Vince Cable has been on typically candid form on the conference fringe.
His latest pronouncement is on the purpose of the 50p top rate of income tax:
“I would be very surprised if the higher rate of tax does raise much revenue. It is there largely to show that pain is being shared.” Read more
Simon Hughes breaks ranks on nuclear power
The “new improved” Simon Hughes is suddenly on best behaviour up in Liverpool at the Lib Dem annual conference, after several months of mischief-making. That is the theory. But you don’t have to look too hard or too far to find evidence of his potential trouble-making capacity.
In today’s speech he says that the Liberal Democrats will continue to fight:
On issues which are important to us:
In opposition to a like for like replacement of Trident
In opposition to nuclear power
Scrapping tuition fees
Always defending human rights and civil liberties
And always campaigning against obscene profits and obscene bonuses whilst others struggle to make ends meet.
On Trident we already know Clegg and his party are opposed to the Tories. Defending civil liberties and rubbishing bankers are par for the course for the coalition at this point in time.
But ministers may wish that Hughes would stay silent over tuition fees – not least as they are probably about to go up if anything (depending on the Browne review).
More importantly, his opposition to nuclear power is telling. Not least given that Chris Huhne, the new Lib Dem energy secretary, has signalled his willingness to accept the need for nuclear. (He now says he has ‘no intention of the lights going out under my watch.‘)
Any signs of enduring resistance within the coalition to new nuclear power stations could create nervousness within the industry. Especially as E.ON, the world’s largest utility company, has written to Huhne to demand clarification of remarks made by Huhne last week. Read more
Private sector executive pay is no model to copy
Why do 9,000 people in the public sector earn more than the Prime Minister’s £142,500? It would be good to get the Public Accounts Committee, whose role is to scrutinize public spending for value for money across government, stuck into this question. Read more
Further reading
Clegg looked suspiciously like a straying husband - Matthew Engel sketch, FT
Exclusive: Cameron embeds his policy people across Whitehall to create “happy narrative” – Alex Barker FT
Japanese prime minister begs David Cameron to save £7bn trains order – FT
Britain’s top 100 political blogs – Iain Dale
Speed of deficit reduction is the hot debate this autumn – Chris Giles, FT
I predict a David Miliband victory – Dan Hodges, Labour Uncut
Perhaps Nick Clegg is a little smug - Quentin Letts, Daily Mail Read more
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Jim Pickard is the FT's chief political correspondent, having joined the lobby team in January 2008. He has been at the FT since 1999 as a regional correspondent, assistant UK news editor and property correspondent.
Kiran Stacey is an FT political correspondent, having joined the lobby in 2011. He started at the FT as a graduate trainee in 2008, working on desks including UK companies and US equity markets before taking over the FT's Energy Source blog.
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