Oh Vince Cable, what a mess. Confronted by two young lady ‘constituents’ and you spill the beans big time.
As a senior, longstanding politician Mr Cable should know to watch what he says, and to who. And the way he took the bait was a journalist’s dream come true – all that talk of nuclear war made perfect quote material. I am not defending him, but the Telegraph’s tactics seem pretty unsavoury. Taped conversations and journalists posing as someone else seem better suited to a tabloid ‘footballer in a romp’ scandal than a serious political investigation. And I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the Telegraph sent two young, giggling, female reporters to catch Vince out…
Is the line between the red tops and broadsheets blurring? And should the papers be making the news or reporting real events?
I wonder how long the Telegraph had been planning its sting. I can understand the desire to get a juicy story out of the coalition government, two opposing parties working together in this country is a novelty. But is the level of infighting and cattiness any greater than it would be within the same party? Everyone has some grumbles about their colleagues at times, but it’s amazing how willing the politicians have been to share their thoughts with members of the public. Maybe they need to spend more time letting off steam – a few pints in the pub with a trusted confidante would be healthier than sharing their views with an undercover reporter.
Mr Cable hasn’t helped himself much after the event. Yesterday’s slating of the Telegraph reporters appeared to be a PR gaff. Without question he shouldn’t have made the comments he did, and to try to place the blame on the reporters’ shoulders smacks of desperation. Dignified silence might have helped more, but maybe the Strictly Christmas Special will win him back some fans. He needs to be more surefooted than in recent performances.
';