Vince Cable has stood down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in order to concentrate on his role as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The text of Vince Cable’s letter to Nick Clegg is below:
Dear Nick,
I am writing to offer my resignation in my role as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
It has been an honour to serve as the Deputy Leader of our party. However, in joining the cabinet I have taken on many new challenges and responsibilities and it is right that I focus wholeheartedly on the job in hand.
These are exciting times to be a Liberal Democrat, and despite all the challenges we face we have a real opportunity to change Britain for the better. There are great opportunities for the party alongside our working in coalition.
I wish my successor all the best in what is a rewarding and important role.
Yours ever,
Vince Cable
Nick Clegg said in response:
Vince has been a fantastic Deputy Leader during an exciting time for the party. I look forward to us continuing to work together in government.
This means that an election for the new Deputy Leader will take place on Wednesday 9 June with Lord (William) Wallace acting as the returning officer.
There will be a formal meeting of the Parliamentary Party on Wednesday 2 June to receive nominations.
If more than one nomination is received, hustings will take place at the meeting of the Parliamentary Party on 9 June. The ballot will take place at the end of that meeting, with the result declared thereafter.
55 Comments
Sorry to hear that but it is a HUGE job he’s got ahead of him there. (Oddly enough we haven’t had ANY mail all week… has our local PO already sold itself???)
Simon Hughes is conveniently available though… 🙂
Who is likely to stand?
What does the job of deputy leader actually entail under the current circumstances?
i am ashamed of vince cable i always rated him highly now he has become a full time tory
Tim Farron anyone?
pat roche: {yawn}
@IainM – Since Nick Clegg will probably be rather busy, I would think perhaps it will be a more important role than before?
yes it is a yawn when a good man crosses the line and sells his principles
@pat roche – It shows that, contrary to nasty rumours, Vince is dedicated to doing a great job in government rather than jumping ship. Plus, it is a bloody HUGE job he’s got ahead of himself and the fact that he didn’t stand for leadership at the time indicates he had been keen on doing a good job rather than being a leader, deputy or not.
I would guess that the story behind this is that there may have been pressure from Lib Dem MPs for the deputy leadership role to be filled by someone outside the government. Since the deputy leader is elected by MPs, his/her position is vaguely analogous to that of chairman of the 1922 committee in the Conservative Party.
I thought this would happen for the last few days. The deputy will now need to play a huge and greatly enhanced internal party role and I would strongly presume that simon will step up to the role with the backing of the leadership, though of course others could come forward.
yes paul a good anlysis which fits what i said that he now has no independence as he is a tory – that is how the public will see it at the next election
Steve Web? We like to balance things don’t we!
I wish Vince Cable well, and think he has made the correct decision. As a vocal opponent to the deal, I hope that the new Deputy Leader, will be someone who can (I would assume internally, given the nature of coalition) hold the Parliamentary Party and those within the Government to account. That every decision made comes from a Liberal Democrat voice and principle.
Who though? Simon Hughes maybe too tainted. Don Foster? How about Charles Kennedy (Oaky I am being somewhat mischievous)…who could hold the Lib Dems together, whilst others are busy in Govt.Posts?
@Paul – Yes I agree, aside from the fact that Vince probably has the biggest job alongside Nick Clegg at the moment!
@jim
Yes, Tim Farron spoke very well on TV at the opening of parliament. Simon Hughes would also be a good candidate as others have suggested. There are many others, Alan Beith, for instance, or Alistair Carmichael or Sarah Teather or Jo Swinson or… loads of good candidates, really!
Tim Farron or Sarah Teather. Both young, the party’s future will be in their hands… can see either of them leading the party at some future date!
@pat roche
yawn – second that
A situation he finds himself in due to his leadership of the LibDems. If he lets his eye slip, it would be bad for his Party.
As a good man, he is surely less likely to have sold said principles. This is the man who described the current Coalition as a “collaborationist” Government.
Vince Cable – the Captain Corelli of the LibDems.
Could I ask you what position you took before this election? It always is easier to be an oppositionist. Let’s wait to see how Cable deputizes to Osbourne: as, with Frank Field and Margaret Hodge, my sympathies are with the good man deputizing for an idiot.
Step forward Prince/ss Hal
I agree that it needs to be someone young and dynamic.
Tim Farron would be an excellent choice for thus post.
Well, I had a think about my ideal qualities for a new Deputy…
1: a fairly fresh face. Some experience, but not an old hand who gets it as a consolation prize. Someone to make a mark!
2: someone who’s simply brilliant. A charismatic speaker, good on TV, quick brain – and not just seen as ‘one wing’ of the party.
3: not a minister. Even Vince is too busy, and the Deputy needs to speak for the party and its separate identity, not bound by collective responsibility.
X: Particularly after the electoral lottery dealt Lib Dem women such a terrible hand this time, I’d prefer a woman, if we can find one to fit the specs.
And I can! It seems incredibly obvious that the very talented Jo Swinson should stand.
My joint second choice, neither fitting *all* my specs but each brilliant: Lynne Featherstone and Tim Farron. But mainly, #GoJo!
Voting in either Sarah Teather or Jo Swinson would be a stroke of genius. Not only would they both be very good at the job, it would also start to remedy our abysmal record of having women occupying key roles in the party.
Of course! How could I forget Lynne Featherstone… so we have an embarrassment of riches as far as female candidates are concerned. Now let’s see if the party is as progressive as it claims to be.
Wouldn’t it be funny, if this overshadowed the Labour leadership race….
Lorely Burt for Deputy Leader
Lynne Featherstone is a minister, it need to be someone independent of govt. Jo Swinson & Sarah Teather? Not sure either has the qualities required. Alan Beith has already been deputy leader if memory serves me correctly.
Tim is someone of the next generation, comes across as decent, sincere and someone the parliamentary party can have confidence in.
Jo will need to work damn hard to keep her seat. She is very vulnerable to losing it due to the pact that has gone down like a lead balloon in Scotland, particularly the West of Scotland. Her majority was already halved at this election.
First, Vince Cable is to privatise the Royal Mail. How very New Labour.
And now, Vince Cable is to privatise the motorways. How very New Labour.
Vote Liberal – not Lib Dem, Liberal – at Thirsk & Malton. That would be a start.
So the BBC is talking up Simon. Looks like an establishment plot to me.
1 – Need to keep the Liberal wing of the party on board
2 – Vince told to stand down
3 – Simon’s a shoe-in
4 – That sorts out the radical left then.
Hmm….
@Keith – Simon is generally seen as being on the left of the party so unsure what you’re on about
Which wing of the party are Sarah Teather and Lynne Featherstone on?
My point entirely. Simon as DL appeases the left.
I agree with Alex Wilcock’s criteria but I disagree with the conclusion. Lynne is highly talented but is a minister now and I wonder if Jo has the je ne sais quoi. My bet for someone to be forthright and outspoken as what will surely shape up to be “leader of the Lib Dems outside government” – someone who will be called on to speak for the party, not the coalition – is Lorely Burt. She’s a very competent speaker, doesn’t seem to take any crap and there’s a better than average chance the public will eventually be able to pick her out of a lineup next to Nick, Dave and whichever Milliband it ends up being.
I’m hoping it’s Jo Swinson!
I am quite sure Diane Abbott would do summat to bring attention back to Diane Abbott.
@Kehaar – Cable is only deputises for Osborne on the Economic Affairs Committee, he has his own department that has a huge pile of work ahead of it. David Laws is the Treasury “face” and he does a da*n good job of it!
I think the guardian sums it up well, it does rather kick in the teeth those who said Cable would throw his cabinet job in in protest soon:
“Though Cable is known to have made every effort to make a Lib-Lab coalition possible while coalition negotiations were under way with the Tories, his vacation of the post to concentrate on his joint ventures with the Tories makes him less of a lightning rod for Lib Dem dissent.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/26/vince-cable-resigns-deputy-leader
Lets hope our new Deputy leader actually sits with our Parliamentary Party and does’nt get ‘cut off’ through being ‘sandwiched’ between the Tories and the uncomfortably cosy seat Nick occupies next to Dave. I don’t know how our Leader can communicate with his Parliamentary colleagues from that distance, except through grimaces and the like.
If Vince’s justification for stepping down is that he has ministerial work to do, it would make most sense to have someone without a ministerial post do it.
Steve Webb and Simon Hughes look like obvious possibilities. I agree with Alex that Jo Swinson would be wonderful.
P.S. – I downloaded the 1997 Election Night the other day. Alex you look very… young.
Christ, are there so many ex LDYS people on these boards that Jo Swinson even looks like a prospect for this?
Tim Farron has previous as number 2 to the party leader under Ming, knows the score in so many ways, is seen as friendly to the party lefties and just proved his personal abilities by turning a very marginal seat into a thumping majority. He’s the happiest to hang out in the bar at conference too iirc, a genuinely friendly chap.
If people wish to judge candidates on the basis of the genetic gender hand nature has randomly dealt them, then such ‘liberals’ deserve the deputy leader they get. Gender has nothing to do with it, nor should it. People should be judged on the basis of their ability and nothing else.
Gez, the potential female candidates mentioned in the previos discussion all have the ability to be deputy leader of the party. They also have one other attribute that the party hierarchy sorely lacks – they’re female. What’s wrong with attempting to remedy that lack?
“People should be judged on the basis of their ability and nothing else.”
That would be on the basis of their ability to help the party maintain and broaden its appeal to the voters, presumably. In which respect, it’s quite possible that being a different gender from the party leader (and indeed almost all the main public faces of the party) would be highly relevant.
@Gez – I think a lot of the anti LibDem views of ‘Libdems are sexist’ are down to the fact that perhaps we as a party do not regard gender, ethnicity etc, as relevant, we perhaps don’t see boundaries and prejudice where many do.
Which is obviously too liberal a view for many people…
As has been remarked above, it is appropriate in present circumstances that whoever is elected Deputy Leader should not be a minister and should sit with the non-ministerial Lib Dem MPs in the House of Commons. This should certainly rule out Webb, Teather and Featherstone, and I very much concur with what seems to be a prevailing opinion that Tim Farron would be the best selection.
I hope the MPs don’t approach this as a balance exercise, as that does seem to potentially interfere with the need to get the best person for the job. Having said that, several of the obvious notable candidates would probably self-describe as “on the left of the party”, so I suspect it will come to the same thing.
Tim Farron :/ He’d be my first choice in lots of ways. He’s generally awesome, principled, popular in the party, has great potential for wider appeal, is a fantastic public speaker and clearly an incredible operator to have increased his majority that much. But his voting record on TWFY show up as “voted against equal rights”. When you drill down, you find that this reflects his having been absent for the embryology bill and voted against the equality regulations on the age of consent and right to adopt (I don’t know whether one thing in particular attracted his opposition, of course). Yes, these are matters of conscience, and as the personal values of a constituency MP in a free vote they wouldn’t bother me. But I’m not sure how I’d feel about that voting record representing us in a position like Deputy Leader, particularly as the DL is going to have a peculiar prominence this time.
Either Steve Webb or Lynne Featherstone would be shoe-ins for me, but if we’re ruling out ministers then Jo Swinson’s got to be high in the running.
I think we need to consider what we want the deputy leader to do. In my view, there should be two key roles for the deputy:
1) To act as a conduit between the leadership and the backbench MPs. The person doing the job should not be a minister.
2) To go around the country and listen to and inspire the party on the ground.
I think the person who could do this best would be Tim Farron. Jo Swinson would also be good and Adrian Sanders would be another possibility.
I’d not thought of Adrian Sanders – another good one.
Tim Farron did make me laugh with a rather biting comment when he and the rest were filmed coming out of the triple lock meeting. It was there and gone in a second, but the BBC guy caught him on microphone and said how did it go, and TF said something like “Just let the leader decide everything, that’s the best way, isn’t it?” with his usual great timing. And a fair bit of suppressed anger, I think. But it was so quick that the Beeb guy didn’t know what to make of it at all, and it never got mentioned again as far as I know.
The papers are all talking about Simon Hughes, which we don’t seem to be, by and large. Not sure what to make of that.
Tim Farron still strikes me as a bit inexperienced. That said, when I saw him speak at conference a few years back I immediately thought that I was looking at a potential future leader. I also like his ideology, he seems to believe many of the same things that I do.
Simon Hughes would, in my opinion, be an other good choice. He is much more in the VInce Cable mould of elder statesman. He is a well liked and extremely experienced politician, although he isn’t a leader in waiting.
I haven’t really thought about any other contenders and any comment on them would be far too ill-informed to be of any value. I will, however, say that it says something about our party that we have so much talent on our benches.
Alix – I’m only going on recollection and impression, but I’m not sure that’s what Tim said or meant. I think he said he was going ‘to let the leader do the talking’ which was probably meant to be our communications strategy. Every single member of the parliamentary party and the FE giving comments, one by one, outside (in advance of Nick’s statement) lends itself to an impression of chaos.
I suspect if he seemed frustrated, it was probably mainly by the throng of people at the exit and the fact he (and others) were getting stuck in front of the BBC camera.
I don’t know what he thinks about the deal itself, but I’d be cautious about speculating on this evidence unless you do!
There is one over-riding need that the deputy leader must meet. He/she must be able and willing to act as the voice of the independent Liberal Democrats within the new parliament.
Nick Clegg is the prime architect of coalition. As Deputy PM, a key responsibility must be to make the coalition work. It will be virtually impossible for one man to do that and, simultaneously, to be the conscience of his own party.
We don’t want someone who sets out to undermine the coalition deal. We do want someone who will take a tough stand as and if it is necessary to do so. We do need someone who will make sure that in 2015, we are not and do not look like a whiolly owned subsidiary of the Conservative Party.
Let’s have an election, and let’s challenge the candidates to tell us if that is what they are prepared to do.
@GavinS
Nope, fair enough. It was only a few seconds and my retrospective reading could be completely wrong.
I’d agree on the future leader thing, apart from the awkward matter of inequalities voting. Were you at the tax debate in Autumn 2008? There were some very strong speeches on all sides and he blew them all away.
David A, Jock has just made some good points about what the criteria should be on the other thread. Am not sure what I think now.
Sorry, second para was to YelloSmurf.
OK, I see that Jock proposes a deputy who can truly deputise for the leader, who should therefore be a Cabinet member, ready and able to play a role within the coalition. Chris Huhne would be the obvious choice (and for a parallel of course, think of Harriet Harman, if you can do that dispassionately!)
Well, I see the argument. But my strong feeling is that it isn’t enough. We are really going to struggle to preserve our independent identity. That is the comment experience of minor parties in European coalitions. It’s much more important to do that than to have a Harriet figure who can do the occasional PMQs (and anyway, we don’t do PMQs now, do we?)
Let’s have an informal sub for Nick in parliament whenever we need one, person to be varied at will to meet the demand of the day. Let’s also have a proper voice as Deputy Leader for the independent Lib Dems and make sure it is a powerrful one.
But, is it not funny that such sentiments tend towards seeing the ability of White upper-middle to toff class men?
No need for a bun fight over this.
Personally I don’t see why we can’t have two deputies able to complement and compensate for each other. This would also enable us to differentiate ourselves by demonstrating a real commitment to pluralism and equality!
We have many excellent people able to fill the required functions who are already de facto deputies in varying regards, so the title is little more than a matter of ceremony anyway. However I would like to hear Baroness Scott speak up on the subject as a matter of form.