Danny Alexander endorses Thatcher

Those Lib Dems who continue to feebly insist that they are in government to lessen tory excesses had the rug pulled from under them over the week end by Treasury secretary Danny Alexander

Alexander, who was one of the main proponents of a post-election coalition with the Conservatives in 2010, said: "Margaret Thatcher's legacy is one which looms large over politics today."

He added that the question of whether the Iron Lady would receive a state funeral would be "properly debated" but she had done "many good things".

He was speaking after ConDem promises to curb executive pay have been greeted with some scepticism. The idea of giving shareholders a veto over pay increases has been ridiculed by financial analysts who point out that most major shareholdings are controlled by institutions who perpetuate the same high-roller culture.