Vince Cable to run for parliament again after Theresa May's snap general election announcement

Former Business Secretary to run in his former seat of Twickenham

Vince Cabe, who held the post of Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the coalition government (Charles Forgham-Bailey)

Vince Cable has said he is planning to run for Parliament in the snap election.

The former Business Secretary lost his south London seat in 2015 after the Liberal Democrats suffered an electoral wipeout due to their role in the Coalition government.

Speaking to The Independent, Mr Cable confirmed his plan to stand in his former seat of Twickenham, saying it was "an extremely important election" because it is "very much about the future direction of the country".

He said he believed the Liberal Democrats would run a good campaign not just nationally but in Twickenham as well as the constituency is poised to do battle with the Government over Heathrow expansion plans and cuts to school budgets "which no one voted for".

Since the election and the EU referendum last year, leader Tim Farron has staged a fightback for the party by positioning it as the "party for the 48 per cent".

Commenting on the announcement by Theresa May that she would ask Parliament to vote for a new election to be held on 8 June, Mr Farron said this was "your chance to change the direction of your country".

He said: "If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.

"Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority."

Mr Cable was a well regarded member of the Lib Dem frontbench who predicted the 2008 financial crisis.

Since leaving Parliament, Mr Cable has spoken out frequently about the Government's approach to Brexit and warned that the country is facing a "nasty" recession next year as the country is still not getting to grips with rising debt and housing prices.

Internal polling by the Conservatives leaked last month suggested the party could potentially lose up to 27 seats to the Liberal Democrats in a new election – including all of their 2015 gains in south London.

The current Tory MP for Twickenham, Tania Mathias, has just a 2,017 majority. Mr Cable saw a swing of 16.4 per cent against him and lost the seat despite having a majority over 12,000.