Daily View: What next for the Lib Dems?
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Commentators predict and suggest what should be next for the Liberal Democrats.
that the Lib Dems should fight their corner - or walk away:
"Vince Cable was crass and indiscreet. He is now a diminished figure. Yet he runs a government department which, even without competition policy, will determine crucial areas, not least the government's approach to the City and corporate governance. He must fight his corner or quit. If Lib Dem ministers are forced to suppress their very real differences with the Conservatives just to hang on in there, they, their party and the causes they espouse will all be doomed."
[subscription required] that the only future for the Lib Dems is as part of government:
"So the Lib Dems will not be able to run at the next election as the holier-than-thou party any more than they can run as an alternative to Labour on the Left. Which leaves them only one option. They must run as a party of government. They must take advantage of the fact that voting Lib Dem is no longer a wasted vote.
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"Running as a party of government means that Lib Dems have to make the coalition a success. Whether the Government implements a given proportion of the pledges outlined in the last Lib Dem manifesto is of secondary importance. That is what Nick Clegg sees very clearly and what Vince Cable sees one minute (over tuition fees) and cannot see the next (as his taped remarks demonstrate)."
The the Lib Dem complaints aren't a big deal:
"The doubts and fears of some Liberal Democrat ministers are out in the open now, and what is most remarkable is how unremarkable they are. The Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore, says the Chancellor's decision to eradicate child benefit 'came out of nowhere'. That is simply stating the reality. The Pensions Minister, Steve Webb, claims that he wrote privately to the Chancellor to complain about the same policy because 'the details aren't right'. Indeed they are not, as was widely accepted when they were announced. Ed Davey, the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, is concerned about the impact of housing benefit cuts, as well he might be. So are some Tory MPs.
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"The fact that these comments have been made public is embarrassing. But they are relatively small disagreements of the sort to be expected in a Coalition."
Similarly and Vince Cable's political demise has been exaggerated and in practical terms recent events won't make that much of a difference:
"Cable is still in the Cabinet. The Conservative wing would have made sure Murdoch got what he wanted one way or another, even if the events of the past few days had not taken place. The weird sense of excitement around the unassuming personality of a not especially agile politician continues.
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"Cable's next appearance as Business Secretary will generate much breathless excitement in advance. And yet Cable is not as epic as he seems. Or rather we choose to see in him more than is really there. His next public appearance will be on Strictly Come Dancing on Christmas Day. That at least is not an illusion. He can dance."
that the year ahead promises to be far more difficult for the coalition than the events of this week:
"In the months ahead, however, it is the consequences of his [David Cameron's] and his Government's actions that will test him, starting with the first week of January, when VAT goes up with no certainty that the economy can withstand the shock. Then, in close succession, come reforming bankers' bonuses, tricky votes on welfare reform measures that will give Labour a field day, the need to make a decision on control orders, Mr Osborne's 'growth and enterprise' Budget on March 23, the next round of tax rises that follow scarcely a fortnight later, the review of parliamentary expenses, the impact of spending cuts accelerating through the public sector, further clashes with the education establishment, and the May referendum on the new voting system."
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