Lib Dems will not be sucked into formal Labour pact, says Vince Cable

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats does not believe party members have any appetite to repeat the experience of the Tory coalition

Vince Cable, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has cast serious doubt on whether his party would agree to a full-blown coalition with Labour if the next general election results in a hung parliament.

Cable, who was business secretary in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition formed after the 2010 election, told the Observer that the bad experience" of working with the Tories for five years may have put many in his party off the idea of a formal arrangement, even with Labour.