Zero Carbon is one of the rare areas of consensus in British politics. Boris Johnson seems no less committed than then opposition parties. But energy security concerns now take centre stage. More serious, public support is shallow and politicians have been unable to resist popular demands to cut taxes on fuels. There is now an emerging movement demanding a referendum on zero carbon and making an issue of renewable subsidies and the supposed benefits of fracking. The companies are exaggerated or ...
Apr 01, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 14
The podcast is a look back at the Spring Statement now that the dust has settled and we have a chance to look at reactions as well as the content. A generous view is that Sunak is saving his ammunition for a fiercer economic battle in the autumn but he runs the risk of doing too little too late.
Mar 25, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 13
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has mobilised and unified Europe, the NATO alliance and the majority of countries in the UN. However key countries like India and Pakistan, South Africa and Nigeria and leading Middle Eastern countries and, above all, China have declined to take sides, at least openly. How these self-declared neutrals react to a continuing war will be crucial. Link to article: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ukraine-putin-india-pakistan-russia-invasion-b2036282.html Sir Vince...
Mar 19, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 12
I look at the likelihood of the conflict spreading beyond the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And in particular the unpredictable consequences of the widening sanctions net and the impact of the war on energy and food supplies. Link to article: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/russia-ukraine-nuclear-weapons-war-b2030870.html Sir Vince Cable is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and served as Secretary of State for business, innovation and skills from 2010 to 2015. He records a regular p...
Mar 11, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 11
This podcast deals with the horrific invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia; the mistakes that were made which have contributed to the war and the lessons to be learnt. Now there are key issues to be faced. Sanctions will not work if they exclude the energy sector. We have to engage countries like India and China with close links to Russia. We have to arm the Ukrainians as best we can being careful to avoid direct military confrontation and engagement with NATO. Link to article: https://www.indep...
Mar 02, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 10
In this week's episode, I look at the extreme uncertainty around Russia’s intentions in relation to Ukraine, have focussed mainly on the military consequences of an invasion. There would also be an economic shock through energy and other commodity markets. We have the two oil shocks of 1974 and 1980 as a precedent. There are also potential wider implications for business if the SWIFT payments system is disrupted by sanctions and because of potential instability in financial markets. Link to arti...
Feb 18, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 9
This week's episode deals with Chinese objectives and the Western diplomatic boycott which has so far failed in its objective to make human rights particularly in Xinjiang the focus of the Games. Link to article: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/beijing-olympics-boycott-human-rights-b2010135.html#comments-area Sir Vince Cable is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and served as Secretary of State for business, innovation and skills from 2010 to 2015. He records a regular podcast ‘Cabl...
Feb 11, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 8
It has become common-place to talk about ‘populism’; but what does it mean? And what is the reason why otherwise seemingly stable democracies throw ups the likes of Trump and Johnson? I draw on some recent analysis using data science which challenges some fashionable ideas: that populism originates in inequality or as a response to immigration. Link to article: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/populism-brexit-trump-how-to-counter-b2004888.html Sir Vince Cable is the former leader of the Libe...
Feb 04, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Clinton's campaigning slogan seems out of place amidst the political chatter about partygate and the rumblings about war in Ukraine. But the government's credibility hinges on economic performance. There are worrying trends: a slowdown in post covid recovery and rising inflation which has been underestimated. Sir Vince Cable is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and served as Secretary of State for business, innovation and skills from 2010 to 2015. He records a regular podcast ‘Cable Com...
Jan 28, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Democracy is in danger on several fronts: internally, in the USA especially, with the refusal of the Republican Party to accept the results of elections; globally with a slide to semi-democratic, semi-authoritarian regimes in many countries; and physically with the threatened Russian attack on Ukraine. I discuss the prospects for President Biden’s Alliance of Democracies. Sir Vince Cable is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and served as Secretary of State for business, innovation and s...
Jan 21, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 5
I discuss the choices and dilemmas the government faces in launching its ‘levelling up’ White Paper on its signature policy: badly delayed and due early this year. The key choice is whether to prioritise left-behind people or places. The government seems primarily concerned with the latter and, within the latter, towns rather than cities. Sir Vince Cable is the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and served as secretary of state for business, innovation and skills from 2010 to 2015. He record...
Jan 14, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 4
The big foreign policy event in 2021 was the US retreat from Afghanistan: the end of a long, unwinnable, war. But we should ask if this is a temporary withdrawal from conflict that will reappear elsewhere. I look at the three main candidates for conflict involving big powers: Ukraine, with Russian troops currently massing on the frontiers; Iran, with a probable risk of breakdown in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions; and Taiwan where threats of invasion from the mainland or threats of pr...
Jan 07, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 3
I look at whether anything has fundamentally changed politically in the UK after the deteriorating support for the Johnson government, the emergence of consistent Labour leads and the trouncing of the Conservative candidate by the Liberal Democrat in the North Shropshire by-election. Vince’s new book ‘The Chinese Conundrum: Engagement or Conflict’ is available to buy online or from your local bookstore. Amazon , Bloomsbury , Waterstones , WHSmiths . To find out more about Vince, go to www.vincec...
Dec 30, 2021•30 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In the public debate about how to deal with the Omicron variant of Covid, few are confronting the uncomfortable fact that much of the negative impact, in terms of hospital admissions and transmission, can be traced back to the minority who refuse to be vaccinated. I review the options amongst which come a kind of passport for the vaccinated and tested, and I believe is preferable to general restrictions on the population at large. Independent article link: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/an...
Dec 24, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 1
I return to the Henley Festival to discuss my latest book, The Chinese Conundrum: Engagement or Economic War. The book takes in the recent Covid-19 pandemic and election of US president Joe Biden, as it explores the relationship between China and the West. By looking at the history of the politics between these nations, the economy and global politics, I examine the changes that have led us to where we are today. In conversation with Daniel Hahn. Interested in learning more? Vince’s new book ‘Th...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 7
A recording of the debate on the surveillance state between Vince and Ian Williams at the Wimbledon Festival. Ian Williams is author of ‘Every Breath You Take: China's New Tyranny’, featured in The Times and The Sunday Times. Interested in learning more? Vince’s new book ‘The Chinese Conundrum: Engagement or Conflict’ is available to buy online or from your local bookstore. Amazon , Bloomsbury , Waterstones , WHSmiths . To find out more about Vince, go to www.vincecable.org Follow him on Twitter...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Britain, five years ago, enjoyed a ‘golden era’ of relations with China. A whole series of events to do with Huawei, Hong Kong and the emphasis of the Trump and Biden US administrations on ‘containment’ and ‘confrontation’ in relation to China have shifted the balance to one of greater suspicion and disengagement. Brexit has also distanced the UK from a somewhat different approach being developed in France and Germany. Andrew Cainey of the United Services Institute discusses me what are the esse...
Nov 05, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 5
China’s past has been marked by sudden changes of direction under Mao and then under reformists and now Xi. Where is China going? Predictions are likely to be very wide of the mark. Can we use scenario techniques to help prepare for what might happen in China and in China’s relationships with the world. I interview Cho Khong who has just left Shell after being a core part of the company’s scenario planning team for over 25 years and a former colleague in that team. Interested in learning more? V...
Oct 26, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 4
China has become a superpower through its extraordinary economic growth over four decades. It has developed a model of ’state capitalism’ which has combined the strengths of both state ownership and control alongside capitalism in much of the economy. It now faces serious challenges: demographic ageing; an over reliance on investment; a big stock of corporate debt; resistance to further market reform. I discuss these challenges with George Magnus who is one of the leading economic and financial ...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Isabel Hilton is a noted journalist with long experience of China. Her particular interest is in environment policy and with the COP conference in Glasgow to come shortly she gives her assessment of where China stands on climate change. China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses and has a heavy dependence on coal burning; but it also has the world’s most advanced capacity in renewable technology. Which will prevail? Interested in learning more? Vince’s new book ‘The Chinese Conund...
Oct 05, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this episode I talk to Professor Kerry Brown who is internationally recognised as a leading authority on Chinese politics. His books on the Chinese Communist Party and on the politics of President Xi are seminal works. He explains how the Chinese 'party state’ operates and how Xi has not just assumed powers unmatched since Mao but reinstated the central role of the Party in public life with his own personal philosophy - Xi Jinping Thought - at the heart of decision making. Interested in learn...
Sep 23, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 1
China’s relationship with the West has deteriorated rapidly and become toxic with China portrayed as a ’threat’ through Chinese competition in trade and technology, assertiveness abroad and growing military strength and bitter disagreements on ‘human rights’ issues. Why has this happened and is the perception of China as a threat justified? There is also a quickly evolving change in the business landscape in China with the authorities toughening their regulatory control over Internet companies a...
Sep 15, 2021•2 min
In this special episode, I’m on stage at the Hay Festival, talking about my latest book ‘Money & Power’. Through economics, our politicians have the power to transform people's lives for better or worse. Think Deng Xiaoping who lifted millions out of poverty by opening up China; Franklin D Roosevelt whose 'New Deal' helped the USA break free of the Great Depression. Or Peron and his successors in Argentina who brought the country to the brink of ruin. I discuss in this interview about Money ...
Sep 03, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Young people are being thrown into a labour market which is constantly changing. But how do they keep up? In this episode I talk to Mark Malcolmson, who is one of the leading authorities and practitioners of continuing education: head of the City Lit in London, the biggest adult learning institution in the country. To find out more about Vince, go to www.vincecable.org Follow him on Twitter: @vincecable Produced by Podcast.co
Aug 24, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode I discuss the trends taking place in business - such as more and more advanced technology - and how these are changing the demand for workers, especially young workers joining the labour force for the first time. I discuss this with Lord Tim Clement-Jones who has devoted a lot of thought to the issue of digitisation of work; and with Juergen Maier, former head of Siemens in the UK, who has been heavily involved in Britain’s industrial strategy and in the design and redesign of ap...
Aug 13, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Join me as I host David Willetts, my former colleague in government as Universities Minister, now in the Lords and Chairman of the Resolution Foundation; Shakira Martin, twice elected President of the National Union of Students and a student who graduated the hard way: a black single mum working her way through FE college to graduation, now in charge of Student Experience at a college in South East London; and Deborah Streatfield who has done pioneering work with teenagers from disadvantaged bac...
Aug 02, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Life does not look rosy for many young people. In a series of three podcasts, Vince Cable interviews experts in education and business to understand the damage covid has done to their prospects. Post-Covid, we have a generation/age cohort which has missed out partially - or even completely - on over a year’s education and training. They have been thrown into the labour market without completing exams or training courses, a labour market frozen by the pandemic with entry-level opportunities drast...
Jul 29, 2021•2 min
