TEN years ago, Sir Menzies Campbell was pushed out at 66 as leader of the Liberal Democrats on the grounds of age.

Sir Vince Cable has now vowed to slay the “irrational cult of youth” as he makes his bid to take charge of the party. The 74-year-old believes that his age and experience is an asset, adding that Britain’s current “sober mood” means now is the time for an older leader.

His political opponents, Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May, are aged 68 and 60 respectively and the former business secretary believes age is no longer important.

One of the big stories to emerge from the general election was the power of the youth vote.

We were told that many younger people – some of them energised by Mr Corbyn’s rallies and wooed by his pledge to axe tuition fees – helped to swell the Labour vote and curb the Tories bid for a landslide.

Labour under Mr Corbyn’s leadership has unashamedly targeted young voters. A number of long-term party members have told the Echo that there has been a noticeable increase in younger people attending meetings and rallies.

“We see a lot more pink dyed hair than we used to,” one said recently, summing up the changing image of Labour activism.

There are concerns among some Labour moderates that a younger, more radical element is determined to make its presence felt.

Dr Cable’s plea for older voices to be heard is part of a wider feeling within his party that there is a gap at the centre of British politics, which is natural territory for the liberals. He will face a major battle if he hopes to retake that ground, but for now we believe that politics benefits from having a few grey hairs in amongst the shocking pink.