Sunday, June 23, 2013
Vince holds out for commonsense
Kudos to Vince Cable who, according to the Guardian is holding out against the Chancellor of the Exchequer on cuts that are being demanded of the Department of TBusiness, Science and Innovation, arguing that the coalition needs 'a strong story to tell on growth' to balance £11.5bn cuts package.
The paper says that Vince is refusing to accept deep cuts to his departmental budget without a guarantee of billions in funding for job-creating capital projects, as arguments over this week's spending review reached a new pitch:
With just three days before George Osborne is due to announce £11.5bn of cuts for 2015-16, the business secretary was said to be in no mood to back down in a dispute he regards as crucial to the government's economic credibility.
Cable is arguing, in talks with Treasury ministers and officials, that the coalition must have "a strong story to tell on growth" to run alongside its tough message on slashing the budget deficit and balancing the books by 2018.
In a dispute that has pitched him against the Treasury chief secretary Danny Alexander, a fellow Liberal Democrat, Cable is fighting for investment spending on everything from science and business funding to grants for training and skills development. Insiders said that he was not pushing a party point but a case he believed was in "the national economic interest".
I just hope that Clegg is backing him.
The paper says that Vince is refusing to accept deep cuts to his departmental budget without a guarantee of billions in funding for job-creating capital projects, as arguments over this week's spending review reached a new pitch:
With just three days before George Osborne is due to announce £11.5bn of cuts for 2015-16, the business secretary was said to be in no mood to back down in a dispute he regards as crucial to the government's economic credibility.
Cable is arguing, in talks with Treasury ministers and officials, that the coalition must have "a strong story to tell on growth" to run alongside its tough message on slashing the budget deficit and balancing the books by 2018.
In a dispute that has pitched him against the Treasury chief secretary Danny Alexander, a fellow Liberal Democrat, Cable is fighting for investment spending on everything from science and business funding to grants for training and skills development. Insiders said that he was not pushing a party point but a case he believed was in "the national economic interest".
I just hope that Clegg is backing him.
