Who is Vince Cable (aka the Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable)? He is best known as a politician who was a key figure, for five years, in the Coalition Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, and then as Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

He is now retired from Parliament after 20 years as MP for Twickenham and is a writer of books on political and economic matters (and a novel); a Visiting Professor at the LSE; a Distinguished Fellow of the Overseas Development; and Director of a company creating a hydrogen refueling network as part of the net zero economy.

When not working, he is a father (of 3) and grandfather (of 3); happily married to Rachel (a second marriage; he was widowed); a competitive ballroom and dancer (who once earned 10/10 from Len and Craig on the Xmas edition of Strictly); and a keen cyclist and hiker.

Before becoming an MP he was Chief Economist for Shell and before that worked in the Kenya Treasury, researched in Latin America and India, and served in the Diplomatic Service, the Commonwealth Secretariat and as Special Adviser to the late John Smith.

Vince wrote the best seller The Storm during the Financial Crisis and has recently published the following books:

How to be a Politician

The Chinese conundrum

Money and power

Partnership and politics in a divided decade (with his wife, Rachel Smith) and

Open Arms (a political thriller)