Cable: Lib Dems need non-MP leader
SIR Vince Cable is to pave the way for his early resignation as Liberal Democrat leader by unveiling radical reforms which would allow him to be succeeded by a non-MP.
The secret proposals, dubbed Project Ozark, are intended to make the party more attractive to voters – and could be the precursor to forming a wider anti-Brexit movement.
Last night, a well-placed Lib Dem source confirmed that Sir Vince would use a major speech next month to ask party members to drop the condition that the Lib Dem leader is drawn from their Commons contingent.
The party has slumped from 57 seats before the 2015 General Election to just 12 seats and is languishing at single digits in the polls.
The source admitted it was ‘unlikely’ that Sir Vince, 75, would lead the party into the next Election if the current Parliament ran its full fiveyear term until 2022.
‘Vince would be 79. It’s only sensible he’s thinking about that.’
It comes amid rumblings from party members that Sir Vince, who took over from Tim Farron after last year’s Election, has failed to pull them out of the doldrums and re-fashion the party as a ‘Brexit resistance force’. One senior Lib Dem warned that allowing non-MPs to lead the party will be seen as a snub to rising star Layla Moran, 35, MP for Oxford West, who has been tipped to replace Sir Vince.