Vince Cable: Inside Man?

The Liberal Democrats gathered this weekend for their Spring Conference at Gateshead. Central to the agenda has been the NHS bill and Baroness Shirley Williams' initial opposition to and then attempts to reform the bill (Boffey, 2012).

The strange position the Lib Dems have found themselves in, having one foot in government and one in opposition has raised once more a familiar debate: are the Liberal Democrats better off in or out of government?

Dr Vince Cable's in-house letter that caused a stir in the past month (for being openly critical of the government of which he is part) walks this line more finely than most.

Those familiar with Dr Cable will know that this is not the first time - his first major act of defiance, in opposing Murdoch before it was cool - lost him a part of his ministerial responsibilities but succeeded in breaking down the walls of silence around News International.

But how effective is his method?

Compare Dr Cable's movements, as Lib Dem slogan goes: 'in government on your side', with those of Baroness Williams. The Lib Dem peer has long led opposition to the NHS Bill from the House of Lords and in doing so has succeeded in reforming much of the bill through a number of concessions.

Still further compare to the efforts of the Party Leader & Deputy Prime Minister Mr Nick Clegg. Mr Clegg has risked serious damage to both his own and to his party's chances of future re-elections by collaborating in government with the Tories.

All three have achieved successes from their stances. But always at a price. Clegg came under fire for planning ahead, deciding in advance which policies to drop in order to get into a coalition (Watt, 2010). Baroness Williams is now under fire for being willing to accept the concessions she has fought for on the NHS Bill (Wintour, 2012). It seems Dr Cable is the only one who has persistently escaped major ramifications - with even the Sky News takeover he sought to block failing in spite of his responsibility over those matters being withdrawn.

Does this mean Dr Cable's method - the insider rebel - is the most effective?

The answer to that question is directly related to the answer of another. Do we use the ends to justify our means, or is the value of the end result directly created by methods we use?

It is the question that lies behind every decision made by the Liberal Democrats since the beginning of their general election campaign.

It is the question that divides opinions within the party and amongst its supporters.

Do the Liberal Democrats give up ground, cooperate and collaborate to make small gains in government or do they withdraw from government and enjoy greater freedom to stand firm and back big decisions only when it is expedient to do so?

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References:
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+ Daniel Boffey's 'Shirley Williams attacks critics over health bill at Lib Dem conference'; in The Guardian; 10 March 2012.

+ Nicholas Watt's 'Revealed: Lib Dems planned before election to abandon tuition fees pledge' in The Guardian; 12 November 2010.

+ Patrick Wintour's 'How Nick Clegg and Shirley Williams lost the great NHS debate'; in The Guardian; 11 March 2012.