107 Facts About Sir Vince Cable

Sir John Vincent Cable was born on 9 May 1943 and is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019.

Sir Vince Cable was Member of Parliament for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019.

Sir Vince Cable served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2010 to 2015.

Sir Vince Cable later served as Chief Economist for Shell in the 1990s.

Sir Vince Cable was quickly appointed the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, and was later elected as Deputy Leader in 2006.

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Sir Vince 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.

Sir Vince Cable lost his seat in 2015, although later regained it in 2017.

Sir Vince Cable subsequently stood in the leadership election to replace Tim Farron, and was elected unopposed.

In May 2019, Sir Vince Cable led the Liberal Democrats to their best national electoral performance since the 2010 election, gaining fifteen seats in the European Parliament election.

Sir Vince Cable 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, Sir Vince Cable was announced as Vice President of the European Movement.

Sir Vince Cable was born in York, to a working class Conservative-supporting family.

Sir Vince Cable's father, Len, was a craftsman for Rowntree's, and his mother, Edith, packed chocolates for Terry's.

Sir Vince Cable then attended Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he initially studied Natural Sciences and later switched to Economics.

Sir Vince Cable was a committee member and later President-elect of the Cambridge University Liberal Club, but he resigned from the Liberal Party before taking up the office of President.

In 1966, at the end of his studies at the University of Cambridge, Sir Vince Cable was appointed as an Overseas Development Institute Fellow working in Kenya.

Sir Vince Cable graduated in 1973 with a PhD in Economics from the University of Glasgow on economic integration and industrialisation.

Sir Vince Cable lectured for a time at the University of Glasgow and was a visiting research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics, for a three-year period until 2004.

In 2016, Sir Vince Cable was made Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of Nottingham.

Sir Vince Cable was involved in a CBI trade mission to South America at this time, engaging in six months of commercial diplomacy.

Sir Vince Cable was an adviser to the UK Government and then to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath "Sonny" Ramphal in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sir Vince Cable served in an official capacity at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting of 1983 in Delhi, witnessing "private sessions at first hand" involving Indira Gandhi, then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Lee Kuan Yew, and Bob Hawke among others.

Sir Vince Cable worked for the oil company Royal Dutch Shell from 1990 to 1997, serving as its Chief Economist between 1995 and 1997.

In 2017, Sir Vince Cable became a strategic advisor on the World Trade Board for the annual World Trade Symposium co-organised by Misys and FT Live.

At university, Sir Vince Cable was a member of the Liberal Party but then joined the Labour Party in 1966.

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Sir Vince Cable became a Labour councillor in 1971, representing Maryhill ward, and stood down in 1974.

Sir Vince Cable was the SDP–Liberal Alliance parliamentary candidate for his home city of York in both the 1983 and 1987 general elections.

Sir Vince Cable entered the House of Commons after defeating sitting Conservative MP Toby Jessel in the Twickenham constituency in his second attempt, at the 1997 general election.

Sir Vince Cable subsequently increased his majority at the elections of 2001,2005 and increased still further in 2010.

Sir Vince Cable lost his seat in 2015, but regained it at the snap election in 2017.

In 2004, Sir Vince Cable was a contributor to the economically liberal Orange Book, which advocated for policies such as greater private sector involvement in higher education and healthcare.

Sir Vince Cable was critical of what he considered the Labour government's slow response to cutting government waste, later accusing Labour of allowing a "writhing nest" of quangos to develop.

In late-2005 or early-2006, Sir Vince Cable presented Charles Kennedy a letter signed by eleven out of the twenty-three frontbenchers, including himself, expressing a lack of confidence in Kennedy's leadership of the Liberal Democrats.

Sir Vince Cable did not run for the party leadership, instead supporting Menzies Campbell's candidacy.

Twickenham resident, Sir Vince Cable commuted by train into Central London daily and so claimed the "London Supplement" instead of the Additional Costs Allowance.

Sir Vince Cable won plaudits for his repeated warnings and campaigns on the high level of personal debt in Britain.

Sir Vince Cable's was a significant voice of criticism during the Northern Rock crisis, calling for the nationalisation of the bank, capitalising on the claimed indecisiveness of both the Labour Government and Conservative Opposition on the issue.

In May 2010, Sir Vince Cable declared his resignation as Deputy Leader to dedicate more time to his Cabinet role as Business Secretary.

Sir Vince Cable declined to stand for leader, reportedly fearing ageism.

Sir Vince Cable received significant acclaim during his tenure as Acting Party Leader, with particular praise for his strong performances at Prime Minister's Questions.

Sir Vince Cable was popular in the party and media for his attacks on the government's record over Northern Rock, HMRC's loss of 25,000,000 individuals' child benefit data and the party funding scandal surrounding David Abrahams' secret donations to the Labour Party.

Sir Vince Cable has been vocal over the bonus culture in the banking system.

Sir Vince Cable has called for bonuses to all bank employees to be frozen.

However, Sir Vince Cable has been criticised by some, mostly Conservatives, for "flip-flopping" on issues in connection with the crisis.

The Liberal Democrats entered a coalition agreement with the Conservative Party on 11 May 2010, and Sir Vince Cable was appointed Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 12 May The Queen approved his appointment as a Privy Counsellor, and he formally joined the Privy council on 13 May 2010.

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Sir Vince Cable said that it was a "key" part of the coalition deal and there was no disagreement over it between the coalition partners.

In July 2010, Sir Vince Cable sought to reform credit lines amid a "significant demand" of smaller firms finding it harder to secure loans.

In September 2010, during a speech at the Liberal Democrat conference, Sir Vince Cable said that bankers present more of a threat to Britain than trade unions.

In June 2011, Sir Vince Cable said "rewards for failure" were unforgivable at a time when real wages were being squeezed across the country.

Sir Vince Cable said that although "Britain does have some world-class executives", investors had not seen a return "since the turn of the century" and claimed executive pay was 120 times that of the average UK employee, whereas it was only 45 in 1998.

Sir Vince Cable later revealed Government plans that would require companies to publish "more informative remuneration reports" for shareholders.

In November 2011, Sir Vince Cable announced the first of several reforms to employment laws.

Sir Vince Cable revealed that at a recent meeting of European economic ministers, a group of like-minded nations had formed in making these same demands.

Sir Vince Cable claimed that businesses should not be "tied up in unnecessary red tape", but the move was criticised by trade unions.

Days later Sir Vince Cable announced further deregulation involving changes to employment laws, proposing to reduce employee compensation for unfair dismissals and allowing employers and employees to agree to an out-of-court 'pay off' for under-performance dismissals.

In 2014, during the Israel-Gaza conflict, Sir Vince Cable received criticism for his involvement in the signing off of arms deals to Israel, primarily concerning component parts used in the assembly of Hermes drones.

In February 2015, Sir Vince Cable was reportedly a speaker at an event hosted by various arms companies at a London hotel.

Sir Vince Cable came under pressure from then-Prime Minister David Cameron, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond for the immediate resumption of exports.

Sir Vince Cable stated he was then given specific assurances by the Ministry of Defence that the UK would be given oversight of potential bombing targets to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, including involvement in decisions, to a similar level given to the United States.

On this understanding, Sir Vince Cable agreed to issue export licences for a £200,000,000 order for the weapons.

Sir Vince Cable claimed the Liberal Democrats had pressed for a "very tough approach" to the UK's banks, which had been opposed by the Conservatives.

Sir Vince Cable lost his seat, previously considered safe – with a majority of 12,140 – to the Conservative candidate Tania Mathias at the 2015 general election.

Sir Vince Cable had enjoyed the longest tenure as President of the Board of Trade since that of Peter Thorneycroft, which ended in 1957.

Sir Vince Cable announced on 18 April 2017 his intention to stand for his former seat of Twickenham at the snap general election.

In May 2017, Sir Vince Cable urged Liberal Democrat supporters to vote tactically for Ealing Central and Acton Labour candidate Rupa Huq.

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On 20 July 2017, Sir Vince Cable became leader of the Liberal Democrats after facing no competition.

Sir Vince Cable was the oldest leader of a major UK political party since Sir Winston Churchill.

In late 2017 Sir Vince Cable revealed that he had become "more interventionist" economically due to experiences while in the Coalition government.

Subsequently, Sir Vince Cable has called for the blocking of several foreign takeovers of UK companies in the technology sector, and for the reform of UK takeover laws in the form of the 'Cadbury Clause' that had been suggested by figures within the Conservative Party.

In September 2017 Sir Vince Cable echoed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in calling for greater taxation of foreign speculators in the housing market.

Sir Vince Cable has called for the reform of empty dwelling management orders.

In early 2018, Sir Vince Cable's leadership saw former Conservative donors Peter J Stringfellow and Charlie Mullins switch and pledge their support to Sir Vince Cable and the Liberal Democrats over Brexit.

On education, Sir Vince Cable has rejected cutting or abolishing university tuition fees.

Sir Vince Cable has instead announced that he would seek to implement lifelong learning accounts which would serve as endowments to all young people to help pay for education or training at any future date, and suggested this endowment could range from £5,000 to £10,000 per head, costing around £10 billion a year.

Sir Vince Cable claimed the policy could be funded from reform of capital gains, inheritance, and property taxes.

Sir Vince Cable supported the February 2018 USS strikes, calling for the government to underwrite lecturers' pensions, while refusing to cross a picket line at the Cass Business School.

Sir Vince Cable unveiled a proposal to develop a sovereign wealth fund, totalling £100 billion of assets, to be paid for partly by a tax on gifts.

Sir Vince Cable criticised Labour for not voting against a package of Conservative tax cuts which included raising the personal income tax allowance and higher rate income tax threshold, money that he argued would be better used on reversing cuts to benefits.

Electorally, Sir Vince Cable asserted that the Liberal Democrats under his leadership would win over substantial numbers of younger Labour voters "when the penny drops" about Labour's stance on Brexit, and that "young supporters will soon notice".

The Times Red Box editor and columnist Matt Chorley, in assessing Sir Vince Cable's leadership, wrote how there was already a "grey-haired nasal leftie running an opposition party" and therefore Sir Vince Cable was not needed.

Sir Vince Cable has received significant critical commentary surrounding his leadership of the Liberal Democrats in terms of policy proposals and stances.

The Financial Times considered Sir Vince Cable to be part of a "coalition of anti-capitalists" due to his calls for foreign takeovers of British companies to be blocked, and in The Daily Telegraph his policies were likened unfavourably to those of the Labour Party.

On 7 September 2018, Sir Vince Cable announced his intention to resign as leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Sir Vince Cable initially said he would resign once Brexit has been resolved or stopped, and when his proposed party reforms had been accepted, but in March 2019, he said that he would resign in May 2019 after the local elections.

Sir Vince Cable has compared himself to centrist French President Emmanuel Macron, saying that as Business Secretary he had worked with Macron personally and that they have a "very similar" approach.

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Sir Vince Cable believes his party should occupy the "vast middle ground", likening the political conditions of the UK with those of France.

Sir Vince Cable is a supporter of the Social Liberal Forum, a centre-left group within the Liberal Democrats.

In 2018, concerning the possibility of US-UK trade deal which might follow the United Kingdom's future exit from the European Union, Sir Vince Cable warned that a trade deal in such circumstances might involve agreeing to open up the NHS to private American healthcare firms.

Sir Vince Cable claimed this was unlike TTIP in which public services were to remain protected and therefore he argued the UK should remain in the EU.

Sir Vince Cable warned that a post-Brexit trade deal with the US might lead to accepting lower standards in farming produce, less food being produced in the UK and less employment for farmers.

Sir Vince Cable has called the demutualisation of building societies "one of the greatest acts of economic vandalism in modern times".

Sir Vince Cable has voiced support for a wealth tax to raise £15 billion or the equivalent of “less than one-third of 1pc of household wealth, net of debt” which would be used to address “intergenerational inequality.

Sir Vince Cable has been critical of the National Living Wage, arguing in 2015 that smaller businesses would struggle to pay employees higher rates.

Sir Vince Cable has called for companies Google, Amazon, and Facebook to be broken up, and supports the introduction of a digital services tax on technology companies.

Sir Vince Cable has held differing views over time on the possibility of a new party emerging which could involve the Liberal Democrats.

Sir Vince Cable has taken a sceptical approach to the question of potential coalitions with other parties since 2015.

Sir Vince Cable ruled out the idea of electoral pacts in mid-April during the 2017 general election campaign.

Sir Vince Cable maintained that when people saw the economic costs they would turn against it and a cross-party coalition of opponents to Brexit might develop.

Sir Vince Cable said, "the whole question of continued membership will arise" if people's living standards worsened and unemployment rose.

Sir Vince Cable called for cross-border digital services and a single EU market for Netflix.

On 23 June 2018 Sir Vince Cable appeared at the People's Vote march in London to mark the second anniversary of the referendum to leave the European Union.

In 2018, Sir Vince Cable wrote that he had opposed and still opposed the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, for being made up of unaccountable members.

Sir Vince Cable declined an offer to be seated in the House of Lords after the 2015 general election.

Keen ballroom dancer, Cable long expressed his desire to appear on the BBC's hit television show Strictly Come Dancing; he appeared on the Christmas 2010 edition of the show, partnered by Erin Boag and dancing the Foxtrot.

Sir Vince Cable was the second politician to appear on the show, after former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe.

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Sir Vince Cable is a patron of MyBigCareer, a career guidance charity for young people, the Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity, the Changez Charity.

Sir Vince Cable revealed that he had a minor stroke while leader of the Liberal Democrats in his memoir.