102 Facts About 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vince Cable was the President of the Cambridge Union in 1965.

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, Vince Cable was appointed as an Overseas Development Institute Fellow working in Kenya.

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

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

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

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

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.

Vince Cable was present at the summits of 1985,1987, and 1989.

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

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

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.

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

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

In 2004, 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.

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, 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

At the 2010 general election Vince Cable was again returned as MP for Twickenham.

The Liberal Democrats entered a coalition agreement with the Conservative Party on 11 May 2010, and 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.

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, 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, Vince Cable said that bankers present more of a threat to Britain than trade unions.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Days later 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, 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, Vince Cable was reportedly a speaker at an event hosted by various arms companies at a London hotel.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Subsequently, 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 Vince Cable echoed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in calling for greater taxation of foreign speculators in the housing market.

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

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

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

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

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.

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, 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 Vince Cable's leadership, wrote how there was already a "grey-haired nasal leftie running an opposition party" and therefore Vince Cable was not needed.

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 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, Vince Cable announced his intention to resign as leader of the Liberal Democrats.

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.

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.

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

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, Vince Cable warned that a trade deal in such circumstances might involve agreeing to open up the NHS to private American healthcare firms.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

On 23 June 2018 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, 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.

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

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

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

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