Sir Vince Cable | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 20 July 2017 – 22 July 2019 | |
| Deputy | Jo Swinson |
| President | The Baroness Brinton |
| Preceded by | Tim Farron |
| Succeeded by | Jo Swinson |
| Acting 15 October 2007 – 18 December 2007 | |
| President | Simon Hughes |
| Preceded by | Menzies Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Nick Clegg |
| Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills President of the Board of Trade | |
| In office 12 May 2010 – 12 May 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | The Lord Mandelson |
| Succeeded by | Sajid Javid |
| Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 2 March 2006 – 26 May 2010 | |
| Leader | Menzies Campbell Nick Clegg |
| Preceded by | Menzies Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Simon Hughes |
| Member of Parliament for Twickenham | |
| In office 8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Tania Mathias |
| Succeeded by | Munira Wilson |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Toby Jessel |
| Succeeded by | Tania Mathias |
| Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
| 1999–2003 | Trade and Industry |
| 2003–2010 | HM Treasury |
| 2015 | Business, Innovation and Skills |
| 2017 | HM Treasury |
| 2019 | Health and Social Care |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Vincent Cable 9 May 1943 York, England |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats (1988–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (before 1965) Labour (1966–1982) SDP (1982–1988) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Ayrton Cable (grandson) |
| Alma mater | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
| ^ Office vacant from 12 May 2010 to 7 January 2015. ^ Office vacant from 12 May 2010 to 7 January 2015. | |
Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943)[2] is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2010 to 2015.
Cable studied Economics at Cambridge and Glasgow, before working as an economic adviser to the Government of Kenya in the 1960s, and for the Commonwealth Secretariat in the 1970s and 1980s. During this period, he also lectured in economics at Glasgow. He later served as Chief Economist for Shell in the 1990s. Initially active in the Labour Party, Cable became a Labour councillor in Glasgow in the 1970s, during which time he also served as a special adviser to then-Trade Secretary John Smith. In 1982, however, he defected to the newly formed Social Democratic Party, which later amalgamated with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats.
After standing unsuccessfully for Parliament four times, Cable was elected for Twickenham in 1997. He was quickly appointed the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, and was later elected as Deputy Leader in 2006. Cable resigned from both of these positions in May 2010 after being appointed as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the coalition government.[3] He lost his seat in 2015, although later regained it in 2017. Cable subsequently stood in the leadership election to replace Tim Farron, and was elected unopposed.[4]
In May 2019, Cable led the Liberal Democrats to their best national electoral performance since the 2010 election, gaining fifteen seats in the European Parliament election. This followed a campaign in which the party ran on an anti-Brexit platform.[5][6] He subsequently announced his intention to retire from politics, and stood down as leader on 22 July 2019, upon the election of Jo Swinson; he stood down from Parliament at the 2019 general election.
On 2 July 2022, Cable was announced as Vice President of the European Movement.[7]
- ^ "Vince Cable". Desert Island Discs. 18 January 2009. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ Wheeler, Brian (20 July 2017). "The Vince Cable story: Profile of new Lib Dem leader". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Vince Cable Resigns!". Iaindale.blogspot.com. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- ^ "Vince Cable named new leader of Liberal Democrats". 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017.
- ^ "The UK's European elections 2019". BBC News. 26–27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Why the Liberal Democrats' "Bollocks to Brexit" slogan is a stroke of genius". Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ Kanengoni, Jonathan (2 July 2022). "Sir Vince Cable makes political return as European Movement vice president". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 August 2022.