Sitting side by side with Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, on a television studio sofa, Mr Cable laughingly dismissed as "flattery" the Labourman's call for him to become leader of the Liberal Democrats.
He said that he would be happy to work with Mr Balls on issues such as raising taxes from the better off, including the imposition of a "mansion tax" on the most expensive properties.
But the Business Secretary, who is far more popular than Nick Clegg among grass roots Liberal Democrats, denied that he had ambitions to become leader. And he insisted that he was working well with Mr Clegg and his Conservative Coalition colleagues.
Asked about his idea for a mansion tax, which Labour now supports, he said: "I was delighted that Ed Balls has signed up. I have not been embarrassed to call myself a person of the centre left. » | Rosa Prince, Online Political Editor | Sunday, September 09, 2012
