well svin cable was the liberal Democrat
MP for Twickenham until 2015 and the
Secretary of State for business as part
of the coalition government he's now
fighting to regain his seat at this
general election very good evening to
you um can I just ask you about the Tory
plans on social care which have broken
this evening causing quite a lot of
excitement uh do you think they're going
to work they're essentially a less you
know more generous means test you be
keeping up to 100 thousand of your house
or other possessions well of course it
doesn't do with the immediate problem I
mean there is an immediate problem of
social care because of the cutback in
local Authority funding and that's why
we've come up with our proposal of the
penny on income tax for the Health
Service and social care there's an
immediate crisis and that doesn't
address it they're dealing with the
long-term problem and as your analysis a
few minutes ago showed there are some
people who are going to lose out very
badly I mean people who are taking care
in their own home and I I I don't in in
a way understand the basic thrust of
what their policy because they've held
up for eight years so an an attempt to
get a cross-party agreement on the
ground that they were opposed to a death
tax in other words taking money from the
property when people die they're now
proposing it so that does seem to be a
bit of a urn does that seem to you to be
a death tax so it's it's your money
they're they're they're going to take
you know they're going to help you pay
your bills Yeah by lending you money
against that death tax effect lending
your money against that health and
taking it after it would you call that a
tax or is that well the principle I
think is unobjectionable
rolling it up you support well we we
have done in the past but but I think
what the their current policy seems to
be missing is the element of personal
insurance which was part of the original
attempt to get a cross party agreement
under Andrew dilnot and that seems to be
missing they they means testing the wind
fuel allowance which your party is doing
well and they'll put that money into
care um you're a party that supporting
the triple lock right now in the past
you and Nick C and some others have
suggested something of an anomaly that
it was there when pensioners when
pensioners were poor or that maybe it
needs to be reviewed why are you why are
you sticking by the triple lock well it
is generally the case that since the
financial crisis elderly people have
done relatively well relatively younger
people but I don't think you solve that
problem by pushing pensioners back into
poverty I mean until the triple lock was
introduced we we had a problem that very
large numbers of people on a state
pension were falling below the basic
poverty line we're getting into means
tested benefits we're not claiming we've
dealt with that now because we we put up
you don't have to keep it up forever and
ever do well I I don't quite see what
the problem is with a triple L I mean
there is one element of it that has been
controversial which is the commitment to
2% uh minimum increase and that
potentially was a problem if you have a
world of no inflation but we're moving
away from that world now I mean the
inflation this year is expected to be
above the bank England level that
doesn't present a problem it's probably
not going to cost much the idea of a
pension guarantee seems to me a
civilized and sensible one right can I
suggest you one of the issues you have
is that you're a party that's trying to
face in two slightly different
directions to these Southwestern seats
quite elderly populations in some cases
um and also to a kind of slightly
younger demographic more Metropolitan
demographic uh different kind of Voters
in other seats is that why you've got
the triple lock in there to be blind to
make sure you've got something to pitch
to the voters of the older voters of
they're both legitimate interests and we
have large elderly population who in the
past experienced significant problems of
pension or poverty that problem was
substantially alleviated by a reform
that the liberal Democrats pressed for
in the Coalition and we want to keep it
um let's talk about brexit because I
want to be clear if I if I I'm in favor
of brexit I'm pretty strongly in favor
of it I really should not vote for the
libdem should I I mean if so that would
be the correct advice well there are
many other issues and there are many
people who support brexit but may not be
happy with the ukip style brexit that
the Prime Minister has committed us to
in other words withdrawing from the
single market and the Customs Union you
can't have it you can't sort of have it
both ways because you can't say you
should vote for us if you're for aain
but you should also potentially vote for
us if you're brexit I mean it doesn't
make sense again your fa of both ways no
not at all it's a different issue right
people have had that vote remain rexit
we've had the referendum a decision has
been made to leave we respect that we're
now dealing with a separate problem
which is what happens in two years time
why you putting remain on the ballot
when you have your second referendum on
it that doesn't sound like you've
accepted the does we're dealing with a
different question I I thought Tony Tony
Blair let let me explain Tony Blair had
a very nice metaphor he said look we've
made a decision collectively as a
country by a narrow majority to move
house right but we don't know where
we're going we don't know what the new
house looks like if at the end of the
day we're left with a dwelling which is
appalling and it's full of dry rot and
Rising damp and is uninhabitable then
the option surely has to be of going
back to where we started the option has
house rather than we need to leave it
there vce C thanks very much indeed
