"Saint" Vince "the" Cable unexpectedly resigned as Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems last night.The new Business Secretary who forged a reputation as an economic guru during the recession, claimed he stood down to concentrate on his job in the cabinet.
But I tell you, there is more to this announcement than meets the eye.
Plenty of politicians happily combine two jobs, Home Secretary Theresa May is also in charge of equalities, Nick Clegg is both Deputy PM and Party Leader and Lord Mandelson combined four jobs under Gordon Brown administration, he was the First Sectary of State, de-facto Deputy Prime Minister, the Business & Skills Sectary and Lord President of the Council!
So the surprise resignation will fuel rumours that Mr Cable is unhappy with the coalition. It will also lead to speculation that his move has happened to allow someone like Simon Hughes take a leadership role in the Lib Dems in order to be a sort of leader for those in the Lib Dems that are not part of the coalition and are going to look to side with the Labour benches when they can.
