Vince Cable’s varied political career includes roles as a Cabinet Member, opposition front bencher and twice the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The author of one of our most famous political put-downs, referring to Gordon Brown as moving from “Stalin to Mr Bean”, Sir Vince was more seriously known as a prescient expert on the economy, being one of those forecasting the forthcoming Credit Crunch as he explains in The Storm and in After the Storm.
Sir Vince was Lib Dem leader during highs and lows. He led the party to excellent results in the local and European elections of 2019, signing off on the Bollocks to Brexit slogan of the party. He also saw, and experienced, the losses of 2015 and the failure of the Remain Campaign.
In 2010 when the Coalition was formed, Sir Vince was one of the five Lib Dems in Cabinet, being appointed as Business Secretary and President of the Board of Trade, staying in post for the whole Parliament.
After losing his Twickenham seat in 2015, he bounced back, being re-elected in the 2017 snap election. Vince stood down in 2019 and saw his successor Munira Wilson hold the seat.
As a politician Sir Vince has wide ranging experience, from grassroots campaigning to media stardom, from the heights of government to the pains of loss. Before his political career he worked in industry, as a national and international civil servant, as a diplomat and as a University Lecturer. He became Chief Economist at Shell, which provided highly relevant expertise for his Parliamentary work.
Since leaving Parliament, Sir Vince has written more books and has developed an interest in the geopolitics of China. Two of his recent books talk about the need to engage with China – The China Conundrum and talk about the Coalition years – Partnership and Politics in a Divided Decade. This latter work gives his partner Rachel’s perspective as well as his own.
This In Conversation event we will hear about Sir Vince’s experiences at the top of Politics and his reflections on the future. We may even be able to find out more about that Strictly Come Dancing appearance.