One of the recurring media myths of this election is that Vince Cable is universally popular and trusted as the only truth-teller in the land. Jon Sopel dared to stray from the script when he interviewed Saint Vince on the “Politics Show” and put the Liberal Democrats treasury man on the spot. The exchanges were, as Tim Montgomerie pointed out, very revealing.
Several days ago the Lib Dems unveiled a tax bombshell poster claiming to show what the Tories would make voters pay in increased VAT. As I have remarked before, when Nick Clegg did his back of an envelope sums relating to the deficit live on the “Today” program, if a party’s supposed unique selling point is that only it has been honest enough to make properly costed proposals then it had be better sure it is not plucking figures out of the air. If you claim the moral high ground, best not get caught in the gutter.
Iain Martin is Deputy Editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe. He writes on politics.