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22 December 2010
Last updated at 07:18 ET
The latest secretly recorded comments by Liberal Democrat ministers show the coalition government is "a sham," Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.
He described Lib Dem ministers as "a useful prop for David Cameron as he seeks to pretend this is something other than a Conservative government".
The Daily Telegraph secretly recorded ministers saying they were unhappy over some government policies.
Vince Cable was taped "declaring war" on Rupert Murdoch.
The comments, captured by Telegraph reporters posing as constituents, caused a furore because the business secretary was to have the final say on Rupert Murdoch's bid to take full control of broadcaster BSkyB.
'Lib Dem passengers' Mr Cable has now been stripped of his powers to rule on the BSkyB takeover but has hung on to his cabinet post.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called Mr Cable's comments "very unfortunate".
But his remarks - and those of Lib Dem ministers Steve Webb, Michael Moore, Ed Davey and Norman Baker - have been seized on by Labour leader Ed Miliband, as evidence that the coalition is starting to fall apart.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
"These are decisions of a Conservative-led government propped up by Liberal Democrat passengers. Passengers not in the front seat, not even in the back seat of the car, passengers who have got themselves locked in the boot," he told a news conference.
Mr Miliband also said that shadow business secretary John Denham would be writing to the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell to seek reassurance that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was a "fit and proper person" to arbitrate on News Corp's bid for BSkyB, given his past comments on the subject.
He has said he would have sacked Vince Cable if he had been prime minister - but he also extended an olive branch to Lib Dem ministers unhappy with the government's direction, saying he would "welcome" them on the Labour benches.
Labour has changed its tactics in recent weeks with shadow ministers ordered to describe the coalition as a "Conservative-led" administration, reflecting Mr Miliband's claim it is driven by right-wing Thatcherite ideology.
Mr Miliband was speaking at the launch of a scheme inviting young people to join Labour for a penny, in a recruitment drive designed to attract disillusioned former Lib Dem supporters.
In these latest recordings to be made public, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said cutting child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers was not "a fair thing to do".
Business Minister Ed Davey said he was "gobsmacked" by the child benefit decision, while Pensions Minister Steve Webb said he had complained about the policy.
'Train wreck' And Transport minister Norman Baker said of the BSkyB: "We've stopped Murdoch taking over BSkyB, or referred it to the competition authorities.
"That would have never happened under the Tories. They would have just said, 'Here you are Mr Murdoch, how much do you want?'"
Continue reading the main story Vince Cable's concerns about government policy have thrown the spotlight on the convention of collective cabinet responsibility.
This is the principle that dictates members of the cabinet must publicly support all decisions made by the government.
Because Mr Cable's misgivings were expressed in private, to undercover reporters, he has not, technically, broken the rule, which is, in any case, just a convention and not legally enforceable.
Also, collective responsibility has tended to be suspended on the rare occasions when Britain has been ruled by a coalition.
In the 1930s, Liberal ministers in the National Government were allowed to oppose government policy on trade tariffs.
The coalition agreement binding the Conservatives and the Lib Dems also allows for some disagreement between the parties.
But that does not make the revelations about Mr Cable and the other Lib Dem ministers in The Daily Telegraph any less embarrassing for the government, which is trying to present a united front as it implements some difficult and controversial policies.
Mr Moore, MP for Berwickshire, described the increase in tuition fees to a maximum £9,000 to undercover reporters as "the biggest, ugliest, most horrific thing in all of this... a car crash, a train wreck".
He added: "I signed a pledge that promised not to do this. I've just done the worst crime a politician can commit, the reason most folk distrust us as a breed. I've had to break a pledge and very, very publicly."
Mr Moore also said the coalition had "marginalised" the Conservative right wing, who, he said, "hate us with a passion - and I can't say it's unreciprocated".
The Scottish Secretary said some Conservative ministers were "on a different planet", and he and Defence Secretary Liam Fox "probably couldn't stay in the same situation for very long" if they were discussing a wide range of policies.
During his conversation with the reporters posing as constituents, Mr Webb, MP for Thornbury & Yate, expressed worries about the child benefit cut.
This will hit couples where one partner earns just over the £42,000 higher-rate threshold but not those with two partners earning just below that level.
"I don't have a problem with the general principle but I don't think the way we're doing it is terribly clever," he said.
Mr Webb said Lib Dems had worked behind the scenes to stop many Tory proposals, but admitted the party risked looking "too cosy" with their coalition partners by masking their differences in public.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind you know. A lot of things that will never see the light of day because we stop them," he said.
Mr Davey, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said plans to limit housing benefit would affect some of society's poorest.
"Their housing benefit cuts are going to mean in my view, if they go through, that some people who are on the breadline will be put below the breadline. And that's just deeply unacceptable," he said.
'Totally unacceptable' Speaking about Mr Cable, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the business secretary had recognised himself that he should not have made the remarks about "declaring war" on Rupert Murdoch to the undercover journalists.
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Cable: "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch"
But Mr Clegg said moving responsibility for deciding on News Corp's bid for BSkyB to the Culture, Media and Sport Department meant Mr Cable and the government could move on.
The deputy PM added: "I don't think anyone should be surprised by the reports of what other ministers have said. There are differences of opinion in a coalition as indeed there are in all governments."
Downing Street has said David Cameron believed Mr Cable's comments about Mr Murdoch were "totally unacceptable and inappropriate".
Mr Cable's comments on Mr Murdoch, recorded by the Telegraph but not immediately published in the newspaper, were passed by a whistleblower to the BBC's business editor Robert Peston, who then made them public on Tuesday.
The Telegraph said on Wednesday that this part of the recording had been leaked to the BBC "before publication" in the newspaper.
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He described Lib Dem ministers as "a useful prop for David Cameron as he seeks to pretend this is something other than a Conservative government".
The Daily Telegraph secretly recorded ministers saying they were unhappy over some government policies.
Vince Cable was taped "declaring war" on Rupert Murdoch.
The comments, captured by Telegraph reporters posing as constituents, caused a furore because the business secretary was to have the final say on Rupert Murdoch's bid to take full control of broadcaster BSkyB.
'Lib Dem passengers' Mr Cable has now been stripped of his powers to rule on the BSkyB takeover but has hung on to his cabinet post.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called Mr Cable's comments "very unfortunate".
But his remarks - and those of Lib Dem ministers Steve Webb, Michael Moore, Ed Davey and Norman Baker - have been seized on by Labour leader Ed Miliband, as evidence that the coalition is starting to fall apart.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
I've had to break a pledge and very, very publicly”
End Quote
Michael Moore
Scottish Secretary
"These are decisions of a Conservative-led government propped up by Liberal Democrat passengers. Passengers not in the front seat, not even in the back seat of the car, passengers who have got themselves locked in the boot," he told a news conference.
Mr Miliband also said that shadow business secretary John Denham would be writing to the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell to seek reassurance that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was a "fit and proper person" to arbitrate on News Corp's bid for BSkyB, given his past comments on the subject.
He has said he would have sacked Vince Cable if he had been prime minister - but he also extended an olive branch to Lib Dem ministers unhappy with the government's direction, saying he would "welcome" them on the Labour benches.
Labour has changed its tactics in recent weeks with shadow ministers ordered to describe the coalition as a "Conservative-led" administration, reflecting Mr Miliband's claim it is driven by right-wing Thatcherite ideology.
Mr Miliband was speaking at the launch of a scheme inviting young people to join Labour for a penny, in a recruitment drive designed to attract disillusioned former Lib Dem supporters.
In these latest recordings to be made public, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said cutting child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers was not "a fair thing to do".
Business Minister Ed Davey said he was "gobsmacked" by the child benefit decision, while Pensions Minister Steve Webb said he had complained about the policy.
'Train wreck' And Transport minister Norman Baker said of the BSkyB: "We've stopped Murdoch taking over BSkyB, or referred it to the competition authorities.
"That would have never happened under the Tories. They would have just said, 'Here you are Mr Murdoch, how much do you want?'"
Continue reading the main story Vince Cable's concerns about government policy have thrown the spotlight on the convention of collective cabinet responsibility.
This is the principle that dictates members of the cabinet must publicly support all decisions made by the government.
Because Mr Cable's misgivings were expressed in private, to undercover reporters, he has not, technically, broken the rule, which is, in any case, just a convention and not legally enforceable.
Also, collective responsibility has tended to be suspended on the rare occasions when Britain has been ruled by a coalition.
In the 1930s, Liberal ministers in the National Government were allowed to oppose government policy on trade tariffs.
The coalition agreement binding the Conservatives and the Lib Dems also allows for some disagreement between the parties.
But that does not make the revelations about Mr Cable and the other Lib Dem ministers in The Daily Telegraph any less embarrassing for the government, which is trying to present a united front as it implements some difficult and controversial policies.
Mr Moore, MP for Berwickshire, described the increase in tuition fees to a maximum £9,000 to undercover reporters as "the biggest, ugliest, most horrific thing in all of this... a car crash, a train wreck".
He added: "I signed a pledge that promised not to do this. I've just done the worst crime a politician can commit, the reason most folk distrust us as a breed. I've had to break a pledge and very, very publicly."
Mr Moore also said the coalition had "marginalised" the Conservative right wing, who, he said, "hate us with a passion - and I can't say it's unreciprocated".
The Scottish Secretary said some Conservative ministers were "on a different planet", and he and Defence Secretary Liam Fox "probably couldn't stay in the same situation for very long" if they were discussing a wide range of policies.
During his conversation with the reporters posing as constituents, Mr Webb, MP for Thornbury & Yate, expressed worries about the child benefit cut.
This will hit couples where one partner earns just over the £42,000 higher-rate threshold but not those with two partners earning just below that level.
"I don't have a problem with the general principle but I don't think the way we're doing it is terribly clever," he said.
Mr Webb said Lib Dems had worked behind the scenes to stop many Tory proposals, but admitted the party risked looking "too cosy" with their coalition partners by masking their differences in public.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind you know. A lot of things that will never see the light of day because we stop them," he said.
Mr Davey, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said plans to limit housing benefit would affect some of society's poorest.
"Their housing benefit cuts are going to mean in my view, if they go through, that some people who are on the breadline will be put below the breadline. And that's just deeply unacceptable," he said.
'Totally unacceptable' Speaking about Mr Cable, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the business secretary had recognised himself that he should not have made the remarks about "declaring war" on Rupert Murdoch to the undercover journalists.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Cable: "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch"
But Mr Clegg said moving responsibility for deciding on News Corp's bid for BSkyB to the Culture, Media and Sport Department meant Mr Cable and the government could move on.
The deputy PM added: "I don't think anyone should be surprised by the reports of what other ministers have said. There are differences of opinion in a coalition as indeed there are in all governments."
Downing Street has said David Cameron believed Mr Cable's comments about Mr Murdoch were "totally unacceptable and inappropriate".
Mr Cable's comments on Mr Murdoch, recorded by the Telegraph but not immediately published in the newspaper, were passed by a whistleblower to the BBC's business editor Robert Peston, who then made them public on Tuesday.
The Telegraph said on Wednesday that this part of the recording had been leaked to the BBC "before publication" in the newspaper.
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