Skipper

One can only imagine how Vince is feeling right now. First his indiscretions to a couple of undercover Telegraph reporters pretending to be constituents, reveal he thinks the Coalition has Maoist tendencies and does not think things through and that he could bring the government down with his 'nuclear' threat to resign. Cameron could smilingly forgive that at his press conference today but the second indiscretion was more problematic. By making it clear he is totally opposed to Murdoch's proposed purchase of the majority stake in BSkyB, he destroyed his required objectivity over the pending Ofcom inquiry.

Oh dear! and all this from an ostensibly hugely experienced, senior politician whose unspoken superior attitude has tended to be 'I know the answers- nobody else does'. Cameron has condemned the second set of remarks, perhaps venting thereby some of the irritation he felt at the first. Actually I reckon his first remarks were quite useful politically. The Lib Dems are suffering from the perception that they are very junior partners in government who do not carry much clout. Reminding the Tories that the stick they carry is really quite substantial is no bad thing. Pity he ruined it by this careless remarks on BSkyB. The Telegraph, as an avowed opponent of Murdoch did not want to release the second recordings but a whistle-blower sent them to Robert Peston at the BBC.

He will keep his Cabinet post as his resignation would genuinely threaten the Coalition's viability. But he'll have made his position very vulnerable and will have to fight to retain it in the New year. Why did he do it? My theory is that the two Torygraph hackettes were quite young and pretty and old Vince, b it of a show-off, could not resists bigging himself up to two giggling female 'constituents'. Yuletide anxiety will be the price Vince will have to pay for his showing off.