Vince Cable: ‘The Tories collectively could be appalling’

In an exclusive extract from his new book, After The Storm, Vince Cable reveals the tensions at the heart of the coalition

• 'The coalition will be seen as a success': read our interview with Vince Cable

My approach to coalition was a mixture of defence and offence. Some things had to be stopped; others had to be done. I sought to block what I regarded as ideologically driven spending cuts, beyond what had been agreed as necessary for fiscal stability. There was a long hiatus after the breakdown of negotiations on 2015/16 spending, when demands from the Treasury would have done serious harm to vocational education outside the universities. I carried out a five-year, rearguard action to prevent high-flying Treasury graduates demolishing adult and further education - which they neither understood nor respected.

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