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okay I get
welcome to Sputnik orbiting the world
with me George Galloway gatri will be
back in her chair next week now I always
called him the best Chancellor of the ex
cheer that Britain never had the liberal
Democrat Wipeout at the general election
was no fault of his so far as one can
tell through the Mists of collective
cabinet responsibility Dr svin cable
remained true to his principles
throughout the co government principles
of social democracy in short supply in a
cabinet of exceedingly rich men led by
David Cameron and Gideon Osborne now the
Coalition and his seat in Parliament are
gone let's see if any of the Mist has
cleared and welcome Dr Vince cable to
the Sputnik Vince thanks for coming on
board uh we'll talk about your new book
in just a minute but first I'd like to
ask you how you've seen the whole Jeremy
Corbin phenomenon you and I sat with him
in Parliament for many of a year none of
us neither of us thought none of us he
didn't think that he'd ever end up as
the leader of Her Majesty's uh
opposition it's kind of burst uh on the
politicals seen as a kind of rare
phenomenon I I say not since Atley
defeated Churchill has there been an
upset like it how does it seem to you
well I I mean I think everybody's been
taken back I think including him
I think this sort of upsurge of energy
and radicalism I think there's a lot of
good stuff in it I mean the worry I have
uh the worry I have is that he will be
transed by the Tories and that the Tes
will now feel much stronger because
they've got an Appo that they think they
can beat and will move the center of
gravity of British politics to the right
and they will pose as a center party
which of course is ludicrous but they
say we've got farage over here and we've
got Corin over there and we're in the
and I I I think if I was a Gambling Man
I would say right now they they have a
good chance of staying in power for a
long time it's a Pity but I think that's
the consequence although David Cameron
plush polished pumped up Born To Rule
Flashman he'll not be Jeremy Corbin's
opponent it'll be George Osborne almost
certainly now you've been up close and
personal with him more than I but it
seems to me he's an easier opponent for
Corbin than Cameron would have been well
he's a very smart guy I mean he's a very
strategic very thoughtful he does a lot
of the planning for the Tes behind the
scene and his his chance U of following
through the Legacy depends on the
economy you know if it tanks in two or
three years time I think it could I
think the risks are there is what I
wrote about in this book uh then he will
not be such a powerful proposition as he
appears today so the timing of is's
going into the top job and then
succeeding in it depend very much on the
economic Legacy I think Cameron's pretty
determined that he'll be his successor
though well he's more or less an amst
more or less and and he feels I think
quite sore about the only real
alternative of uh Boris Johnson I I you
know people have different views about
Boris Johnson I don't take him quite as
seriously I mean you know he he's a
clever guy actually underneath the
buffoonery uh but I think unfortunately
he's become the victim of his own image
and he's not now taken seriously anymore
I think Theresa May is potentially a
powerful opponent if things go badly
wrong she's as I discovered in my
arguments with her over immigration when
we were in the government he quite a
tough cookie now the Corbin victory was
met with a tidal wave of media ferocity
one of the most bizarre was the
Republican rert Murdoch's Sun newspaper
uh making a gig gantic uh bruhaha over
the singing of God save the the queen
you were famously skeptical of Murdoch's
power on the media scene and were
determined to try and stop it becoming
even more uh uh powerful hegemonic uh
how do you see the British media scene
now and particularly Rupert muk's place
within it well the Sun newspapers as you
probably remember from the last general
election they managed to be in favor of
Scottish independence in Scotland and in
FA against it in England so they had
this capacity to tiller themselves to
Their audience but they they're powerful
players obviously I never met the
murdocks personally it's not a personal
thing but I was concerned as you
obviously are about media concentration
that's still a big issue but I think the
particular area where I got into
controversy was trying to stop the
Takeover of B Sky B and indeed by
referring it to the competition
authorities that's what's happened but I
think in The Wider picture I do worry
that this whole isue about concentration
of power in private um usually right
leaning media hands is growing