Vince Cable

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Vince Cable

Vince Cable.Hat.jpg

Name John Vincent Cable (born 9 May, 1943)
Nicknames Vince (everyone), Saint Vince, "Cassandra" (Lib Dems)
Politics
Party Liberal Democrat
Constituency Twickenham (1997-2015)
Positions • Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (2010-2015)
• Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2006-2010)
• Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman (2003-2010)
Likes Ballroom dancing, beekeeping
Dislikes Right-wing "nutters"
Friends Matthew Oakeshott (in theory)
Enemies George Osborne, Nick Clegg, Rupert Murdoch, Matthew Oakeshott (in practice)
Relationships
Partners Olympia Rebelo (married 1968, died 2001)
Rachel Wenban Smith (married 2004)
Children Three children
Personal Attributes
Nationality English
Religion ?
Sexuality Straight
Height ?
Eye Colour Blue
Handedness Right
Accent Received Pronunciation
Languages ?

From hero to zero and back again. ~ The Independent

Vince Cable is a former Business Secretary and economic brain of the Liberal Democrats. He has the unfortunate habit of predicting the future while never being believed by whoever is at the top of government.

Life and Career[edit | edit source]

Early Life[edit | edit source]

Vince Cable was born in York in 1943. His father was a teacher and staunch Tory, who Vince described as a "bully". Their relationship was difficult, particularly as Vince grew older and developed his own left-wing views. Vince attended Nunthorpe Grammar School before studying Natural Science and Economics at Cambridge University. While there, he was a member of the Liberal Party, but later joined Labour.

Early Political Career[edit | edit source]

After university, he worked as an advisor to the Kenyan government. He stood as a prospective parliamentary candidate for Hampstead, but lost out to Ken Livingstone. In 1982 Vince joined the newly-created Social Democratic Party and was the parliamentary candidate for the SDP-Liberal Alliance in York in 1983 and 1987.

Parliamentary Career[edit | edit source]

It was in 1997 that he eventually entered Parliament, becoming the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham. In 2005 he presented the then leader, Charles Kennedy, with a letter signed by several Lib Dem MPs, expressing a lack of confidence in his leadership. After Charles stepped down in 2006, Vince became the deputy leader and supported Menzies Campbell's leadership bid.

One of his most memorable quotes as a politician is describing Gordon Brown as having gone from "Stalin to Mr Bean" in the early period of Brown's premiership.

Full List of Appointments
• Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman (2003-2010)
• Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2006-2010)
• Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (2010-2015)

He lost his seat in the 2015 general election, one of many Portillo Moments. Nick Clegg offered him a peerage afterward, but he declined. Instead, he became a Knight in the dissolution honours list and is now known as "Sir Vince". He is also writing a book about the way the coalition dealt with the economy.

Personal Life[edit | edit source]

Vince and Olympia at their wedding.

Vince met his first wife, Olympia Rebelo, while he was in Kenya and they married despite opposition from both their families. Olympia was diagnosed with cancer in 1987 and died in 2001. Shortly afterwards he met Rachel Wenban Smith and they married in 2004. Vince wears two wedding rings - one from each of his marriages.

Portrayal[edit | edit source]

In Fanon[edit | edit source]

He appears to be knowledgeable on every subject known to man, and able to seduce any target through the medium of dance alone.

Vince Cable.Strictly.jpg