Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, should go, and not be replaced

Vince Cable has shown the frailty of Man.

His prejudices have been laid bare. His vanity. His bias.

Is he exceptionally bad? No, I do not think he is exceptional.

So why do we want to replace Vince Cable with another fallible human who brings a new, different set of prejudices? Was he presumptuous to think that he could have the power he boasted of? I doubt it. The post he held is indeed powerful. All the more reason to abolish it.

If the State aims to protect the public from monopolies, maybe the State should take a long look in the mirror first. Even now, with the "Big Society", it appears to be gearing up to localise and outsouce the State monopoly, not end it through free pluralism.

If the State aims to protect the public from private enterprise, maybe it should look into ways it provides unfair advantage to incumbents, large corporations, limited liability companies or other groups. Vast quantities of regulations, employment law, taxation and red tape are culprits here.

If the State wishes to uphold the Rule of Law, had it not to apply the same laws and due process without fear or favour, namely presumption of innocence? Outlawing a company from action before it commits fraud, misrepresentation or other crimes is wrong.

If the State removed the bias and distortions it has introduced over time, the need for so many regulations, laws, red tape and a Business Secretary will diminish if not cease to be altogether.

The post of Business Secretary is the rock under which a bureaucracy can breed and grow and self-serving, self -justifying frameworks consolidate. Look to why the post exists and look to the root causes, not the immediate. Look to the potential for corruption and worse.

End the post. Unravel the red tape. Strip away distortions. Should a company then break the law, then it should be punished.