Brexit is as disastrous as credit crunch or Iraq war, claims Cable
SIR Vince Cable sparked fury yesterday after comparing Brexit to the banking crisis and the Iraq war as he made his first conference speech as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The former business secretary described the referendum as ‘a great disaster perpetrated by the two main parties’ as he set out his stall as an alternative prime minister.
Referring to Brexiteers as ‘dictators’, he said they only wanted to offer the people ‘one vote, once’ as he pushed the party’s plan for a second referendum.
But leading Leave backers rounded on him, accusing him of having ‘ undemocratic’ views and failing to recognise that the country had voted to leave the European Union. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said Sir Vince’s description of Brexit was ‘sadly defeatist and undemocratic’.
‘It is surprising that a man of such integrity and intelligence should spout such condescending gibberish,’ he said. ‘ Perhaps the majestic honour of being leader of the Lib Dems has gone to his head.’
Tory MP Michael Fabricant said: ‘Vince Cable enjoys casting personal insults but fails to recognise his own bovine weakness: an inability to recognise the world has changed, the people have voted and they rejected both his party and membership of the EU.’
Sir Vince, 74, was elected party leader unopposed earlier this year after Tim Farron stepped down.
He insisted at the weekend that he was a ‘plausible prime minister’ who could replace Theresa May in No10, but even one of the party’s rising stars poured scorn on his ambition, saying it was a ‘good joke’ but not realistic.
Layla Moran, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said: ‘It’s not just the leadership, there is a portion of the wider party that still kind of believes this too, that somehow we are going to go back into government at any moment. And I think we need to kind of accept we’re not.
‘Vince can say what he likes on Andrew Marr about being the next prime minister and I’ll happily defend it because it’s good fun, but the thing is we’re not.’
Addressing the Lib Dem Conference in Bournemouth yesterday, Sir Vince accused other parties of bringing disasters on the country.
‘Anyone who doubts the relevance of the Liberal Democrats should reflect on the three great disasters perpetrated by the two main parties in recent years: the war in Iraq; the banking crisis; now Brexit,’ he said.
He accused Labour of starting the ‘disastrous, illegal’ Iraq war that ‘fuel the jihadist movements which terrorise the Middle East and our own country and our allies’. He added that the Government had then ‘lost control’ of the economy, allowing ‘reckless and greedy bankers to run amok’.
In a speech focused mainly on Brexit, he compared its backers to dictators. ‘No wonder Boris and the Brexiteers are so frightened of the people, and the facts. They now believe in the slogan of dictators everywhere – one person, one vote, once,’ he said.
Sir Vince called for ‘grown-ups’ in Tory and Labour to join forces with him to reverse the Brexit decision. ‘The country desperately needs political adults,’ he said.
‘That’s us. Fortunately, we are not alone. There are sensible grown-ups in the Conservative Party and the Labour Party and the Greens. And beyond them are millions of people deeply worried about what is happening.
‘We have to put aside tribal differences and work alongside likeminded people to keep the Single Market and Customs Union, essential for trade and jobs.’