Vince Cable has announced that he will step down as Lib Dem leader in May.
The former business secretary had previously said he would step down as party leader “once Brexit is resolved or stopped” but said in a new interview with the Daily Mail: “Now it looks like it will be a long process, and it may that will never happen.”
In a statement to party members confirming the decision, the 75-year-old said: “I am very interested in having an orderly and professional succession, as opposed to power struggles in other parties.” So I wanted you, our members, to know that, assuming Parliament does not collapse in a snap general election, I will be asking the party to start a leadership race in May.”
Cable declined to name his preferred successor, but former coalition minister Jo Swinson, former energy secretary Ed Davey and the party’s education spokeswoman Layla Moran were listed as possible candidates.
“We have a lot of great internal candidates, it shows who they are. The worst thing I can do is start promoting them,” Cable told the Mail.
The political veteran, who will remain as a deputy, admitted that he has presided over a “gradual” rather than “spectacular” recovery of the party.
The Liberal Democrats currently have 11 MPs and were outvoted in the polls by the Independent Group (TIG), “which is quite an achievement, given it’s only weeks away and it’s not even a party,” says Politico’s Annabelle Dickson.
In an interview with the BBC, Cable admitted that the establishment of the TIG by Labor MPs and breakaway Conservatives as a new “centrist” force had attracted media attention from his party.
But he added: “We have made a lot of steady progress after two very tough general elections.”
Last fall, Cable announced a proposal to change the party’s electoral rules to allow non-parliamentarians to run for the top job and allow non-party members to vote for the next leader.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller spoke at the annual Lib Dem conference last year and won “a better reception than many of her MPs”, the BBC notes, but insists she will not join the party or run for leader.
“No, no, no, I definitely won’t,” Miller told BBC Radio 4.
So who is most likely to succeed him? The week looks at runners and runners.
Jo Swinson
The deputy leader of the Lib Dems, who was minister for Equal Opportunities in the coalition government, is currently the bookies’ joint favorite to replace Cable. But since he withdrew his name in the early stages of the latest leadership race, it’s unclear if Swinson has any desire to lead the party.
Willie Rennie, head of Scotland’s Liber Dems, said Swinson would make a “fantastic” leader. “She’s such an amazing professional artist and a really smart woman,” he said.
layla moran
Despite being relatively new, education spokesperson Layla Moran is another early favorite. The Oxford West and Abingdon MP, who was first elected in 2017, “is seen as a savvy media player and a fresh face in a party that has only three under-50 MPs,” Business Insider says.
However, The Sun notes that she also ruled out a leadership bid in the last contest, saying that as a newly elected MP she wanted to focus on serving her constituents.
ed davey
The Kingston and Surbiton MP is highly regarded within the match, with bookies and commentators believing he has a very good chance of winning if he throws his hat into the ring.
Davey, who served as energy secretary in the coalition, chose not to stand up last time. In a June 2017 article on a political blog, he wrote that he wanted to spend time with his young family and protect them from the “inevitable intrusion into our lives.”
But he did not rule out a possible future candidacy, adding that he wants to “play an important role in rebuilding our party and bringing it to power, at all levels of government.”
norman lamb
The North Norfolk MP, who was business and health minister during the coalition, ran unsuccessfully against Farron in 2015, refusing to run in the latest leadership race.
Lamb did not comment on Cable’s expected departure, but welcomed the proposed rule change to allow non-MPs to run for office. He told Sky News: “There may be other dynamic people besides the parliamentary party who could have a significant impact on the future of liberal progressive politics, so why exclude them?”
