An Evening With

Vince Cable 'Open Arms'

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Last Show: Wednesday 1 st November 2017

PizzaExpress Live (Holborn)

: An opportunity to meetone of a rare breed – a popular and likeable politician – Vince Cable is not only the leader of the Liberal Democrats  but also an established writer. Following highly regarded commentaries on on the financial crisis of 2007/8  - 'The Storm' and 'After the Storm' - his latest book 'Open Arms' takes Cable into the realms of fiction: a gripping international political drama that ranges from Whitehall to Mumbai from someone who has experienced much of the recent dramas in British politics first hand. Vince Cable is the leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Twickenham. He was the Liberal Democrat’s chief economic spokesman from 2003-2010, having previously served as Chief Economist for Shell from 1995-1997. He was Business Secretary under the Coalition Government from 2010-2015.

"A heavyweight in anybody's cabinet"

The Times

A more detailed biog: Vince Cable has been married to Rachel (Smith) since 2004. His late wife, Olympia, died in 2001 and their three children are Paul, Aida and Hugo. He  has two grandchildren: Ayrton, son of Paul and Agnesa, and Charlie, son of Aida and Stephen. Vince Cable read Natural Sciences and Economics at Cambridge University, where he was President of the Union, followed by a PhD at Glasgow University. From 1966 to 1968 he was Treasury Finance Officer for the Kenya Government. After lecturing at Glasgow University in economics he worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a first secretary in the Diplomatic Service (1974-76). He was then appointed Deputy Director of the Overseas Development Institute, which included a period working for the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, John Smith, as a special advisor. From 1983 to 1990, Vince worked as special advisor on Economic Affairs for the Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Sonny Ramphal. In 1990 he joined Shell International taking up the post of Chief Economist in 1995. He has also been head of the economics programme at Chatham House and is a former fellow of Nuffield College Oxford and the LSE. Vince served as a Labour councillor in Glasgow between 1971 and 1974, before joining the Social Democrat party. He is currently a visiting professor at the LSE. A regular broadcaster and columnist, he has written for The Independent on economic and political issues, and for The Economist. He has written many books, including some on Trade Policy and International Finance, Globalisation and tackling the fiscal crisis. Open Arms is his first venture into the world of fiction. His popularity outside politics was sealed when he partnered with ballroom dancer Erin Boag on the 2010 Christmas edition of Strictly Come Dancing.