Cable says it would be "difficult" working with Brown

Apr 29 2010 By Matt McKenzie

THE Liberal Democrats would find it ``very difficult" to work with Gordon Brown in the event of a hung parliament, the party’s deputy leader said today.

Vincent Cable was speaking following the Prime Minister’s personal apology yesterday to a pensioner he had earlier labelled ``bigoted".

Mr Cable, who is also the party’s Treasury spokesman, said the political fall-out that had followed Mr Brown’s unguarded comments was ``crowding out" important debate on the economy.

The ``essential" issue of Britain’s massive £163bn deficit had been overshadowed by Mr Brown’s ``terrible gaffe", he suggested.

Interviewed on LBC Radio, Mr Cable said: ``He committed a big gaffe and he is now being punished very severely for it.

``What worried me about that exchange was that it sort of crowded out of the election debate something which probably a lot of people find a bit boring, but is absolutely essential, which is what we do about the economy.

``We are just getting launched on a proper debate about how we deal with the deficit and the Institute of Fiscal Studies report, and our tax policies... and then Gordon commits this terrible gaffe.

``He is going to be judged by it and I think people are coming to some pretty negative conclusions."

Asked if he could work with Mr Brown, Mr Cable said: ``I think we would find it very difficult but, as I say, I am a Liberal Democrat, I don’t choose the leader of the Labour Party, they choose him."