Outside Portcullis House it’s a hot, sticky day, with the traffic seemingly at a standstill, the Westminster pavements heaving with tourists and Brexit protesters holding up EU flags and placards. Vince Cable is running late – returning from Buckinghamshire where he has been addressing a UK-India trade conference. The photographer is worried he could arrive sweaty, so sets aside a packet of wet wipes and a glass of water just in case. But when Cable strolls into the air-conditioned meeting room overlooking the Houses of Parliament, he looks calm and composed, wearing a blue suit, crisp white shirt and paisley-patterned tie – not hot and bothered at all. 

The 75-year-old Liberal Democrat leader is experiencing a late surge in his career. He is best known as the business secretary when his party was in coalition with the Conservatives. During this time, he gained a reputation for pragmatism over ideology and was generally respected by industry and politicians. All that came to an end in the 2015 general election, when the electorate turned on the Lib Dems and Cable lost the 12,000 majority in his south-west London seat of Twickenham. By his own account, the former chief economist for Shell spent the next two years writing books, travelling and ballroom dancing. Few expected him to contest his seat again, but in the 2017 snap general election he was back as an MP and, after Tim Farron’s resignation, became party leader last July. 

If free movement is closed off, the construction industry is potentially in serious trouble

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