The business secretary, Vince Cable, has said that Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron was not currently seen as a credible leader for the party.

The MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale is a favourite to replace Nick Clegg as Lib Dem leader if there is a leadership contest after the general election.

Farron, seen as being on the left of the party, caused controversy during the recent spring conference in Liverpool, when he told the Financial Times that he gave the Lib Dems two out of 10 for their handling of the coalition, and told the Mail on Sunday that his party could suffer for a generation as a result of the decision to go into coalition with the Conservatives.

“It wasn’t at all helpful,” Cable said in an interview with BuzzFeed. “I mean, he’s a very good campaigning MP, but he’s never been in government and has never had to make difficult decisions and I think his credibility isn’t great.

“You know, he’s an entertaining speaker and has a bit of a fan club. But I suspect he would not be seen as a very credible leader, at least now. Maybe in five, 10 years time, things are different.”

Cable added: “The closer we get to an election and the more uncertain it seems, the more people will want people who are seen to be competent and reliable.”

Cable is one of a group of Liberal Democrat MPs rumoured to be contenders for the party’s leadership, along with Farron, Ed Davey, Norman Lamb and Jo Swinson.

In the interview, conducted while Cable attended a private dance class in Surrey, the business secretary was asked if he would ever stand as party leader: “We’ve got one at the moment so the working assumption we’re making is that he’s going to continue.”



Cable, who will turn 72 two days before the general election, said he would not rule out staying in cabinet if his party entered another coalition after the election. “I’m not going around handing out a begging bowl or anything but I’m willing to play whatever role comes up.”



Responding to Farron’s comments during the spring conference, the former party leader Paddy Ashdown told BBC Radio 5 Live that while Farron was a friend, “his well-known ambition would be better served with a little more patience and a little more judgment … judgment is not his strong suit”.

Last week the Lib Dems sunk two points in the Guardian/ICM poll to stand at just 8%, which – with a general election just six weeks away – is their worst showing in the long-running polling series in a quarter of a century.