Gareth Keenan

So Vince Cable resigned as Deputy-Leader of the Lib Dems last night.

Already the markets favourite to be the first Government Minister to pack it in, when a friend text Keir he was kicking himself that he hadn't put money on. But lo, St. Vince is only stepping down as Deputy Leader.

Many in the right wing blogosphere (with the Libs in it now it seems a bit odd to refer to it as that: maybe 'government blogosphere' would be better?) are of the view that maybe it is too much work? Keir doubts that. Keir thinks that St. Vince is distancing himself from Clegg, keeping his head down and getting down to the task at hand; because when the Coalition falls apart, its most vocal cheerleaders are going to get stabbed in the back quicker than you can say dissolution.

Vince' I was just following orders' Cable will be nowhere near as tarnished as Clegg or David Laws...

That or he realised that like Gareth Keenan, he was now only Assistant to the Regional Manager, I mean, Assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Nicky C's public profile has shot up rather dramatically, Cable is no longer the public face of the Liberal Democrats...