UK Business Secretary Vince Cable launched a stinging attack on his Conservative coalition partners as he addressed the Liberal Democrat conference on Monday.
Dr Cable said the Tories were returning to their role as the “nasty party” as he criticised the other half of the Westminster Government’s policies and desire to return to the “heart of the greed and recklessness” which caused the financial crash.
However, the business secretary told delegates in Glasgow it was the right decision to enter a coalition in 2010 because of the national economic emergency, despite the parties not sharing the same ideals.
Dr Cable said: “Theresa May once characterised the Tories a decade ago as the nasty party. After a few years trying to be nice and inclusive, it has reverted to type.
“We have got dog whistle politics, orchestrated by an Australian rottweiler, we have got hostility to organised labour, people on benefits and immigrant minorities.”
Mr Cable said the Conservative Party disapproved of public-sector workers, teachers, the unmarried and people who do not own property.
He told delegates: “I remember in opposition bringing this policy forward at a time when George Osborne’s top priority was cutting inheritance tax for millionaires.
“Our commitment to taxing unproductive wealth … is economically sensible and popular but above all fair and don’t let Labour steal that either.”
Dr Cable added: “We are not just a nicer version of the Tories. There are fundamental differences about how we create a stronger economy and more jobs.”
He said Labour had been asleep at the wheel as the crisis emerged and added reforms made by the coalition had been vital in repairing the damage and building a platform for the future.
“We must not now settle for a short-term spurt of growth fuelled by an old-fashioned property boom and bust and bankers rediscovering their mojo,” he said.
“We are five years on from the biggest market failure of our lifetime. Financial capitalism collapsed and was rescued by the state.”
In the main announcement of his speech, Dr Cable said the Liberal Democrats would continue to act against bad practice and announced a formal Government consultation on zero-hour contracts.
Mr Cable dismissed claims that he had intended to stay away from the key conference debate on the economy.
“I was always going to go,” he said.
“I’m always up there and up front and I say what I think, so I turned up and indeed I wanted to support the motion, I wanted to support Nick Clegg.”