Michael Meacher MP

Well, well, well, it’s taken Vince Cable just 18 days in government to do a complete U-turn on the most fundamental issue for the British economy which will dominate British politics for the next decade.   He repeatedly and vehemently argued in Parliament over the last two years and through the election campaign right up to election day that immediate spending cuts could knock the fragile economic recovery on the head and risk a double-dip recession.    Less than 3 weeks later he’s just announced he’s changed his mind and is now pursuing the opposite policy, falling in line with the Tories.   It’s amazing what government can do to you – one of the fastest turnarounds on a fundamental point of principle in moder politics.

But he’s not the only one.   Chris Huhne, the new Energy secretary, who as Liberal Energy spokesman before the election rejected any new nuclear build as his party have always done, told us in his first interview after his appointment that he still opposed nuclear power, but that in deference to the coalition agreement it would still proceed provided there was no public subsidy.   And he clearly hinted that without public subsidy he didn’t believe it could go ahead at all.   Now, 3 weeks later, it’s all changed. (more…)