John Connolly John Connolly

The remarkable resurrection of Vince Cable

If all political careers end in failure, as Enoch Powell once said, how can you possibly explain the remarkable resurrection of Vince Cable last night? The Lib Dem leader, who has announced that he will be stepping down on 23 July, achieved a historic result for his party, securing 20.3 per cent of the UK national vote in the European elections and sending 15 MEPs to Brussels – five more than Labour and second only to the Brexit Party. In a sign of the party’s wide support across the country, the Lib Dems managed to win the most votes in Stockport, (which has voted for Labour in general elections since 1987) and received more votes than the Conservative party in Windsor and Maidenhead, Theresa May’s constituency.

It is a remarkable turnaround of fortunes. Two years ago, when Cable took over as leader of the party from Tim Farron following the 2017 general election, the Lib Dems seemed an entirely spent force. Despite being the only major UK political party to run on a platform advocating for a second Brexit referendum, the Lib Dems only achieved a meagre 7.4 per cent of the vote and won 12 seats in Westminster. It seemed as if the divisive nature of Brexit along Leave and Remain lines was not yet ready to break the two main parties. And, if there was a large group of Remain-supporting disaffected Labour voters, angry with Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Brexit, they weren’t willing to abandon their party and support the Lib Dems instead. This may have been because of the Lib Dems’ time spent in coalition with the Conservative party, but equally Vince Cable’s leadership was blamed on the party’s inability to win over new Remain voters.

And then the local elections took place earlier this month.

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