Lynne Featherstone

Saying something is a 'soundbite' isn't normally meant as a compliment in politics! There is though a role for short, pithy statements - soundbites if you will - that get to the heart of complicated matters and pulls out the essence of them.

All of which is a prequel to praising Vince Cable for his Northern Rock soundbites yesterday. Once again Vince got to the heart of the matter, and rather than losing himself in the massive financial details of the Northern Rock saga, he got right to the heart of the matter:

The Government has ingeniously come up with a private sector sale that doesn’t involve any private sector money.

In order to save face Brown has decided that losses of Northern Rock should be nationalised, but that profits should be privatised.

Taxpayers now face years of underwriting Northern Rock, giving the opportunity for a private bidder to make an absolute killing.

Well said Vince! (And you can sign his petition on the topic here.)

Good to see Vince Cable pushing the issue of Northern Rock really hard again yesterday in Parliament and then today with both a petition calling on Labour to start letting on as to just how much of our taxpayers' money has been poured into Northern Rock (sign it here) and also with a Guardian article. Vince is doing an absolutely star job as acting leader.

Also on Northern Rock - spotted an excellent piece over on Robert Peston's blog. Excellent, clear analysis of some of the ways forward for Northern Rock. Well worth a read.