Following last week's European elections, in which the Liberal Democrats lost all but one of their 12 MEPs, Vince Cable issued the following statement while on a trade visit to China:
"These were exceptionally disappointing results for the party. Many hard working Liberal Democrats, who gave this fight everything they had and then lost their seats, are feeling frustrated and disheartened and we all understand that.
"Nick did a bold thing in standing up to the eurosceptic wave which has engulfed much of continental Europe. We are the only party to have taken that on and he personally deserves tremendous credit for that. There is no leadership issue. We have also undoubtedly taken a kicking for being in government with the Conservatives and having to take some extremely tough decisions in the national interest.
"But now is not the time for infighting and introspection. The party must hold its nerve. We must focus on delivering our policies in government and that's exactly what I'm doing in China, helping British businesses secure contracts with the world's fastest growing economy."
"These were exceptionally disappointing results for the party. Many hard working Liberal Democrats, who gave this fight everything they had and then lost their seats, are feeling frustrated and disheartened and we all understand that.
"Nick did a bold thing in standing up to the eurosceptic wave which has engulfed much of continental Europe. We are the only party to have taken that on and he personally deserves tremendous credit for that. There is no leadership issue. We have also undoubtedly taken a kicking for being in government with the Conservatives and having to take some extremely tough decisions in the national interest.
"But now is not the time for infighting and introspection. The party must hold its nerve. We must focus on delivering our policies in government and that's exactly what I'm doing in China, helping British businesses secure contracts with the world's fastest growing economy."
