09 May 1943

Happy birthday to Sir Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham 1997-2015, 2017-2019 and Leader of the Liberal Democrats 2017-2019

Born in York, Vince Cable’s early career was spent as an economic advisor to the Kenyan government and the Commonwealth Secretary General, later becoming the Chief Economist for Shell. A Liberal at university, Cable later joined the Labour Party, serving as a Glasgow councillor in the 1970s. In 1982 he joined the Social Democrats. In parliament, Cable spoke for the Liberal Democrats on treasury matters and in March 2006 he was elected Deputy Leader of the party. Following the resignation of Menzies Campbell, Cable became acting party leader from October to December 2007, attracting much praise for the sure footed way he conducted himself during a difficult time for the party. With the formation of the coalition government in May 2010, Cable joined the cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. He lost his seat to the Conservatives at the 2015 general election and was knighted in the Dissolution Honours. His time out of parliament was relatively short and he regained Twickenham at the 2017 election. In the aftermath of the election and the resignation of Tim Farron, Cable was the only candidate to succeed him as Lib Dem leader and he was duly elected in July, serving until he stood down in July 2019. Cable has written a number of books including The Storm a well-received analysis of the economic crisis towards the end of the 2000s. A keen ballroom dancer Cable has appeared on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.