Cable goes from Mr Bean to Stalin

It seems like just yesterday that Vince Cable was the most popular Lib Dem in the land. Back in the heady days of the late noughties, Cable was regarded as the supposed seer who foresaw the banking crisis; a ‘safe pair of hands’ whose memorable jibe at Gordon Brown’s transformation from ‘Stalin to Mr Bean’ provided much mirth to MPs across the House.

But much has changed in the decade since and the once well-regarded Liberal Democrat has been undergoing a transformation of his own. Cable, who stepped down from the Commons in 2019, has earned notoriety during the last year for his comments on the Chinese Communist party and the plight of the Uyghur Muslims under the regime.