Having held senior roles at the World Bank and the UN and serving as Chief Economist at Shell, Vince was the obvious choice in becoming Business Secretary under the coalition government. Noted for being critical of the banks and predicting the financial crisis, he is a leading voice on British and European economic affairs and played a key role in rebuilding the Lib Dem brand as leader of the party.
Former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable served as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition government. He served in the post for five years, before which he was Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor.
Before becoming an MP in 1997 he worked in a number of trade and government roles including positions at the World Bank and UN. He also served as special adviser to Commonwealth secretary-general Sonny Ramphal, was Head of Economics at the Royal Institute of International Affairs and Chief Economist of Shell.
As Secretary of State he was a key government figure leading policy and statements on all aspects of business, regulation, tax and other issues related to commerce and the needs of business at home and abroad. Of particular interest were areas around finance, European economic and monetary union, business and the environment, and the City.
After the party suffered two serious election defeats, Vince took over as leader with the aim of stabilising and rebuilding the party. Over just two years he positioned the party as the mainstream anti-Brexit voice in English politics, and established the foundations for an unprecented European election success.
Vince has written several books on trade policy and international finance, as well as a study of international telecommunications, and the acclaimed The Storm: The World Economic Crisis & what it means. A regular guest on broadcast media and in print, Vince has also been also a regular columnist for the Economist and the Independent.
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