One Nation Conservatives are flocking to the Liberal Democrats as Boris Johnson’s Tory Party “retreats into a narrow little cult”, Sir Vince Cable said today.
The former Lib-Dem leader and business secretary in the Coalition years made the comments as thousands of his fellow party members head to Bournemouth this weekend for their annual conference.
It will be Jo Swinson’s first conference since she took over from Sir Vince as party leader in July, and she is expected to parade a string of recent defections, including former Labour and Change UK MPs Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna.
It comes amid speculation that more recruits will be announced, including former Tory MP and former Change UK leader Heidi Allen.
Sir Vince claimed the party was in the middle of a “big transformation” as the “old political parties and structures are breaking up”.
He told the Evening Standard: “It’s fairly clear that the Conservative Party are retreating into being a very narrow little cult — a kind of English national party. No longer a broad church. Many One Nation Conservatives are now looking to us. The Labour Party has some well-known problems with the Corbyn leadership.
“We have to prepare for the fact that we are potentially at the centre of a very big movement of liberal-minded people but including social democrats and One Nation Conservatives. That’s the big picture.”
Buoyed by the party’s performance in the European elections, he claimed the Lib Dems could end up in government following a snap election.
“We certainly see ourselves potentially as a party in government,” he said. “Jo Swinson has made it clear she sees herself as a prime minister.
“It’s possible that the public mood in a general election, which is currently very volatile, could lead to us doing spectacularly well. We may be in a new world in which the old political parties and structures are breaking up.”
However, Sir Vince said the party would not enter into a coalition with either Labour or the Conservatives.
He made the comments ahead of his headline farewell speech at the conference on Sunday.
In an attempt to repair the damage done to their reputation among students when they dropped a pledge not to increase tuition fears on entering the Coalition, the Lib Dems will vote on a proposal to give adults in England £9,000 tax free to pay for further education or training.
Sir Vince is stepping down from his Twickenham constituency at the next election.
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