Government
Vince Cable failed to rally the troops in a gaffe-prone and muted conference speech.The Lib Dem leader looked like someone on the way out as he addressed the faithful in Brighton.The only remarkable thing about his speech was his mangling of his phrase “erotic spasm”. Other than that he came across as someone trying to sell encyclopedias door-to-door in the age of Wikipedia.In this week's Ayes to the Left podcast Jason Beattie, Kevin Maguire and Ben Glaze deliver their verdicts on his big address and discuss how long he has left as leader.They also talk about why the Lib Dems are struggling, why their time in coalition remains toxic and who should take over the reins when Vince Cable finally steps down.They also look ahead to the Labour conference and ask whether Jeremy Corbyn will be able to keep the party united as it debates changes to candidate selections and the demand for a people's vote on Brexit.