government, which in my view is undemocratic, on account of the positions the relative parties took prior to the election - Labour and LibDem both took a position of a slower, shallower cut to the deficit, and this position gathered over 15 million votes, compared to 10 million votes for the Conservative sharp, deep cuts proposal. Therefore I regard this coalition as entirely undemocratic.

So my question is - how can you possibly expect any voter to believe or trust a word you say ever again? Please don't answer with a 'spun party line' - I've heard them all, and would like an honest answer, not one that begins "we didn't win the election", or "working together in the national interest".

All three parties promised to oppose tuition fees in opposition but weren’t able to deliver in office. Lib Dems made a mistake, which we regret, of making a pledge in 2010 which collided with economic reality. We have instead introduced in office progressive reforms eliminating up front fees, improving access and scholarships for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and establishing a graduate payment related to ability to pay (in effect, a form of graduate tax).

clocktowergal

I'd like to add to onthefences's question - given that pretty much everyone in power right now benefited from having free tertiary level education, how can they support following generations having to enter adult life in debt for receiving the same benefit they enjoyed for free?

Wouldn't it make sense to reduce the number of spurious non-degrees and instead spend public money educating future generations on courses that will actually make the UK a competitive nation on a global scale in the future. That way they should be able to afford to dismantle tuition fees. If, on the other hand, a student really wants to spend three years doing media studies that will never get them a job in the media, they're more than welcome to do that if they can pay for it themselves.

I think we have to let students at universities decide what figures in degree courses - not let politicians prejudices rule. But we do need to build up engineering and STEM subjects, but not in a philistine way. I recently went to a performing arts college in Cornwall that was churning out brilliant graduates who will form the backbone of the creative industries, which is also a big earner for Britain.

Foreveryoung

What do you think of Ed Miliband as a leader? Is he helping or hurting the coalition? Do you think David Miliband would have proved a more formidable leader of the opposition?

I won't intrude on the private grief of the Labour party. They have a deep problem regardless of who the leader is. The economic boom that got out of control occurred on their watch, leading to the disastrous collapse of the banking system. We're now a poorer country and people will remember where this originated.

GrannyMurray

Hi Vince,

What do you think about Cameron's veto of the financial treaty in Europe? There's been lots of discussion on gransnet about it - some saying he was grandstanding and others saying he had to do it.

Do you think he did the right thing or was he just trying to curry favour?

I think, as Chou en lai once said of the French Revolution, it is too early to tell what the impact of the veto has been. I think, actually, it's a side issue. What really matters is whether the eurozone crisis is resolved in the next few months, and we are only on the sidelines.

What I do believe, however, is that we should not be giving overriding priority to the interests of the City of London. We need to think of all of Britain.

popsiclegran

Are you scandalised that HMRC did sweetheart deals with Vodafone and Goldman Sachs over their tax payments and that this only came to light through a whistleblower and Private Eye?

Is this right at a time of austerity? In what sense are we all in it together? And will HMRC be reformed so that this doesn't happen again?

I think the answer is yes, I am scandalised, when I discover that leading companies are dodging taxes. The government has, however, put in place tougher controls over the banks who were the worst when it came to industrial-scale tax dodging. We also need to think about very rich individuals, who don;t pay their share of tax, which is why the Liberal Democrats have been advocating better taxation of valuable property, which can't run away to Monaco.

flopsybunny

Did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine that you would be in coalition with the Conservatives?

No, except as a nightmare! But the best way of dealing with nightmares isn’t to hide under the sheets but to get up and deal directly with the things we feared.

firenze

Before the election, you were vocal about the irresponsibility of bankers...and this was very powerful, coming from someone who had worked in banking and had a sense of how things should be run to ensure stability.

How do you reconcile this with lack of action over bankers' bonuses and the government's outright hostility to regulation of the City, as seen at the recent Brussels summit?

I didn’t work in a bank (I worked in an oil company) but I did write a book about the financial crisis.
There is a great deal of action being taken. Bankers are subject to a balance sheet tax; tax avoidance schemes are being curbed; so are bonuses (now less than a third of peak levels a few years ago); we are introducing mandatory pay disclosure; and we have embarked on reforms to split the banks which are more radical than the EU or USA.

agedliner

Vince, am very interested to read your response re the Vickers reforms, but they've been covered by others.

So am asking about other important topics

Who did you want to win this year's Strictly final? And which politician would you like to see in the next Strictly?

Thank you and Happy Christmas

I supported and voted for Chelsee. But the last two were both brilliant, and I didn't feel bad about the result. Having done Strictly myself, at least for one episode, I strongly recommend it. I understand Lord Mandelson, my predecessor volunteered his services, and I'd like to see him actually perform!