Last Saturday Vince ‘the sage of the credit crunch’ Cable came to Chepstow to promote his book The Storm*. The Local Party in Monmouthshire decided to make the most of the visit by promoting it to members.
Cllr Jacqui Sullivan writes
“Around 300 people had turned up on what was the hottest day of the year so far; Phil Hobson PPC for Monmouthshire, Town and County Councillors from Chepstow, Monmouth, Abergavenny and Newport, Lib Dem members from Monmouthshire, Bristol and Cardiff and many, many people just keen to hear what he had to say.
He walked in to a round of applause and launched straight into a captivating speech and joke about the moat around his semi-detached house! He spoke about how the current financial crisis had built up and previous financial crises throughout history.
After the speech he was happy to answer questions from the assembled crowd. It was mainly concentrated on economics but his announcement that he was calling for Alistair Darling’s resignation received a spontaneous round of applause from the audience!”
Darlings political life appears to be hanging by an ever fraying thread since that announcement. When Gordon Brown starts talking about you in the past tense repeatedly, things aren’t looking pretty.
Vince Cable meeting staff at Chepstow's Sitar Balti
Despite having had a busy day in Bristol on party business, after the talk, Vince Cable and his wife Rachel joined members for a meal at a local restaurant ‘The Sitar Balti’ where he was warmly welcomed by the owner and his staff. A really excellent example of a local party capitalising on a VIP visit to energise members and activists. Here are just a few of their views.
“I was impressed with the sheer amount of work he does, in London all week and then out and about at weekends – this weekend as well as promoting his book in Chepstow and at the Hay Festival he was fitting in Radio Interviews and TV appearances in between! I enjoyed talking about politics with him and he seemed very impatient with the MPs that were linked with the expenses scandal and seemed to agree with me when I said what made me angry was the off-handedness when they were found out. Also the fact that they seem to think it’s OK to admit they had done wrong and pay back the money when, in the real world, you would be disciplined at the least and probably sacked”. Amanda Dell, Town Councillor for Abergavenny
“I really enjoyed his talk, everyone listened attentively and he tried to be neutral not just give his own political view. His sound knowledge of the world financial history was simply explained so that you didn’t have to be a member of the stock exchange to understand. His passion to assist the countries financial mess should be taken up by all the other parties. His genuine concern about the plight of the British public was evident.” Linda Guppy, County Councillor for Rogiet
“It was a clarifying if solemn experience, to listen to Vince Cable on Saturday. Without gibes or any political point scoring, he explained carefully what has happened to the economy and why. Then he outlined the problems that need action now. He was objective, in that he can see the big picture, but acutely aware of the dreadful and painful consequences that lie ahead. The occasional glimmer of optimism was a relief to his audience. Anthea Dewhurst, Town Councillor for Monmouth
*Buy a copy through the party’s affinity deal with Amazon.
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