Cameron will most likely chose to annoy the LibDems rather than upset Murdoch.

I long suspected Vince Cable would block the Murdoch bid. Now I am concerned he will be sacked and this is much less likely given this revelation.

Geoffrey, there is something v self destructive about this.

He’s an old man. Been in the game for so long. I reckon he’s thinking ‘is it really worth going against EVERYTHING I believe in, when us being in power is not really doing anything to stop the Tories being insane?’

There’s no way they won’t get rid of him now. No way. And he KNOWS that. He wants out.

These revelations actually help Murdoch. He will use them in court if the bid is refused and argue that the decision was not impartial.

notice the hypocrisy of the smug telegraph,suppressing part of the transcript when it suits them. so much for the fourth estate.

Cable really is an utter tool.

He’s an old man. Been in the game for so long. I reckon he’s thinking ‘is it really worth going against EVERYTHING I believe in, when us being in power is not really doing anything to stop the Tories being insane?’

Nah, he was suckered by two pretty posh girls hanging on his every word and giggling at his jokes.

So, is this where the Tories finally declare that they’ve won the election?

You can’t expect any more dissent from LibDems in cabinet….. disastrous.

You really couldn’t make this up. Cable is toast!

Go back to your constituency Vince, and prepare for “I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here!”

I do not think this is good news for the left, those of you who dislike Rupert Murdoch anyway.
Even worse would be if the banks are not radically reformed as well.

10

Hmnnn..possibly; but possibly not. If it results in a fracturing of the Coalition and an early GE, I say bring it on. It could hardly be much worse than what we have now.

Tim Montgomerie’s already trying to think three moves ahead:

Ken Clarke should become Business Secretary and – at the same time – lose responsibility for prisons where he is taking the Coalition down a dangerous path.

Jeremy Hunt could become Justice Secretary and Cable could move to Culture, Media and Sport (where he wouldn’t rule on BSkyB).

In an ideal world David Laws would return but he cannot do so until he has been exonerated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards.

Good luck with trying to move Ken Clarke…

If it results in a fracturing of the Coalition and an early GE, I say bring it on.

It won’t. If Cable had resigned in a blaze of publicity saying that his conscience would no longer allow him to serve in a Government that etc etc then there’s a possibility that it might have done – although it’s unlkely that the Lib Dems are desperate for an election just now.

Instead he has been caught showing off to pretty girls about how clever and powerful he is, and in the process made his position as Business Secretary more or less untenable. All it does is further damage his reputation.

PS – the pro-Murdoch Tories probably can’t believe their luck, especially as the Telegraph – let alone the BBC – fear any extension of Murdoch’s control over BSkyB.

Tim M is obsessed with trying to move Ken Clarke.

“It could hardly be much worse than what we have now.”

Yes it could, it could be a tory majority of 3 figures.

Any responsible politician should “declare war” on Rupert Murdoch. It often confuses me when I hear talk of our supposedly “free” media when it costs so many millions to own a newspaper or TV channel.

16

In what parallel universe would that be?!

They’re behind Labour FFS! All Mili minor would have to do is sit back and watch the other two kick the shit out of each other……..

I think #4 is right. This will put pressure on Cable if not to resign as #2 suggested then at least to recuse himself from any remaining say in the decision. Aren’t ministers, in theory, acting quasi-judicially when they make this sort of decision? This revelation is bad news for anyone who wanted to see the Murdoch bid blocked.

“Cable also “declared war” on Murdoch”

About fucking time!

But he should have kept his mouth shut. And kept working away from inside to screw up the Murdoch deal. Not too happy about all these stupid New Labour tossers getting their knicers in a twist over this. Give it up boys Murdoch hates your party and always will do.

We need to see a united front. Tory, Lib Dems, and Labour all tell Murdoch to piss off.

Still , , if Vince goes and the Lie Dems don’t bring this whole clusterfuck crashing down, they will rot for the next 100 years in oblivion.

@19 Richard P – look like Cameron agrees with you.

Jeremy Hunt is the decision maker now. And it’s pretty clear where he stands:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/6577489/Tories-plan-Big-Bang-revolution-in-media.html

(I take back my comment about Cable possibly doing this deliberately in the other thread about the news story. This was a very, very dumb move.)

21

“This was a very, very dumb move.”

Yup….*sighs*

We now have the nasty party, shackled to the stupid party, opposed by the nasty party lite (currently under refurbishment).

Not a great deal of choice is there

“Tim M is obsessed with trying to move Ken Clarke.”

T M is obsessed with trying to protect Murdoch.

I don’t know who comes out of today looking more stupid *and* wrong, Vince for blabbing in the first place, the Torygraph for wanting a Lib Dem scalp so badly they tapped a minister and then *suppressed* the bits that weren’t in their interests, Kay Burley for (hahahahaha) “reporting” a fake Daily Mail twitter account saying Cable had resigned, Labour for shoving their collective tongue so instantly up Murdoch’s arse, or Jeremy Hunt (no special reason, he’s just Jeremy Hunt). In fact much though it pains me to say it, the only notable figure not to emerge from this as a complete gibbering twat is David Cameron.

@24 That was quite wonderful, well done.

@3 Rantersparadise: “He’s an old man. Been in the game for so long.”

That senile git has barely been a minister for six months, so to accuse him of ennui fails. And he isn’t old. He is 67 years of age and in a few years time some of us will share that merit, looking for a job.

@7 Tim J.: “Nah, he was suckered by two pretty posh girls hanging on his every word and giggling at his jokes.”

I tend to agree. Note however that in the Telegraph video piece, Cable says that his comments are intended to be off record. The Telegraph recorded and repeated Cable’s statement that he was saying things that were for private discussion.

Given the wacky political world in which we live, Cable’s words might be embarrassing to himself but helpful for LibDems. It appears that the coalition cabinet does not have a single hymn sheet, giving space for both parties to disagree. Where we are now is much healthier than when Cameron and Clegg proclaimed that they were in unison. Descant, now?

Maybe Vince did not have guts for the fight with Murdoch and decided to bail out. If so he is a wimp and should resign.

Then again maybe he is just a pratt, and was caught out. In which case he should also resign.

New Labours defence of Murdoch makes me want to throw up. Won’t have a party to vote for soon.

@28 Sally: “New Labours defence of Murdoch makes me want to throw up.”

It is 2010 and not New Labour, Sally.

For the sake of people beneath, do not heave up on those who live below you. Just good manners.

Alix is right at 24. Labour’s response to this has been utterly crap.

29

Maybe it isn’t New Labour…. but it does seem to be taking an awful long time to articulate anything that looks all that different doesn’t it?

Playing dead and hoping nobody notices, whilst the Coalition blunders about enacting rapid and swingeing cuts and begins deconstructing the welfare state doesn’t amount to a policy.

So far all we’ve really seen is a pale imitation of New Labour, and a studied attempt not to scare the horses. It’s not so much the lack of passion that concerns me…. it’s the lack of a coherent vision.

27 – Oh agreed. The Telegraph’s behaviour is disgraceful – and I’m not sure that the BBC’s has been much better, albeit much more understandable. I’d be surprised if the Telegraph get much help from the Govt in the future.

“16

In what parallel universe would that be?!”

The universe where Ashcroft and other rich Tories finance a high spending campaign in which the other parties are outspent several times over. Combined with a hideously biased media rooting for one party Tory rule and emphasizing the deficit. At the moment cuts have yet to really hit, and the changes that will do the most damage aren’t coming on board yet. Floating voters in marginals probably still think the benefit cuts and changes are a good thing that won’t effect them.

33

If you honestly think that a snap GE now would result in a 3 figure Tory majority, you’re either on something, or you work in tory central office…. quite possibly both.

Just being pessimistic about the effect of the media supporting the tories, and timing being not right. 2012 will be the year to go for it, as that is when the cuts will have created 3 mill unemployment and forced many from their homes.

I think the tide has turned, but the legacy of years of the conservative media succesfully defining welfare as about scroungers and workshy people still remains to make the welfare cuts not a significant factor yet. Until it hurts people they know, floating voters are largely approving of them.

In retrospect Labour’s response here doesn’t seem to have been as bad as people here suggested.

Given the British political mythology surrounding quasi-judicial decisions – the need for ministers to act without prejudice when acting as regulators – Cable had inevitably opened himself up for serious criticism. There could scarcely be a clearer-cut breach of the generally accepted principle.

But Labour has been adamant, too, that Jeremy Hunt is too biased towards Murdoch to take on this decision.

35

I repeat, how does that remotely translate into a 3 figure Tory mahority?! They’d be lucky to scrape in with a majority at this rate… they may even do worse than they did 6 months ago!

Lest we forget, Cameron went into that last GE with a pretty favourable position, particularly given the opposition. In he effect, he “lost”…. I’ve seen nothing to convince me that the electorate are about to give him a more positive result anytime soon, in fact all the indications are that they would do the opposite.

37 – The Tories won more new seats in 2010 than in any election since the 1930s. They won a greater share of the vote than Labour in 2005, and more votes than Labour in 2001. No party in history has ever won an absolute majority from a base below 200 except for Atlee in 1945 – something of a special case. Cameron may not have won the election, but he sure as hell didn’t lose it. General Elections are not handicap events.