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David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK since 1945 and resigned after a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
supported the country's leaving the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. After his premiership, he served as Foreign Secretary in the government of prime minister
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
from 2023 to 2024. Cameron was Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016 and served as
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
from 2005 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for
Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...
from 2001 to 2016, and has been a member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
since November 2023. Cameron identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies. Born in London to an upper-middle-class family, Cameron was educated at
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
and
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
. After becoming an MP in 2001, he served in the opposition Shadow Cabinet under Conservative leader
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
, and succeeded Howard in 2005. Following the 2010 general election, negotiations led to Cameron becoming prime minister as the head of a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. His premiership was marked by the effects of the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
and the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
, which his government sought to address through
austerity measures In economic policy, austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: high ...
. His administration passed the Health and Social Care Act and the Welfare Reform Act, which introduced large-scale changes to
healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
and welfare. It also attempted to enforce stricter immigration policies via the Home Office hostile environment policy, introduced reforms to education under Michael Gove as Education Secretary and oversaw the 2012 London Olympics. Cameron's administration privatised
Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...
and some other state assets, and legalised
same-sex marriage in England and Wales Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the United Kingdom. As marriage is a devolved legislative matter, different parts of the United Kingdom legalised at different times; it has been recognised and performed in England and Wales since Ma ...
. Internationally, Cameron oversaw
Operation Ellamy Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Natio ...
in the
First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...
and authorised the bombing of the
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
in Syria. Domestically, his government oversaw the
2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum The United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, also known as the UK-wide referendum on the Parliamentary voting system was held on Thursday 5 May 2011 in the United Kingdom to choose the method of electing MPs at subsequent general elections. ...
and Scottish independence referendum, both of which confirmed Cameron's favoured outcome. When the Conservatives secured an unexpected majority in the 2015 general election, he remained as prime minister, this time leading a Conservative-only government known as the Second Cameron ministry. Cameron introduced a referendum on the UK's continuing membership of the European Union in 2016. He supported the
Britain Stronger in Europe Britain Stronger in Europe (formally The In Campaign Limited) was an advocacy group which campaigned in favour of the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, ...
campaign which lost. Following the success of Vote Leave, Cameron resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
, his Home Secretary. Cameron resigned his seat on 12 September 2016, and maintained a low political profile. He served as the president of Alzheimer's Research UK from 2017 to 2023, and was implicated in the Greensill scandal. Cameron released his memoir, ''For the Record'', in 2019. In 2023 he was appointed Foreign Secretary by
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
and became a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
as Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton. His tenure as Foreign Secretary was dominated by the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, and the Gaza humanitarian crisis. After the Conservatives lost the 2024 general election to the Labour Party, Cameron retired from frontline politics. However, he maintains his
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
seat. As prime minister, Cameron was credited for helping to modernise the Conservative Party and for reducing the UK's national deficit. However, he was subject to criticism for austerity measures. In historical rankings of prime ministers of the United Kingdom, academics and journalists have ranked him in the fourth and third quintiles. Cameron was the first former prime minister to be appointed to a ministerial post since
Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
in 1970, and the first former prime minister to be raised to the peerage since
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
.


Early life and education


Early family life

David William Donald Cameron was born on 9 October 1966 at the London Clinic in
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
, London, and raised at Peasemore in Berkshire. He has two sisters and an elder brother, Alexander Cameron. Cameron is the younger son of Ian Donald Cameron, a stockbroker, and his wife Mary Fleur, a retired Justice of the Peace and the daughter of
Sir William Mount, 2nd Baronet Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Malcolm Mount, 2nd Baronet, TD (28 December 1904 – 22 June 1993), was a British Army officer, High Sheriff of Berkshire and maternal grandfather to David Cameron, former UK Prime Minister and leader of the Co ...
. He is also a descendant of William IV through one of the king's illegitimate children. Cameron's father was born at Blairmore House near Huntly, Aberdeenshire, and died near
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
, France, on 8 September 2010; Blairmore was built by Cameron's great-great-grandfather, Alexander Geddes, who had made a fortune in the
grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...
in Chicago, Illinois, before returning to Scotland in the 1880s. Blairmore was sold soon after Ian's birth. Cameron has said: "On my mother's side of the family, her mother was a Llewellyn, so Welsh. I'm a real mixture of Scottish, Welsh and English." He has also referenced the
German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
ancestry of one of his great-grandfathers, Arthur Levita, a descendant of the
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
author
Elia Levita Elia Levita (13 February 146928 January 1549) (), also known as Elijah Levita, Elias Levita, Élie Lévita, Elia Levita Ashkenazi, Eliahu Levita, Eliyahu haBahur ("Elijah the Bachelor"), Elye Bokher, was a Renaissance Hebrew grammarian, schol ...
.


Education

Cameron was educated at two
private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...
. From the age of seven, he was taught at
Heatherdown School Heatherdown School, formally called Heatherdown Preparatory School, was an independent preparatory school for boys, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. Set in of grounds, it typically taught between eighty and ninety boys betwee ...
in Winkfield, Berkshire. Owing to good grades, he entered its top academic class almost two years early. At the age of 13, he went on to
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
in Berkshire, following his father and elder brother. His early interest was in art. Six weeks before taking his
O level O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
s, he was caught smoking
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
. He admitted the offence and had not been involved in selling drugs, so he was not expelled; instead he was fined, prevented from leaving the school grounds and given a " Georgic" (a punishment that involved copying 500 lines of
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
text).Elliott and Hanning, p. 32. Cameron passed twelve O-levels and then three
A level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
s:
history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...
; history, in which he was taught by Michael Kidson; and economics with politics. He obtained three 'A' grades and a '1' grade in the scholarship level exam in economics and politics.Elliott and Hanning, pp. 45–46. The following autumn, he passed the entrance exam for the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, and was offered an
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...
at Brasenose College.Elliott and Hanning, p. 46. After leaving Eton in 1984 Cameron started a nine-month
gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educatio ...
. For three months, he worked as a researcher for his godfather
Tim Rathbone John Rankin "Tim" Rathbone (17 March 1933 – 12 July 2002) was a British businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the seat of Lewes (UK Pa ...
, then Conservative MP for
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
, during which time he attended debates in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
.Elliott and Hanning, pp. 46–47. Through his father, he was then employed for a further three months in Hong Kong by Jardine Matheson as a 'ship jumper', an administrative post.Elliott and Hanning, pp. 47–48. Returning from Hong Kong, Cameron visited the then-
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, where he was approached by two Russian men speaking fluent English. He was later told by one of his professors that it was "definitely an attempt" by the
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
to recruit him. In October 1985 Cameron began his Bachelor of Arts course in
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...
(PPE) at Brasenose College, Oxford."Brasenose alumnus becomes Prime Minister"
. Brasenose College. No date. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
His tutor,
Vernon Bogdanor Sir Vernon Bernard Bogdanor (; born 16 July 1943) is a British political scientist, historian, and research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King's College London. He is also emeritus professor of politics and go ...
, has described him as "one of the ablest" students he has taught, with "moderate and sensible Conservative" political views. Guy Spier, who shared tutorials with Cameron, remembers him as an outstanding student: "We were doing our best to grasp basic economic concepts. David—there was nobody else who came even close. He would be integrating them with the way the British political system is put together. He could have lectured me on it, and I would have sat there and taken notes." When commenting in 2006 on his former pupil's ideas about a "Bill of Rights" to replace the Human Rights Act, however, Bogdanor, himself a Liberal Democrat, said: "I think he is very confused. I've read his speech and it's filled with contradictions. There are one or two good things in it but one glimpses them, as it were, through a mist of misunderstanding". While at Oxford, Cameron was a member of the Bullingdon Club, an exclusive all-male dining society with a reputation for an outlandish drinking culture associated with boisterous behaviour and damaging property. In his 2019 memoir '' For the Record'', Cameron wrote about being a member of the Bullingdon and its impact on his political career, saying: "When I look now at the much-reproduced photograph taken of our group of appallingly over-self-confident 'sons of privilege', I cringe. If I had known at the time the grief I would get for that picture, of course I would never have joined. But life isn't like that..." and: "These were also the years after the ITV adaptation of '' Brideshead Revisited'' when quite a few of us were carried away by the fantasy of an
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
-like Oxford existence." Cameron's period in the Bullingdon Club was examined in a 2009
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
docudrama, '' When Boris Met Dave'', the title referring to
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
, another high-profile Conservative Party figure, the then-mayor of London, who had been a member at the same time, and who would go on to be prime minister himself. Cameron graduated in 1988 with a first-class BA degree (later promoted to an MA by seniority).


Early political career


Conservative Research Department

After graduation, Cameron worked for the Conservative Research Department between September 1988 and 1993. His first brief was Trade and Industry, Energy and Privatisation; he befriended fellow young colleagues, including Edward Llewellyn, Ed Vaizey and Rachel Whetstone. They and others formed a group they called the " Smith Square set", which was dubbed the "Brat Pack" by the press, though it is better known as the "
Notting Hill set The term Notting Hill set refers to an informal group of young figures who were in prominent leadership positions in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, or close advisory positions around the former Leader of the Conservative Party (UK ...
", a name given to it pejoratively by
Derek Conway Derek Leslie Conway TD (born 15 February 1953) is an English politician and television presenter. A member of the Conservative Party, Conway served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Shrewsbury and Atcham from 1983 to 199 ...
. In 1991 Cameron was seconded to
Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...
to work on briefing
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
for the then twice-weekly sessions of
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingd ...
. One newspaper gave Cameron the credit for "sharper ...
Despatch box A despatch box (alternatively dispatch box) is one of several types of boxes used in government business. Despatch boxes primarily include both those sometimes known as Red box (government), red boxes or ministerial boxes, which are used by the ...
performances" by Major,"Atticus", ''The Sunday Times'', 30 June 1991 which included highlighting for Major "a dreadful piece of doublespeak" by
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
(then the Labour Employment spokesman) over the effect of a national
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
."House of Commons 6th series, vol. 193, cols. 1133–34"
, ''Hansard''. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
He became head of the political section of the Conservative Research Department, and in August 1991 was tipped to follow Judith Chaplin as political secretary to the prime minister."Diary", ''The Times'', 14 August 1991. Cameron lost to Jonathan Hill, who was appointed in March 1992. Instead, he was given the responsibility for briefing Major for his press conferences during the 1992 general election.Wood, Nicholas (13 March 1992). "New aide for Prime Minister". ''The Times'' (London). During the campaign, Cameron was one of the young "brat pack" of party strategists who worked between 12 and 20 hours a day, sleeping in the house of Alan Duncan in Gayfere Street,
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, which had been Major's campaign headquarters during his bid for the Conservative leadership."Sleep little babies". ''The Times'' (London). 20 March 1992. Cameron headed the economic section. It was while working on this campaign that Cameron first worked closely with and befriended Steve Hilton, who was later to become Director of Strategy during his party leadership.Wood, Nicholas (23 March 1992). "Strain starts to show on Major's round the clock 'brat pack. ''The Times'' (London). The strain of getting up at 04:45 every day was reported to have led Cameron to decide to leave politics in favour of journalism."Campaign fall-out". ''The Times''. 30 March 1992.


Special Adviser to the Chancellor

The Conservatives' unexpected success in the 1992 election led Cameron to hit back at older party members who had criticised him and his colleagues, saying "whatever people say about us, we got the campaign right", and that they had listened to their campaign workers on the ground rather than the newspapers. He revealed he had led other members of the team across Smith Square to jeer at Transport House, the former Labour headquarters.Pierce, Andrew (11 March 1992). "We got it right, say Patten's brat pack". ''The Sunday Times'' (London). Cameron was rewarded with a promotion to Special Adviser to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
,
Norman Lamont Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer i ...
."Brats on the move". ''The Times'' (London). 14 April 1992. Cameron was working for Lamont at the time of Black Wednesday, when pressure from currency speculators forced the
pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...
out of the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro (replacing ERM 1 and the euro's predecessor, the ECU) as ...
. At the 1992 Conservative Party conference, he had difficulty trying to arrange to brief the speakers in the economic debate, having to resort to putting messages on the internal television system imploring the mover of the motion, Patricia Morris, to contact him."Diary", ''The Times'', 8 October 1992. Later that month, Cameron joined a delegation of Special Advisers who visited Germany to build better relations with the Christian Democratic Union; he was reported to be "still smarting" over the
Bundesbank The Deutsche Bundesbank (, , colloquially Buba, sometimes alternatively abbreviated as BBk or DBB) is the national central bank for Germany within the Eurosystem. It was the German central bank from 1957 to 1998, issuing the Deutsche Mark (DM). ...
's contribution to the economic crisis."Peace-mongers". ''The Times'' (London). 20 October 1992. Lamont fell out with John Major after Black Wednesday and became highly unpopular with the public. Taxes needed to be raised in the 1993 Budget, and Cameron fed the options Lamont was considering through to
Conservative Campaign Headquarters The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...
for their political acceptability to be assessed.Hencke, David (8 February 1993). "Treasury tax review eyes fuel and children's clothes". ''The Guardian'' (London). By May 1993, the Conservatives' average poll rating dropped below 30%, where they would remain until the 1997 general election. Major and Lamont's personal ratings also declined dramatically. Lamont's unpopularity did not necessarily affect Cameron, who was considered as a potential " kamikaze" candidate for the Newbury by-election, which includes the area where he grew up.White, Michael; Wintour, Patrick (26 February 1993). "Points of Order". ''The Guardian'' (London). However, Cameron decided not to stand. During the by-election, Lamont gave the response " Je ne regrette rien" to a question about whether he most regretted claiming to see "the green shoots of recovery" or admitting to "singing in his bath" with happiness at leaving the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Cameron was identified by one journalist as having inspired this gaffe; it was speculated that the heavy Conservative defeat in Newbury may have cost Cameron his chance of becoming chancellor himself, even though as he was not a member of Parliament he could not have been."Careless talk". ''The Times'' (London). 10 May 1993. Lamont was sacked at the end of May 1993, and decided not to write the usual letter of resignation; Cameron was given the responsibility to issue to the press a statement of self-justification.Smith, David; Prescott, Michael (30 May 1993). "Norman Lamont: the final days" (Focus). ''The Sunday Times'' (London).


Special Adviser to the Home Secretary

After Lamont was sacked, Cameron remained at the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
for less than a month before being specifically recruited by
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
. It was commented that he was still "very much in favour""No score flaw". ''The Times'' (London). 22 June 1993. and it was later reported that many at the Treasury would have preferred Cameron to carry on.Grigg, John (2 October 1993). "Primed Minister". ''The Times'' (London). At the beginning of September 1993, he applied to go on Conservative Central Office's list of prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs)."Newbury's finest". ''The Times'' (London). 6 September 1993. Cameron was much more socially liberal than Howard but enjoyed working for him. According to Derek Lewis, then Director-General of Her Majesty's Prison Service, Cameron showed him a "his and her list" of proposals made by Howard and his wife, Sandra. Lewis said that Sandra Howard's list included reducing the quality of
prison food Prison food is the term for meals served to prisoners while incarcerated in correctional institutions. While some prisons prepare their own food, many use staff from on-site catering companies. Prisoners will typically receive a series of stand ...
, although she denied this claim. Lewis reported that Cameron was "uncomfortable" about the list.Leigh, David (23 February 1997). "Mrs Howard's own recipe for prison reform". ''The Observer'' (London). In defending Sandra Howard and insisting that she made no such proposal, the journalist Bruce Anderson wrote that Cameron had proposed a much shorter definition on prison catering which revolved around the phrase "balanced diet", and that Lewis had written thanking Cameron for a valuable contribution. During his work for Howard, Cameron often briefed the media. In March 1994, someone leaked to the press that the Labour Party had called for a meeting with John Major to discuss a consensus on the Prevention of Terrorism Act. After an inquiry failed to find the source of the leak, Labour MP Peter Mandelson demanded assurance from Howard that Cameron had not been responsible, which Howard gave. Wintour, Patrick (10 March 1994). "Smith fumes at untraced leak". ''The Guardian'' (London). A senior
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
civil servant noted the influence of Howard's Special Advisers, saying previous incumbents "would listen to the evidence before making a decision. Howard just talks to young public school gentlemen from the party headquarters."


Carlton

In July 1994 Cameron left his role as Special Adviser to work as the Director of Corporate Affairs at Carlton Communications."Smallweed". ''The Guardian'' (London). 16 July 1994. Carlton, which had won the ITV franchise for London weekdays in 1991, was a growing media company which also had film-distribution and video-producing arms. Cameron was suggested for the role to Carlton executive chairman Michael P. Green by his later mother-in-law Lady Astor. He left Carlton in 1997 to run for Parliament, returning to his job after his defeat. In 1997 Cameron played up the company's prospects for
digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...
, for which it joined with
ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
and
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
to form British Digital Broadcasting. In a roundtable discussion on the future of broadcasting in 1998, he criticised the effect of overlapping different regulators on the industry."We can't wait any longer to map the digital mediascape". ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' (London). 3 April 1998.
Carlton's consortium did win the digital terrestrial franchise, but the resulting company suffered difficulties in attracting subscribers. Cameron resigned as Director of Corporate Affairs in February 2001 to run for Parliament for a second time, although he remained on the payroll as a consultant.


Parliamentary candidacies

Having been approved for the PPCs' list, Cameron began looking for a seat to contest for the 1997 general election. He was reported to have missed out on selection for Ashford in December 1994, after failing to get to the selection meeting as a result of train delays."Pendennis". ''The Observer'' (London). 1 January 1995. In January 1996, when two shortlisted contenders dropped out, Cameron was interviewed and subsequently selected for
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
, a constituency revised in boundary changes, which was projected to have a Conservative majority. The incumbent Conservative MP, Bill Cash, ran instead in the neighbouring constituency of
Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
, where he was re-elected. At the 1996 Conservative Party Conference, Cameron called for
tax cut A tax cut typically represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. This decreases the revenue of the government and increases the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax rate cuts usually refer ...
s in the forthcoming Budget to be targeted at the low-paid and to "small businesses where people took money out of their own pockets to put into companies to keep them going".Sherman, Jill (11 October 1996). "Clarke challenged to show gains of economic recovery". ''The Times'' (London). He also said the Party "should be proud of the Tory tax record but that people needed reminding of its achievements ... It's time to return to our tax-cutting agenda. The socialist prime ministers of Europe have endorsed Tony Blair because they want a federal pussy cat and not a British lion." When writing his election address, Cameron made his own opposition to British membership of the single European currency clear, pledging not to support it. This was a break with official Conservative policy, but about 200 other candidates were making similar declarations.Travis, Alan (17 April 1997). "Rebels' seven-year march". ''The Guardian'' (London). Otherwise, Cameron kept closely to the national party line. He also campaigned using the claim that a Labour government would increase the cost of a pint of beer by 24p; however, the Labour candidate, David Kidney, portrayed Cameron as "a right-wing Tory". Initially, Cameron thought he had a 50/50 chance, but as the campaign wore on and the scale of the impending Conservative defeat grew, Cameron prepared himself for defeat. On election day, Stafford had a swing of 10.7%, almost the same as the national swing, which made it one of the many seats to fall to Labour: Kidney defeated Cameron by 24,606 votes (47.5%) to 20,292 (39.2%), a majority of 4,314 (8.3%).Elliott and Hanning (2007), pp. 172–5. In the round of selection contests taking place in the run-up to the 2001 general election, Cameron again attempted to be selected for a winnable seat. He tried for the Kensington and Chelsea seat after the death of
Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tr ...
, but did not make the shortlist. He was in the final two but narrowly lost at Wealden in March 2000,White, Michael (14 March 2000). "Rightwingers and locals preferred for safe Tory seats". ''The Guardian'' (London). a loss ascribed by Samantha Cameron to his lack of spontaneity when speaking.Elliott and Hanning (2007), p. 193. Cameron was selected as PPC for
Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...
in Oxfordshire in April 2000. This had been a safe Conservative seat, but its sitting MP
Shaun Woodward Shaun Anthony Woodward (born 26 October 1958) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010. A former television researcher and producer, Woodward began his political career in the Conservativ ...
(who had worked with Cameron on the 1992 election campaign) had "crossed the floor" to join the Labour Party, and was selected instead for the safe Labour seat of St Helens South. Cameron's biographers Francis Elliott and James Hanning describe the two men as being "on fairly friendly terms".Elliott and Hanning (2007), p. 192. Cameron, advised in his strategy by friend Catherine Fall, put a great deal of effort into "nursing" his potential constituency, turning up at social functions and attacking Woodward for changing his mind on
fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...
to support a ban."Why Shaun Woodward changed his mind" (Letter). ''The Daily Telegraph''. 21 December 2000. During the election campaign, Cameron accepted the offer of writing a regular column for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s online section."The Cameron diaries"
(archive). ''The Guardian'' (London).
He won the seat with a 1.9% swing to the Conservatives, taking 22,153 votes (45%) to Labour candidate Michael Bartlet's 14,180 (28.8%), a majority of 7,973 (16.2%).''Dod's Guide to the General Election June 2001''. (Vacher Dod Publishing, 2001). p. 430.


Parliamentary backbencher

Upon his election to Parliament, Cameron served as a member of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, a prominent appointment for a newly elected MP. He proposed that the Committee launch an inquiry into the law on drugs,Elliott, Francis; Hanning, James (2007). ''Cameron: The Rise of the New Conservative''. London: Fourth Estate. p. 200. and urged the consideration of "radical options"."Examination of Witnesses: question 123"
, ''Hansard'', 30 October 2001. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
The report recommended a downgrading of ecstasy from Class A to Class B, as well as moves towards a policy of '
harm reduction Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of intentional practices and public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. H ...
', which Cameron defended."Let's inject reality into the drugs war", ''Edinburgh Evening News'', 22 May 2002 Cameron endorsed
Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Le ...
in the 2001 Conservative Party leadership election and organised an event in Witney for party supporters to hear John Bercow speaking for him. Two days before Duncan Smith won the leadership contest on 13 September 2001, the 9/11 attacks occurred. Cameron described Tony Blair's response to the attacks as "masterful", saying: "He moved fast, and set the agenda both at home and abroad. He correctly identified the problem of Islamist extremism, the inadequacy of our response both domestically and internationally, and supported—quite rightly in my view—the action to remove the Taliban regime from Afghanistan." Cameron determinedly attempted to increase his public visibility, offering quotations on matters of public controversy. He opposed the payment of compensation to Gurbux Singh, who had resigned as head of the Commission for Racial Equality after a confrontation with the police;Johnston, Philip; Barrow, Becky (8 August 2002). "£129,000 for race chief in drunken fracas". ''The Daily Telegraph'' (London). and commented that the Home Affairs Select Committee had taken a long time to discuss whether the phrase "black market" should be used."They said what?". ''The Observer'' (London). 30 June 2002. Cameron was passed over for a front-bench promotion in July 2002. Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith did invite Cameron and his ally George Osborne to coach him on Prime Minister's Questions in November 2002. The next week, Cameron deliberately abstained in a vote on allowing same-sex and unmarried couples to adopt children jointly, against a whip to oppose; his abstention was noted."Rebels and non-voters". ''The Times'' (London). 6 November 2002. The wide scale of abstentions and rebellious votes destabilised the Duncan Smith leadership.


Parliamentary frontbencher

In June 2003 Cameron was appointed a shadow minister in the Privy Council Office as a deputy to Eric Forth, then shadow leader of the House. He also became a vice-
chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...
when Michael Howard took over the leadership in November of that year. He was appointed Opposition frontbench
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
spokesman in 2004, before being promoted to the Shadow Cabinet that June as head of policy co-ordination. Later, he became Shadow Education Secretary in the post-election reshuffle. Daniel Finkelstein has said of the period leading up to Cameron's election as leader of the Conservative party that "a small group of us (myself, David Cameron, George Osborne,
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...
, Nick Boles, Nick Herbert I think, once or twice) used to meet up in the offices of Policy Exchange, eat pizza, and consider the future of the Conservative Party". Cameron's relationship with Osborne is regarded as particularly close; Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi suggested the closeness of Osborne's relationship with Cameron meant the two effectively shared power during Cameron's time as prime minister. From February 2002 to August 2005, he was a non-executive director of Urbium PLC, operator of the Tiger Tiger bar chain.


Term as Leader of the Opposition (2005–2010)


Leadership election

Following the Labour victory in the May 2005 general election, Michael Howard announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party and set a lengthy timetable for the leadership election. Cameron announced on 29 September 2005 that he would be a candidate. Parliamentary colleagues supporting him included Boris Johnson, shadow chancellor George Osborne, shadow defence secretary and deputy leader of the party Michael Ancram,
Oliver Letwin Sir Oliver Letwin (born 19 May 1956) is a British politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dorset from 1997 to 2019. Letwin was elected as a member of the Conservative Party, but sat as an independent after having the whip removed in ...
and former party leader
William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
. His campaign did not gain wide support until his speech, delivered without notes, at the 2005 Conservative
party conference The terms party conference ( UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party memb ...
. In the speech, he vowed to make people "feel good about being Conservatives again" and said he wanted "to switch on a whole new generation". His speech was well-received; ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' said speaking without notes "showed a sureness and a confidence that is greatly to his credit". In the first ballot of Conservative MPs on 18 October 2005, Cameron came second, with 56 votes, slightly more than expected; David Davis had fewer than predicted at 62 votes; Liam Fox came third with 42 votes; and
Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
was eliminated with 38 votes. In the second ballot on 20 October 2005, Cameron came first with 90 votes; David Davis was second, with 57; and Liam Fox was eliminated with 51 votes. All 198 Conservative MPs voted in both ballots. The next stage of the election process, between Davis and Cameron, was a vote open to the entire party membership. Cameron was elected with more than twice as many votes as Davis and more than half of all ballots issued; Cameron won 134,446 votes on a 78% turnout, to Davis's 64,398. Although Davis had initially been the favourite, it was widely acknowledged that his candidacy was marred by a disappointing conference speech. Cameron's election as the leader of the Conservative Party and
leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
was announced on 6 December 2005. As is customary for an opposition leader not already a member, upon election Cameron became a member of the Privy Council, being formally approved to join on 14 December 2005, and sworn of the council on 8 March 2006.


Reaction to Cameron as Leader

Cameron's relative youth and inexperience before becoming leader invited satirical comparison with Tony Blair. ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'' soon published a picture of both leaders on its front cover, with the caption "World's first face transplant a success". On the left, the ''New Statesman'' unfavourably likened his "new style of politics" to Tony Blair's early leadership years. Cameron was accused of paying excessive attention to appearance:
ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British news television channel of ITV (TV network), ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. ITN, Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the netwo ...
broadcast footage from the 2006 Conservative Party Conference in
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
showing him wearing four different sets of clothes within a few hours. In his column for ''The Guardian'', comedy writer and broadcaster Charlie Brooker described the Conservative leader as "a hollow Easter egg with no bag of sweets inside" in April 2007. On the right of the party,
Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1 ...
, a former Conservative chairman, likened Cameron to
Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...
, "intent on purging even the memory of
Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...
before building a New Modern Compassionate Green Globally Aware Party".''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' (London). 4 February 2006, p. 32.
Quentin Davies, who defected from the Conservatives to Labour on 26 June 2007, branded him "superficial, unreliable and ithan apparent lack of any clear convictions" and stated that Cameron had turned the Conservative Party's mission into a "PR agenda". Traditionalist conservative columnist and author
Peter Hitchens Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 1951) is an English Conservatism in the United Kingdom, conservative author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for ''The Mail on Sunday'' and was a Foreign correspondent (journalism), foreign cor ...
wrote: "Mr Cameron has abandoned the last significant difference between his party and the established left", by embracing social liberalism.Hitchens, Peter (14 December 2005)
"The Tories are doomed"
. ''The Guardian'' (London). p. 28. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
''The Daily Telegraph'' correspondent and blogger Gerald Warner was particularly scathing about Cameron's leadership, saying that it alienated traditionalist conservative elements from the Conservative Party. Before he became Conservative leader, Cameron was reportedly known to friends and family as "Dave", though his preference is "David" in public.Rumbelow, Helen (21 May 2005
"The gilded youth whose son steeled him in adversity"
''The Times'' (London). Retrieved 4 September 2007.
Daniel Finkelstein in October 2006 objected to those attempting to belittle Cameron by calling him "Dave". See Labour used the slogan Dave the Chameleon in their 2006 local elections party broadcast to portray Cameron as an ever-changing populist, which was criticised as
negative campaigning Negative campaigning is the process of deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to damage their public image. A colloquial and more derogatory term for the practice is mudslinging. Deliberate spreading of such in ...
by the Conservative press, including ''The Daily Telegraph'', though Cameron asserted the broadcast had become his daughter's "favourite video". Rifkind, Hugo (17 May 2006)
"Well, that worked"
''The Times'' "People" blog. Retrieved 9 November 2006.


Allegations of recreational drug use

During the leadership election, allegations were made that Cameron had used cannabis and
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
recreationally before becoming an MP. Pressed on this point during the BBC television programme '' Question Time'', Cameron expressed the view that everybody was allowed to "err and stray" in their past. During his 2005 Conservative leadership campaign, he addressed the question of drug consumption by remarking: "I did lots of things before I came into politics which I shouldn't have done. We all did."


Shadow Cabinet appointments

His Shadow Cabinet appointments included MPs associated with the various wings of the party. Former leader William Hague was appointed to the foreign affairs brief, while both George Osborne and David Davis were retained, as
shadow chancellor of the Exchequer The shadow chancellor of the exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, chancellor of ...
and
Shadow Home Secretary In British politics, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) is the person within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK), shadow cabinet who shadows the home secretary; this effecti ...
, respectively. Hague, assisted by Davis, stood in for Cameron during his paternity leave in February 2006. In June 2008 Davis announced his intention to resign as an MP, and was immediately replaced as shadow home secretary by Dominic Grieve; Davis' surprise move was seen as a challenge to the changes introduced under Cameron's leadership. A reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet was undertaken in January 2009, with the chief change being the appointment of former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke as Shadow Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Secretary. Cameron stated that "With Ken Clarke's arrival, we now have the best economic team." The reshuffle also saw eight other changes made.


European Conservatives and Reformists

During his successful 2005 campaign to be elected leader of the Conservative Party, Cameron pledged that the Conservative Party's
members of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...
would leave the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...
group, which had a "federalist" approach to the European Union.White, Michael; Branigan, Tania (18 October 2005)
"Clarke battles to avoid Tory wooden spoon".
''The Guardian'' (London). p. 1.
Once elected, Cameron began discussions with right-wing and Eurosceptic parties in other European countries, mainly in eastern Europe; in July 2006, he concluded an agreement to form the
Movement for European Reform The Movement for European Reform (MER) was a centre-right European political alliance with conservative, pro-free market and Eurosceptic inclinations. It consisted of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom and the Civic Democratic Par ...
with the Czech Civic Democratic Party, leading to the formation of a new European Parliament group, the European Conservatives and Reformists, in 2009 after the
European Parliament elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by Universal suffrage, universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after Electio ...
.Watt, Nicholas (13 July 2006)
"Cameron to postpone creation of new EU group".
''The Guardian'' (London). p. 14.
Cameron attended a gathering at
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
's Palladium cinema celebrating the foundation of the alliance. In forming the caucus, which had 54 MEPs drawn from eight of the 27 EU member states, Cameron reportedly broke with two decades of Conservative co-operation with the centre-right Christian Democrats, the European People's Party (EPP), on the grounds that they are dominated by European federalists and supporters of the
Lisbon treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...
. EPP leader
Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish, Christian People ...
, former
prime minister of Belgium The prime minister of Belgium (; ; ) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics. The first head of government in Belgian history was Henri van der Noot in 179 ...
, stated: "Cameron's campaign has been to take his party back to the centre in every policy area with one major exception: Europe. ... I can't understand his tactics. Merkel and Sarkozy will never accept his Euroscepticism."


Shortlists for Parliamentary candidates

Similarly, Cameron's initial " A-List" of prospective parliamentary candidates was attacked by members of his party, and the policy was discontinued in favour of
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
-balanced final shortlists. Before being discontinued, the policy had been criticised by senior Conservative MP and former Prisons Spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe as an "insult to women", and she had accused Cameron of "storing up huge problems for the future".


South Africa

In April 2009 ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' reported that in 1989, while
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
remained imprisoned under the
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
regime, Cameron had accepted a trip to South Africa paid for by an anti-sanctions lobby firm. A spokesperson for him responded by saying that the Conservative Party was at that time opposed to sanctions against South Africa and that his trip was a fact-finding mission. However, the newspaper reported that Cameron's then superior at Conservative Research Department called the trip "jolly", saying that "it was all terribly relaxed, just a little treat, a perk of the job. The Botha regime was attempting to make itself look less horrible, but I don't regard it as having been of the faintest political consequence." Cameron distanced himself from his party's history of opposing sanctions against the regime. He was criticised by Labour MP
Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain, (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...
, himself an anti-apartheid campaigner.


Raising teaching standards

At the launch of the Conservative Party's education
manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
in January 2010, Cameron declared an admiration for the "brazenly elite" approach to education of countries such as
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, and expressed a desire to "elevate the status of teaching in our country". He suggested the adoption of more stringent criteria for entry to teaching, and offered repayment of the loans of maths and science graduates obtaining first or 2.1 degrees from "good" universities. Wes Streeting, then president of the National Union of Students, said: "The message that the Conservatives are sending to the majority of students is that if you didn't go to a university attended by members of the Shadow Cabinet, they don't believe you're worth as much."


Expenses

During the parliamentary expenses scandal in 2009, Cameron said he would lead Conservatives in repaying "excessive" expenses and threatened to expel MPs that refused, after the expense claims of several members of his shadow cabinet had been questioned:
We have to acknowledge just how bad this is, the public are really angry and we have to start by saying, "Look, this system that we have, that we used, that we operated, that we took part in—it was wrong and we are sorry about that".
A day later ''The Daily Telegraph'' published figures showing over five years he had claimed £82,450 on his second home allowance. Cameron repaid £680 claimed for repairs to his constituency home. Although he was not accused of breaking any rules, Cameron was placed on the defensive over mortgage interest expense claims covering his constituency home, after a report in ''
The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...
'' suggested he could have reduced the mortgage interest bill by putting an additional £75,000 of his own money towards purchasing the home in Witney, instead of paying off an earlier mortgage on his London home. Cameron said that doing things differently would not have saved the taxpayer any money, as he was paying more on mortgage interest than he was able to reclaim as expenses anyway. He also spoke out in favour of laws giving voters the power to "recall" or "sack" MPs accused of wrongdoing. In April 2014 he was criticised for his handling of the expenses row surrounding Culture Secretary
Maria Miller Dame Maria Frances Miller'MILLER, Rt Hon. Maria (Frances Lewis)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 ...
, when he rejected calls from fellow Conservative MPs to sack her from the front bench.


2010 general election

The Conservatives had last won a general election in 1992. The 2010 general election resulted in the Conservatives, led by Cameron, winning the largest number of seats (306). This was, however, 20 seats short of an overall majority, and resulted in the nation's first
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
since February 1974.


2010 government formation

Talks between Cameron and then Liberal Democrat leader
Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
led to an agreed Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition. In late 2009 Cameron had urged the Liberal Democrats to join the Conservatives in a new "national movement", saying there was "barely a cigarette paper" between them on a large number of issues. The invitation was rejected at the time by Clegg who said that the Conservatives were totally different from his party, and that the Lib Dems were the true "progressives" in UK politics.


Premiership (2010–2016)

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, following Gordon Brown's resignation as prime minister on 11 May 2010, extended an invitation to Cameron to establish a new administration based on Brown's recommendation. At age 43, Cameron became the youngest prime minister since
Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...
in 1812, beating the record previously set by Tony Blair in May 1997. In his first address outside
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
, he announced his intention to form a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
, the first since the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, with the Liberal Democrats. Cameron outlined how he intended to "put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest". As one of his first moves Cameron appointed Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, as deputy prime minister on 11 May 2010. Between them, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats controlled 363 seats in the House of Commons, giving them a comfortable majority of 76 seats.In June 2010, Cameron described the economic situation as he came to power as "even worse than we thought" and warned of "difficult decisions" to be made over spending cuts. By the beginning of 2015, he was able to claim that his government's austerity programme had succeeded in halving the
budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit, the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budg ...
, although as a percentage of GDP rather than in cash terms. In December 2010, Cameron attended a meeting with
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
vice-president Chung Mong-joon, in which a vote-trading deal for the right to host the 2018 World Cup in England was discussed. Cameron agreed to holding the
2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...
and eliminated the " devomax" option from the ballot for a straight out yes or no vote. His support for the successful Better Together campaign extended to making a successful request to the Queen to intervene. He had also backed a successful campaign to retain the status quo in a referendum on changing the voting system, held at the request of his coalition partners. The 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union meant that his tenure as British prime minister saw an unprecedented three referendums on the UK's constitutional future.Cameron supported the introduction of
gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
, despite more of his own Conservative MPs voting against the move than for it, meaning the support of Lib Dem MPs in government and Labour MPs in opposition was required to allow it to pass. Earlier in his term, he had managed to secure a huge majority for UK participation in UN-backed military action in Libya, but Cameron became the first prime minister since 1782 to lose a foreign policy vote in the House of Commons over proposed military action against
Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
's regime in Syria. Subsequently, Barack Obama asked congressional approval, which was not ultimately granted.


Economy

In response to the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
, Cameron undertook the austerity programme. This was a deficit reduction programme consisting of sustained reductions in public spending, intended to reduce the
government budget deficit The government budget balance, also referred to as the general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the difference between government government revenues, revenues and government expenditures, spending. For ...
and the
welfare state in the United Kingdom The welfare state of the United Kingdom began to evolve in the 1900s and early 1910s, and comprises expenditures by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland intended to improve health, education, employment and ...
. The
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
and education were " ringfenced" and protected from direct spending cuts. Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne claimed they aimed to eliminate the structural deficit (i.e. deficit on current spending as opposed to investment), and to have government debt falling as a percentage of GDP. By 2015 the deficit as a percentage of GDP had reduced to half what it was in 2010.


Immigration

Cameron said immigration from outside the EU should be subject to annual limits. He said in July 2013 that "in the last decade we have had an immigration policy that's completely lax. The pressure it puts on our public services and communities is too great." In 2015 ''The Independent'' reported: "The Conservatives have failed spectacularly to deliver their pledge to reduce net migration to less than 100,000 a year. The
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
(ONS) announced a net flow of 298,000 migrants to the UK in the 12 months to September 2014—up from 210,000 in the previous year."


Defence and foreign affairs


Defence cuts

In 2014 Cameron dismissed warnings that his cuts to the UK defence budget had left it less than a "first class-player in terms of defence" and no longer a "full partner" to the United States. In the July 2015 budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the UK defence spending would meet the NATO target of 2% of GDP.


NATO military intervention in Libya

Cameron condemned the violence used against anti-Gaddafi protesters at the beginning of the Libyan Civil War After weeks of lobbying by the UK and its allies, on 17 March 2011, the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
approved a
no-fly zone A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's terri ...
to prevent government forces loyal to
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
from carrying out air attacks on anti-Gaddafi rebels. Two days later, the UK and the United States fired more than 110 Tomahawk missiles at targets in Libya. Cameron said he was "proud" of the role United Kingdom played in the overthrow of Gaddafi's government. Cameron also stated that UK had played a "very important role", adding that "a lot of people said that Tripoli was completely different to Benghazi and that the two don't get on—they were wrong. ... People who said 'this is all going to be an enormous swamp of Islamists and extremists'—they were wrong". In 2015 through 2016 the
Foreign Affairs Select Committee The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is one of many select committees of the British House of Commons, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwea ...
conducted an extensive and highly critical inquiry into the British involvement in the civil war. It concluded that the early threat to civilians had been overstated, and that the significant Islamist element in the rebel forces had not been recognised, due to an intelligence failure. By mid-2011, the initial limited intervention to protect Libyan civilians had become a policy of regime change. However, that new policy did not include proper support for a new government, leading to a political and economic collapse in Libya, and the growth of ISIL in North Africa. It concluded that Cameron was ultimately responsible for this British policy failure. US president Barack Obama also acknowledged there had been issues with following up the conflict planning, commenting in an interview with ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' that Cameron had allowed himself to be "distracted by a range of other things".


Falklands

In 2013 in response to Argentina's calls for negotiations over the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
' sovereignty, a referendum was called, asking Falkland Islanders whether they supported the continuation of their status as an
Overseas Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
of the United Kingdom. With a turnout of 91.94%, an overwhelming 99.8% voted to remain a British territory, with only three votes against. In light of this, Cameron said: "We believe in the Falkland islanders' right to self-determination. They had a referendum. They couldn't have been more clear about wanting to remain with our country and we should protect and defend them".


Saudi Arabia

Cameron supported Britain's close relationship with Saudi Arabia. In January 2015 he travelled to the Saudi capital
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
to pay his respects, following the death of the nation's King Abdullah. According to
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
, Cameron initiated a secret deal with Saudi Arabia, ensuring both countries were elected onto the
UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The ...
. The same year his government announced "firm political support" for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen against the
Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...
Houthis, re-supplying the Saudi military with weapons and providing them with training.


Sri Lanka

Cameron reiterated calls for an independent investigation into the alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. "There needs to be proper inquiries into what happened at the end of the war, there needs to be proper human rights, democracy for the Tamil minority in that country" Cameron stated. He stated that, if this investigation was not completed by March 2014, he would press for an independent international inquiry. This followed a visit to
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
, a war-ravaged town in the northern part of Sri Lanka; Cameron was the first foreign leader to visit Jaffna since the island once colonised by Britain became independent in 1948. Cameron was mobbed by demonstrators, mostly women, seeking his assistance in tracing missing relatives.


Turkey

In a speech in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
in July 2010, Cameron stated unequivocally his support for Turkey's accession to the EU, citing economic, security and political considerations, and claimed that those who opposed Turkish membership were driven by "protectionism, narrow nationalism or prejudice". In that speech, he was also critical of Israeli action during the Gaza flotilla raid and its Gaza policy, and repeated his opinion that Israel had turned Gaza into a "prison camp", having previously referred to Gaza as "a giant open prison". These views were met with mixed reactions. The Cameron government declined to formally recognise the Ottoman Empire's massacres of Armenians as a "genocide". During the EU referendum campaign, Cameron stated that Turkey was unlikely to be ready to join the EU "until the year 3000", at its current rate of progress.


Israel

At the end of May 2011 Cameron stepped down as patron of the Jewish National Fund, becoming the first British prime minister not to be patron of the charity in the 110 years of its existence. In a speech in 2011, Cameron said: "You have a prime minister whose commitment and determination to work for peace in Israel is deep and strong. Britain will continue to push for peace, but will always stand up for Israel against those who wish her harm". He said he wanted to reaffirm his "unshakable" belief in Israel within the same message. He also voiced his opposition to the Goldstone Report, claiming it had been biased against Israel and not enough blame had been placed on Hamas. In March 2014, during his first visit to Israel as prime minister, Cameron addressed Israel's
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, where he offered his full support for peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians, hoping a two-state solution might be achieved."Full text of British PM David Cameron's Knesset speech"
. ''The Times of Israel'' (Jerusalem). 12 March 2014.
He also made clear his rejection of trade or academic boycotts against Israel, acknowledged Israel's right to defend its citizens as "a right enshrined in international law", and made note of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, as "the moment when the State of Israel went from a dream to a plan, Britain has played a proud and vital role in helping to secure Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people." During his two-day visit, he met with Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
and with Palestinian Authority president
Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...
. Senior Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi resigned over the Cameron government's decision not to condemn Israel for the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, saying that the government's "approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible".


Military intervention in Iraq and Syria

In August 2013 Cameron lost a motion in favour of bombing Syrian armed forces in response to the Ghouta chemical attack, becoming the first prime minister to suffer such a foreign-policy defeat since 1782. In September 2014, MPs passed a motion in favour of British planes joining, at the request of the Iraqi government, a bombing campaign against
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
(IS) targets in Iraq; the motion explicitly expressed parliament's disapproval of UK military action in Syria. Cameron promised that, before expanding UK air strikes and ground support to include IS units in Syria, he would seek parliamentary approval. In July 2015 a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Reprieve revealed that, without the knowledge of UK parliamentarians, RAF pilots had, in fact, been bombing targets in Syria, and that Cameron knew of this. The Prime Minister, along with Defence Secretary
Michael Fallon Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom ...
, faced strong criticism, including from Conservative MPs, for not informing the Commons about this deployment; the Ministry of Defence said that the pilots concerned were "embedded" with foreign military forces, and so were "effectively" operating as such, while Fallon denied that MPs had been, as he put it, "kept in the dark". The Reprieve FoI request also revealed that British drone pilots had been embedded, almost continuously, with American forces at Creech Air Force Base since 2008. These drone operators, who were "a gift of services", meaning the UK still paid their salaries and covered their expenses, had been carrying out operations that included reconnaissance in Syria to assist American strikes against IS. Fallon said that it was "illogical" for the UK not to bomb ISIL in Syria, for the organisation does not "differentiate between Syria and Iraq" and is "organised and directed and administered from Syria". Following the terrorist attacks on Paris in November 2015, for which Islamic State claimed responsibility, Cameron began pushing for a strategy for the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
to bomb Syria in retaliation. Cameron set out his case for military intervention to Parliament on 26 November, telling MPs that it was the only way to guarantee Britain's safety, and would be part of a "comprehensive" strategy to defeat IS. On 3 December 2015, MPs voted 397–223 in favour of launching air strikes against ISIL targets in Syria. The vote for military action was supported by all but seven members of the Parliamentary Conservative Party, as well as 66 Labour MPs who backed the government in defiance of their leader,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
, who had expressed his opposition to air strikes.


2015 general election

Cameron was re-elected UK prime minister on 7 May 2015 with a majority in the Commons. The Conservative Party's decisive victory in the general election was a surprise, as most polls and commentators had suggested the outcome was too close to call and that the result would be a second hung parliament. Cameron said of his first term when returned as prime minister for a second term that he was "proud to lead the first coalition government in 70 years" and offered particular thanks to Clegg for his role in it. Forming the first Conservative majority government elected since
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
, David Cameron became the first prime minister to be re-elected immediately after a full term with a larger popular vote share since
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
at the 1900 general election. In response to the November 2015 Paris attacks, Cameron secured the support of the House of Commons to extend air strikes against
ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
into Syria. Earlier that year, Cameron had outlined a five-year strategy to counter Islamist extremism and subversive teachings.


2016 referendum and resignation

As promised in the election manifesto, Cameron set a date for a referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union, and announced that he would be campaigning for Britain to remain within a "reformed EU". The terms of the UK's membership of the EU were re-negotiated, with agreement reached in February 2016. The option to leave came to be known as
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
(a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of "British" and "exit"). The referendum was held on 23 June 2016. The result was approximately 52% in favour of leaving the European Union and 48% against, with a turnout of 72%. On 24 June, a few hours after the results became known, Cameron announced that he would resign the office of prime minister by the start of the Conservative Party Conference in October 2016. In a speech the next day outside 10 Downing Street, he stated that, on account of his own advocacy on behalf of remaining in the EU: "I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination." There was some strong criticism made of Cameron and his government following the referendum. Matthew Norman, in an opinion piece in ''The Independent'', called the referendum an act of "indescribably selfish recklessness". In late July, Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee was told that Cameron had refused to allow the Civil Service to make plans for Brexit, a decision the committee described as "an act of gross negligence". His farewell speech as he left No. 10 accompanied by his family stressed the value of selfless public service. The Conservative Party leadership election was scheduled for 9 September and the new leader was expected to be in place by the autumn conference, set to begin on 2 October. On 11 July, following the withdrawal of Andrea Leadsom from the Conservative Party leadership election and the confirmation of
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
as the new leader of the Conservative Party, Cameron announced he would hold a final cabinet meeting on 12 July and then, following a final Prime Minister's Questions, submit his resignation to the Queen on the afternoon of 13 July. Cameron delivered his resignation speech in front of 10 Downing Street on 11 July. Cameron's resignation speech attracted further attention when he walked away humming a tune, picked up by microphone, after he had finished his speech. After his final Prime Minister's Questions, Cameron received a standing ovation from MPs; his final comment was, "I was the future once"—a reference to his 2005 quip to Tony Blair, "he was the future once". Cameron then submitted his resignation to the Queen later that day. Although no longer serving as prime minister, Cameron originally stated that he would continue inside Parliament, on the Conservative
backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...
es. On 12 September, however, he announced that he was resigning his seat with immediate effect, and was appointed to the Manor of Northstead. He was succeeded as MP for Witney by fellow Conservative Robert Courts. ''The Washington Post'' described him as having "sped away without glancing back" once
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
had "vaulted herself out of the hurricane-strength political wreckage of Britain's vote to leave the European Union."


Post-premiership (2016–present)


Positions

In October 2016 Cameron became chairman of the
National Citizen Service National Citizen Service, also known as NCS, was a Government-funded personal and social development programme in England available for 16-17 year olds. The scheme was run by the NCS Trust, a public body for youth and a key component of the Gover ...
Patrons. In January 2017, he was appointed president of Alzheimer's Research UK to address misconceptions surrounding
dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
and campaign for medical research funding to tackle the condition. All appointments post-premiership have to be approved by the UK government's
Advisory Committee on Business Appointments Advisory may refer to: * Advisory board, a body that provides advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation * Boil-water advisory, a public health directive given by government to consumers when a community's drinking wate ...
. In addition to the two posts above, they also approved the following positions: * Consultant for Illumina Inc. * Vice-chair, UK China Fund * Director,
ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
* Consultant for
First Data First Data Corporation was a financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company's STAR Network provides nationwide domestic debit acceptance at more than 2 million retail POS, ATM, and at online outlets f ...
Corp. * Member of Council on Foreign Relations * Chairman, LSE-Oxford Commission on Growth in Fragile States * Registered member of
Washington Speakers Bureau Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB) is a privately held speakers agency founded in 1980 and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company was founded in 1980 by Bernie Swain, Paula Swain, and Harry Rhoads, Jr. In 2000, the com ...
* Chairman of advisory board, Afiniti * Speaker Booking Agency


Brexit

Cameron maintained a low profile following his resignation as prime minister and the subsequent
Brexit negotiations Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of th ...
. In January 2019, following May's defeat in the House of Commons over her draft withdrawal agreement, Cameron gave a rare interview to reporters outside his house in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...
, saying he backed May's Brexit deal with the EU and did not regret calling the 2016 referendum. However, he later said that the outcome of the referendum had left him "hugely depressed", and told ''The Times'' he knew "some people will never forgive me". He confessed: "Every single day I think about it, and the fact that we lost, and the consequences, and the things that could have been done differently, and I worry desperately". In the months following Boris Johnson's election as prime minister, Cameron began criticising Johnson's Brexit strategy, including his decision to
prorogue Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the period ...
parliament ahead of the Brexit deadline of 31 October, and the removal of the whip from Conservative MPs who voted to block a
no-deal Brexit A no-deal Brexit (also called a clean-break Brexit) was the potential Brexit, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal agreement. Under Withdrawal from the European Union, Article 50 o ...
. Additionally, he accused Johnson, as well as Michael Gove, of behaving "appallingly" during the referendum campaign of 2016. In September 2020, Cameron became the fifth former prime minister to criticise the UK Internal Market Bill, over which he said he had "misgivings". He said the "bigger picture" was about trying to get a trade deal with the EU, urging the government to "keep that context ndthat big prize in mind."


Memoir

Cameron published a memoir, '' For the Record'', on 19 September 2019 through
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
. He was reported to have signed an £800,000 contract for the book. According to the ''Guardian'', the book was initially scheduled for 2018, but was delayed so Cameron would not be perceived as a "backstreet driver" in the ongoing Brexit negotiations. The book gives an insight into his life at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
, as well as inside explanations of the decisions taken by his government. Cameron said that his aim in writing the book was to "correct the record" where he thought it was wrong.


Greensill scandal

During Cameron's premiership, the financier
Lex Greensill Alexander David "Lex" Greensill (born 29 December 1976) is an Australian former businessman best known for being the founder of Greensill Capital, a company focused on supply chain finance and derivative financial products that on 8 March 2021 f ...
was an unpaid advisor who had access to eleven government departments. In 2018 he became an advisor to Greensill Capital and held share options in the company reportedly worth as much as $60 million as well as being paid over $1 million each year for 25 days' work per year. A ''Panorama'' investigation concluded that, overall, through a combination of his salary and share sales, Cameron earned around $10 million before tax for 30 months' part-time work. In 2019 Cameron arranged for a private meeting with Lex Greensill and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock; under Hancock, several NHS trusts went on to use Greensill Capital's Earnd app. In 2020 a few months before Greensill Capital collapsed, Cameron lobbied the government to bend the rules to allow it to receive Covid Corporate Financing Facility loans. He sent several text messages to Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
, who ultimately declined to help Greensill; Cameron also held ten virtual meetings with permanent secretaries Tom Scholar and Charles Roxburgh to try to obtain money for Greensill. The government-owned British Business Bank lent Greensill up to £400m through a different scheme, leading to a potential £335m loss to the taxpayer. After press revelations in 2021 regarding the extent of Greensill Capital's access, a formal investigation was launched by the UK lobbying registrar to be led by Nigel Boardman, a non-executive board member of the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...
.


NYU Abu Dhabi

In January 2023, Cameron was assigned to teach politics in a three-week course at New York University Abu Dhabi. He was to lecture students on "practising politics and government in the age of disruption", which included topics like the Ukraine war and migration crisis.


Migrant crisis

In May 2023, Cameron expressed support for the Rwanda asylum plan and Suella Braverman's policies against illegal immigration into the UK, arguing in an interview with LBC: "I think if you don't have a better answer to the things that the government is doing to try and stop this illegal trade, then I think there's no point criticising."


COVID-19 Inquiry

Cameron gave evidence to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on 19 June 2023.


Foreign Secretary (2023–2024)

In
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
's cabinet reshuffle on 13 November 2023, Cameron was appointed Foreign Secretary, replacing James Cleverly, who became
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
. It was also announced simultaneously that he would receive a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
age, thus making Cameron a member of the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
and the first former prime minister to be raised to the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
since
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
. He was created Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton'', of
Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...
in the County of Oxfordshire'' on 17 November 2023. Cameron was introduced to the House of Lords on 20 November, supported by
Nicholas True, Baron True Nicholas Edward True, Baron True, (born 31 July 1951) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal between September 2022 and July 2 ...
and
Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford Susan Frances Maria Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford (née McElroy; born 16 May 1967)Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, and the Gaza humanitarian crisis. Cameron visited 35 countries and territories during his tenure as Foreign Secretary, and was deputised in the House of Commons by Andrew Mitchell. Cameron visited the site of the Be'eri massacre, part of the
2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...
, on 23 November to meet Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen. Afterwards, he met the Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
to discuss among other urgent matters, facilitating further aid to Gaza. Cameron said in an interview with the BBC that he told Israeli officials that "they must abide by international humanitarian law" and that the number of Palestinian casualties was "too high". He also said that the "settler violence" against Palestinians in the occupied
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
is "completely unacceptable". Cameron backed a "sustainable ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip on 17 December, called for more aid to reach Gaza, and called for the Israeli government to "do more to discriminate sufficiently between terrorists and civilians". He, however, rejected calls for a "general and immediate ceasefire", differentiating this from the "sustainable ceasefire" he called for alongside German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock. In January 2024 he expressed concern about potential breaches of international law by Israel, specifically addressing the need for Israel to restore water supplies to Gaza. Cameron said in the same month that "Israel is acting in self-defence after the appalling attack on October 7" and denied that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. He dismissed South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel as "nonsense", saying that Israel is "a democracy, a country with the rule of law, a country with armed forces that are committed to obeying the rule of law". Cameron announced in late January that the government would consider recognising
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
as a country, while also adding that would help to make a two-state solution "irreversible". In April 2024 Cameron threatened the chief prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
, Karim Khan, that the UK would "defund the court and withdraw from the Rome Statute" if it issued arrest warrants for Israeli politicians. The court subsequently issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Cameron supported the February 2024
US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
bill to allocate military aid to
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, saying that he did not want the West to "show weakness displayed against
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
in 2008, when he invaded
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, or the uncertainty of the response in 2014, when he took Crimea and much of the Donbas—before coming back to cost us far more with his aggression in 2022". In the event the Senate bill failed to pass in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, where it was stalled by the GOP partisans of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. At last a redrafted legislative package was put forward by Speaker
Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member ...
each of which passed the House with bipartisan support and large majorities on 20 April, but not before Cameron was snubbed by Johnson. Iran attacked Israel in April 2024 with 301 drones and missiles, and the UK aided Israel to shoot them all down with RAF Eurofighter Typhoons. Cameron told LBC radio host
Nick Ferrari Nicolo Ferrari (born 31 January 1959) is a British right-wing conservative radio host, television presenter and broadcast journalist. He lives in Lewisham in London. He is best known as the host of the weekday breakfast show on the London-based ...
that, were the UK to offer the same sort of support to Ukraine, it would represent a "dangerous escalation". In the same month, he became the first British foreign secretary to visit
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
and
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
. In June 2024 Cameron was tricked by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, posing as former Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...
. Cameron, duped into believing he was actually speaking to Poroshenko, made a series of disclosures relating to the war in Ukraine, including details from a private dinner he had with then-U.S. presidential candidate
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. After the Conservatives lost the 2024 general election in a landslide to the opposition Labour Party led by
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
, Cameron was succeeded by David Lammy, whom he congratulated. A few days later he announced that he would be retiring from frontline politics whilst continuing to support the party, with Mitchell becoming
shadow foreign secretary The shadow secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly called the shadow foreign secretary, is a position within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK official opposition shadow cabinet th ...
in Sunak's shadow cabinet instead. However, he maintains his House of Lords seat.


Political positions


Self-description of views

Cameron described himself in December 2005 as a "modern compassionate conservative" and spoke of a need for a new style of politics, saying that he was "fed up with the
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr Punch and one other ...
politics of
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
". He was "certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite", saying he was a " liberal Conservative", though "not a deeply ideological person." As leader of the opposition, Cameron asserted that he did not intend to oppose the government as a matter of course, and would offer his support in areas of agreement. He has urged politicians to concentrate more on improving people's happiness and "general well-being", instead of focusing solely on "financial wealth". There were claims that he described himself to journalists at a dinner during the leadership contest as the "heir to Blair". In his first Conservative conference speech as party leader in Bournemouth in 2006, he described the National Health Service as "one of the 20th Century's greatest achievements". He went on to say: "
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
explained his priorities in three words: education, education, education. I can do it in three letters: N.H.S." He also talked about his severely disabled son, Ivan, concluding: "So, for me, it is not just a question of saying the NHS is safe in my hands—of course it will be. My family is so often in the hands of the NHS, so I want them to be safe there." Cameron said that he believed in "spreading freedom and democracy, and supporting humanitarian intervention" in cases such as the
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
in
Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...
, Sudan. He said he rejected
neoconservatism Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...
because, as a conservative, he recognises "the complexities of
human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...
, and will always be sceptical of grand schemes to remake the world." A supporter of multilateralism, as "a country may act alone—but it cannot always succeed alone", he believes multilateralism can take the form of acting through "
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, the UN, the G8, the EU and other institutions", or through international
alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
s. Cameron said: "If the West is to help other countries, we must do so from a position of genuine moral authority" and "we must strive above all for legitimacy in what we do." Cameron believes that British Muslims have a duty to integrate into British culture, but noted in an article published in 2007, that the Muslim community finds aspects such as high divorce rates and drug use uninspiring, and: "Not for the first time, I found myself thinking that it is mainstream Britain which needs to integrate more with the British Asian way of life, not the other way around." In his first speech as PM on radicalisation and the causes of terrorism in February 2011, Cameron said that "state
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
" had failed. In 2010 he appointed the first Muslim member of the British cabinet, Baroness Warsi, as a minister without portfolio, and in 2012 made her a special minister of state in foreign affairs. She resigned, however, in August 2014 over the government's handling of the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. While urging members of his party to support the coalition's proposals for
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
, Cameron said that he backed gay marriage not in spite of his conservatism, but because he is a conservative, and claimed it was about equality. In 2012 Cameron publicly apologised for Thatcher-era policies on homosexuality, specifically the introduction of the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which he described as "a mistake".


Home affairs


Poverty

In 2006 Cameron described poverty as a "moral disgrace" and promised to tackle
relative poverty The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.Eaton, George (24 June 2015)
"David Cameron has retreated from his promises on child poverty – but will it cost him?"
. ''New Statesman'' (London).
In 2007 Cameron promised: "We can make British poverty history, and we will make British poverty history". The same year he also stated: "Ending child poverty is central to improving child well-being". In 2015 Polly Toynbee questioned Cameron's commitment to tackling poverty, contrasting his earlier statements agreeing that "poverty is relative" with proposals to change the government's poverty measure, and saying that cuts in child tax credits would increase child poverty among low-paid working families. Cameron denied that austerity had contributed to the 2011 England riots, instead blaming street gangs and opportunistic looters.


LGBT rights

In 2010 Cameron was given a score of 36% in favour of lesbian, gay and bisexual equality by Stonewall. Prior to 2005 Cameron was opposed to gay rights, calling it a "fringe agenda" and attacking Prime Minister Tony Blair for "moving heaven and earth to allow the promotion of homosexuality in our schools" by repealing the anti-gay Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. Cameron is recorded by
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...
as having voted against same-sex adoption rights in 2002, but he denies this, claiming he abstained from the three-line whip imposed on him by his party. In 2008, he wanted lesbians who receive IVF treatment to be required to name a father figure, which received condemnation from
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
equality groups. However, Cameron supported commitment for gay couples in a 2005 speech, and in October 2011 urged Conservative MPs to support gay marriage. In November 2012 Cameron and Nick Clegg agreed to fast-track legislation for introducing same-sex marriage. Cameron stated that he wanted to give religious groups the ability to host gay marriage ceremonies, and that he did not want to exclude gay people from a "great institution". In 2013 the
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Background Civil partnerships were Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, introduce ...
became law despite opposition from more than half of his fellow Conservative MPs, including Cabinet ministers Owen Paterson and David Jones. He also subsequently appointed two women who had voted against same-sex marriage as ministers in the
Government Equalities Office The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO, formerly known as the Government Equalities Office) is the unit of the British government with responsibility for social equality. Based in the Cabinet Office, it is led by the Minister for Women a ...
,
Nicky Morgan Nicola Ann Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes, (; born 10 October 1972) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities from 2014 to 2016 and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, ...
and Caroline Dinenage following the 2015 general election. In August 2013 he rejected calls by
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
and others to strip Russia from hosting the
2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...
due to its anti-gay laws. Cameron did not attend the games, but denied it was a boycott in protest at Russia's laws, having previously raised the issue of gay rights in the country with
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
.


Marriage and family values

In 2009 Cameron said "the restoration of family values and a new commitment to economic and social responsibility" were "key to repairing 'broken Britain. In 2013 Cameron described himself as "a marriage man, I am a great supporter of marriage. I want to promote marriage, defend marriage, encourage marriage." As such, he rejected calls from Conservative MP Christopher Chope to extend
civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...
rights to heterosexual couples, saying: "I think we should be promoting marriage rather than looking at any other way of weakening it." In 2018 the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled unanimously that this position was discriminatory. Assisted dying In November 2024, Cameron announced he was in favour of Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on assisted dying, having previously opposed legalising the practice.


Comments on other parties and politicians

Cameron criticised
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
(when Brown was
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
) for being "an analogue politician in a digital age" and referred to him as "the roadblock to reform". As prime minister, he reacted to press reports that Brown could be the next head of the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
by hinting that he may block the appointment, citing the huge national debt that Brown left the country with as a reason for Brown not being suitable for the role. He said that
John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...
"clearly looks a fool" after Prescott's personal indiscretions were revealed in spring 2006, and wondered if the Deputy Prime Minister had broken the ministerial code. During a speech to the Ethnic Media Conference in November 2006, Cameron also described
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
, the
mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
, as an "ageing far left politician" following Livingstone's criticism of
Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented ''Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Trevor Phillips ...
, head of the Commission for Racial Equality. In April 2006 Cameron accused the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
of being "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly", leading UKIP MEP
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
(who became leader in September of that year) to demand an apology for the remarks. Right-wing Conservative MP Bob Spink, who later defected to UKIP, also criticised the remarks, as did ''The Daily Telegraph''. Cameron was seen encouraging Conservative MPs to join the standing ovation given to
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
at the end of his last Prime Minister's Question Time; he had paid tribute to the "huge efforts" Blair had made and said Blair had "considerable achievements to his credit, whether it is peace in Northern Ireland or his work in the developing world, which will endure". In January 2007 Cameron made a speech in which he described extremist Islamic organisations and the British National Party as "mirror images" to each other, both preaching "creeds of pure hatred". Cameron is listed as being a supporter of Unite Against Fascism. In September 2015 after the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, Cameron called the party a "threat" to British national and economic security, on the basis of Corbyn's defence and fiscal policies.


Foreign affairs


Iraq War

In an interview on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' in 2006, Cameron said that he supported the decision of the then Labour Government to go to 2003 invasion of Iraq, war in Iraq, and said that he thought supporters should "see it through". He also supported a motion brought by the SNP and Plaid Cymru in 2006, calling for an inquiry into the government's conduct of the Iraq war. In 2011 he oversaw the withdrawal of British soldiers from Iraq. He repeatedly called for the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war to conclude and publish its findings, saying: "People want to know the truth".


India

Cameron was a strong advocate of increased ties between India and the United Kingdom, describing India–United Kingdom relations, Indian–British relations as the "New Special Relationship" in 2010. In October 2012 as Narendra Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK rescinded its boycott of the then-Gujarat state Chief Minister over 2002 Gujarat riots, religious riots in Gujarat in 2002 that left more than 2,000 dead, and in November 2013, Cameron commented that he was "open" to meeting Modi. Modi was later elected as prime minister in a landslide majority, leading to Cameron calling Modi and congratulating him on the "election success", one of the first Western leaders to do so.


Israel

In January 2024, Cameron dismissed South Africa, South Africa's South Africa's genocide case against Israel, ICJ genocide case against Israel as "nonsense", saying that Israel is "a democracy, a country with the rule of law, a country with armed forces that are committed to obeying the rule of law".


China

In October 2015 Xi Jinping, the president of the People's Republic of China, paid a State visit by Xi Jinping to the United Kingdom, state visit to the United Kingdom under the Premiership of Cameron. Such episodes including the Chinese leader famously having a pint with Cameron at a local pub in Buckinghamshire, and Queen Elizabeth hailing the visit as "milestone" during state banquet, symbolised the increased cordiality between China and the United Kingdom under Cameron, in spite of the controversies around the state visit and the concerns with China's superpower status. The state visit was the third formal China–United Kingdom relations, Anglo–Chinese diplomatic meetings, which involves either head of states or head of governments, following Cameron's visit to China in 2013 and then–Premier Li Keqiang's UK visit in 2014; the year 2015 alone also marked an unprecedented level of bilateral meetings and visits. The unprecedented level of friendly relations with China has also led to many, including the PRC and Cameron himself, marking his premiership as a "golden-era" of UK–China relations, where bilateral cooperation between the countries reached its apex. The UK government was even seen expressing interests in participating in Chinese diplomatic projects under Xi Jinping, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By 2023, upon Cameron's appointment as Foreign Secretary, eight years apart from the state visit of Xi, he was associating by media outlets, home and abroad, with the keyword "golden era", even dubbing Cameron himself as "Lord Golden Era", prompting concerns over the stances of the Sunak ministry, Sunak government towards China as the latter welcomed Cameron's appointment as Foreign Secretary.


Russia

In the years after Cameron became UK prime minister, UK relations with Russia initially showed a marked improvement. In 2011 Cameron visited Russia, and in 2012, Putin visited the UK for the first time in seven years, holding talks with Cameron, and also visiting the 2012 London Olympics together. In May 2013 Cameron flew to meet Putin at his summer residence in Sochi, Bocharov Ruchei, to hold talks on the Syria crisis. Cameron described the talks as "very substantive, purposeful and useful", and the leaders exchanged presents with each other. At that time, it was suggested that Cameron could use his good relations with both US president Barack Obama, and President Putin to act as a 'go-between' in international relations. However, Cameron's relations to Russia soured drastically following the Russo-Ukrainian War. Cameron criticised the 2014 Crimean status referendum as a "sham", with voters having "voted under the barrel of a Kalashnikov rifle, Kalashnikov", stating "Russia has sought to annex Crimea.... This is a flagrant breach of international law and something we will not recognise." Cameron has gone on to be a fierce critic of Russia, and Putin, and supporter of Ukraine.


Political image


"Dodgy Dave" moniker

In April 2016 then Labour MP for Bolsover, Dennis Skinner was reprimanded by House Speaker John Bercow for referring to Cameron as 'Dodgy Dave' (related to Skinner's contention of Cameron's dishonesty) in a parliamentary debate about the Panama Papers. Skinner was instructed by Bercow to repeat his question without referring to Cameron using the adjective 'dodgy'. When Skinner repeated his question, once again referring to Cameron as 'Dodgy Dave', he was ordered to leave parliament for the remainder of that day's session. In July 2016, Skinner once again referred to Cameron as 'Dodgy Dave' in parliament, however this time he was not reprimanded, or asked to leave. "Dodgy Dave" has gained usage in the media, and on social media, when Cameron is being referred to disparagingly.


Allegations of social elitism

As leader of the Conservative Party, Cameron was accused of relying on "old-boy networks", and criticised by his party for the imposition of selective shortlists of women and ethnic minority prospective parliamentary candidates. Several of Cameron's senior appointments, such as George Osborne as chancellor of the Exchequer, are former members of the Bullingdon Club. Michael Gove conceded it was "ridiculous" how many fellow Cabinet ministers were old Etonians, though he placed the blame on the failings of the state education system rather than Cameron. However, Michael Mosbacher, co-founder of ''Standpoint (magazine), Standpoint'', wrote that Cameron's cabinet has the lowest number of Etonians of any past Conservative government: "David Cameron's government is the least patrician, least wealthy and least public-school-educated—indeed the least Etonian Conservative-led government this country has ever seen".


Plots against leadership

Following poor results in the 2012 United Kingdom local elections, May 2012 local elections after a difficult few months for the government, with Labour increasing its lead in the polls, there were concerns from Conservative MPs about Cameron's leadership and his electability. David Davies (Welsh politician), David Davies, the chairman of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, accused the Conservative leadership of "incompetence", and hinted that it could risk Cameron's leadership. Nadine Dorries warned the Prime Minister that a leadership challenge could happen. Later that year, Conservative MP Brian Binley openly said that Cameron's leadership was like being a "maid" to the Liberal Democrats, and accused him of leading the party to defeat. In January 2013, it was revealed that Adam Afriyie was planning his own bid for the Conservative leadership with the support of fellow MPs Mark Field, Bill Wiggin, Chris Heaton-Harris, Patrick Mercer, Jonathan Djanogly and Dan Byles. ''The Times'' and ''ConservativeHome'' revealed that a "rebel reserve" of 55 Conservative MPs gave firm pledges to a co-ordinating MP to support a motion of no confidence and write to Brady simultaneously, more than the 46 MPs needed to trigger a vote of no confidence. Andrew Bridgen openly called for a vote of confidence in Cameron's leadership, and claimed that the Prime Minister had a "credibility problem", but he dropped his bid for a contest a year later.


Cameron and Andy Coulson

In 2007 Cameron appointed Andy Coulson, former editor of the ''News of the World'', as his director of communications. Coulson had resigned as the paper's editor following the conviction of a reporter in relation to News International phone hacking scandal, illegal phone hacking, although stating that he knew nothing about it. In June 2010, Downing Street confirmed Coulson's annual salary as £140,000, the highest pay of any special adviser to UK Government. In January 2011, Coulson left his post, saying that coverage of the phone-hacking scandal was making it difficult to give his best to the job. In July 2011, Coulson was arrested and questioned by police in connection with further allegations of illegal activities at the ''News of the World'', and released on bail. Despite a call to apologise for hiring Coulson by the Leader of the Opposition, Cameron defended the appointment, saying that he had taken a conscious choice to give someone who had screwed up a second chance. The same month, in a special parliamentary session at the House of Commons of England, House of Commons, arranged to discuss the News International phone hacking scandal, Cameron said that he "regretted the furore" that had resulted from his appointment of Coulson, and that "with hindsight" he would not have hired him. Coulson was detained and charged with perjury by Strathclyde Police in May 2012. Coulson was convicted of conspiracy to hack phones in June 2014. Prior to the jury handing down their verdict, Cameron issued a "full and frank" apology for hiring him, saying: "I am extremely sorry that I employed him. It was the wrong decision and I am very clear about that." The judge hearing Coulson's trial was critical of the Prime Minister, pondering whether the intervention was out of ignorance or deliberate, and demanded an explanation.


Cameron and Michael Ashcroft

Although Michael Ashcroft, Lord Michael Ashcroft played a significant role in the 2010 election, he was not offered a ministerial post. In June 2012, shortly before a major Conservative rebellion on House of Lords reform, journalist Peter Oborne credited Ashcroft with "stopping the Coalition working" by moving policy on Europe, welfare, education and taxation to the right. According to Oborne, Ashcroft, owner of both the ConservativeHome and PoliticsHome websites and a "brutal critic of the Coalition from the start", had established "megaphone presence" in the on-line media. He believes Cameron's philosophy of liberal conservatism has been destroyed by "coordinated attacks on the Coalition" and "the two parties are no longer trying to pretend that they are governing together." In ''The Observer'', Andrew Rawnsley commented that he believes that Ashcroft uses carefully timed opinion polls to "generate publicity", "stir trouble for the Prime Minister" and influence the direction of the party. In 2015, Ashcroft released ''Call Me Dave'', an unauthorised biography of Cameron written with journalist Isabel Oakeshott, which attracted significant media attention for various lurid allegations about Cameron's time at university. The book includes an anonymous anecdote about Cameron, now referred to as Piggate, in which he allegedly inserted his penis into a dead pig's head. No evidence for the anecdote has been produced. Many commentators have described the accusations as a "revenge job" by Ashcroft, who was not offered a senior role in government when Cameron came to power in 2010. Ashcroft initially claimed the book was "not about settling scores", while Oakeshott said that they had held back publication until after the 2015 general election to avoid damaging Cameron and the Conservatives' electoral chances. Ashcroft subsequently admitted that the initiation allegations "may have been case of mistaken identity" and has stated that he has a personal "beef" with Cameron. Cameron later went on to deny these allegations and stated that Ashcroft's reasons for writing the book were clear and the public could see clearly through it.


Standing in opinion polls

An ICM poll in September 2007 saw Cameron rated the least popular of the three main party leaders. A YouGov poll on party leaders conducted on 9–10 June 2011 found 44% of the electorate thought he was doing well and 50% thought he was doing badly, while 38% thought he would be the best PM and 35% did not know. In the run up to the 2015 election, Cameron achieved his first net positive approval rating in four years, with a YouGov poll finding 47% of voters thought he was doing well as prime minister compared with 46% who thought he was doing badly. In September 2015, an Opinium poll had similar results to the one shortly before the election, with voters split with 42% who approved of him and 41% who did not. Cameron had significantly better net approval ratings in polls conducting in December and January (getting −6 in both) than Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (who got −38 and −39). However, following the Panama Papers leak in April 2016, his personal approval ratings fell below Corbyn's.


Evaluations of premiership

In the months immediately following his resignation from the post of prime minister, a number of commentators gave negative evaluations of Cameron's premiership. The University of Leeds' Historical rankings of prime ministers of the United Kingdom#2016 University of Leeds survey, 2016 survey of post-war prime ministers, which collected the views of 82 academics specialising in the history and politics of post-war Britain, ranked Cameron as the third-worst prime minister since 1945, ranking above only
Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
and Anthony Eden. 90% of respondents cited his calling and losing of the Brexit referendum as his greatest failure.


In popular culture

Cameron made a cameo appearance in the BBC television programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear''s Top Gear: India Special, India Special, where he tells the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond to "stay away from India" after initially denying the group's request to improve economic relations with India in a letter and suggested that they Top Gear controversies#Mexico, mend fences with Mexico. He later stated through his aides that he did not like the special that he cameoed in, and that he had the "utmost respect" for the people of India. Cameron was portrayed by comedian Jon Culshaw in ITV's satirical sketch show ''Newzoids'', and by Mark Dexter in the Channel 4 television films Coalition (film), ''Coalition'' and ''Brexit: The Uncivil War''. In 2019 he was interviewed for ''The Cameron Years'', a BBC mini-documentary series on his premiership. Amid the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal on 8 November 2012, Cameron was interviewed by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ''This Morning (TV programme), This Morning,'' and Schofield presented him with a list he had obtained from the internet of five people named as paedophiles in connection with the North Wales child abuse scandal. The names of several former senior Conservative politicians were visible on the list. Cameron responded by warning against a witchhunt, "particularly about people who are gay". Schofield was widely criticised for his action, with broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby describing his behaviour as "cretinous". ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham, said that Schofield was "wrong" in confronting Cameron and the broadcaster had agreed to co-operate fully with government regulator Ofcom's investigation into the matter. The investigation was initiated after Ofcom received 415 complaints from viewers. Schofield later apologised, blaming a misjudged camera angle. Schofield and ITV later paid £125,000 compensation to settle a libel suit from one of those falsely accused, Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green.


Personal life


Family

Cameron married Samantha Sheffield, the daughter of Sir Reginald Sheffield, 8th Baronet, and Annabel Lucy Veronica Jones (later Annabel Astor, Viscountess Astor, Viscountess Astor) in 1996. They have had four children. Their first child, Ivan Reginald Ian, was born on 8 April 2002 in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, with a rare combination of cerebral palsy and a form of severe epilepsy called Ohtahara syndrome, requiring round-the-clock care. Recalling the receipt of this news, Cameron was quoted as saying: "The news hits you like a freight train ... You are depressed for a while because you are grieving for the difference between your hopes and the reality. But then you get over that, because he's wonderful."Can Boy Wonder save the Tories?". ''The Sunday Times'' (London). 9 October 2005. Ivan was cared for at the specialist NHS Cheyne Day Centre in West London, which closed shortly after he left it. Ivan died at St Mary's Hospital, London, St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, on 25 February 2009, aged six. The Camerons have two daughters, Nancy Gwen (born 2004) and Florence Rose Endellion (born 2010), and a son, Arthur Elwen (born 2006). Cameron took paternity leave when Arthur was born, and this decision received broad coverage. It was also stated that Cameron would be taking paternity leave after his second daughter was born. She was born at the Royal Cornwall Hospital on 24 August 2010, three weeks prematurely, while the family was on holiday in Cornwall. Her third given name, Endellion, is taken from the village of St Endellion near where the Camerons were holidaying. In early May 2008, the Camerons decided to enroll their daughter Nancy at a state school, state primary school. For three years before that, they had been attending its associated church, St Mary Abbots, near the Cameron family home in North Kensington. Cameron's constituency home is in Dean, Oxfordshire, and the Camerons have been described as key members of the Chipping Norton set. It was announced that Cameron would miss Prime Minister's Questions on 8 September 2010 to fly to southern France to see his father, Ian Cameron, who had had a stroke with coronary complications. Later that day, his father died. Cameron attended a private ceremony for the funeral of his father on 17 September 2010 in Berkshire, which prevented him from hearing the address of Pope Benedict XVI in Westminster Hall, an occasion he would otherwise have attended. In 2012 Cameron was criticised for leaving his daughter alone in a pub. Cameron had apparently left and forgotten her.


Inheritance and family wealth

In October 2010, Cameron inherited £300,000 from his father's estate. Ian Cameron, who had worked as a stockbroker in City of London#Economy, the City of London, used multimillion-pound investment funds based in offshore tax havens, such as Jersey, Panama City and Geneva, to increase the family wealth. In 1982, Ian Cameron created the Panamanian Blairmore Holdings, an offshore investment fund, valued at about $20 million in 1988, "not liable to taxation on its income or capital gains", which used bearer shares until 2006. In April 2016, following the Panama Papers financial documents leak, Cameron faced calls to resign, after it was revealed that he and his wife Samantha had invested in Ian Cameron's offshore fund. He owned £31,500 of shares in the fund and sold them for a profit of £19,000 shortly before becoming prime minister in 2010, which he paid full UK tax on. Cameron argued that the fund was set up in Panama so that people who wanted to invest in dollar-denominated shares and companies could do so, and because full UK tax was paid on all profits he made, there was no impropriety. A protest was held in London in April 2016, demanding Cameron's resignation. In 2009 the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' estimated his wealth at , adding that Cameron is expected to inherit "million-pound legacies" from both sides of his family.


Leisure

Before becoming prime minister, Cameron regularly used his bicycle to commute to work. In early 2006, he was photographed cycling to work, followed by his driver in a car carrying his belongings. His Conservative Party spokesperson subsequently said that this was a regular arrangement for Cameron at the time. Cameron is an occasional jogger and in 2009 raised funds for charities by taking part in the Oxford 5K and the Great Brook Run. Cameron supports Aston Villa. A member of Marylebone Cricket Club, MCC, he is also a keen cricket fan and has appeared on ''Test Match Special''. A 2012 biography, ''Cameron: Practically a Conservative'', stated that "If 'chillaxing' was an Olympic sport then David Cameron, would win a gold medal", citing Cameron's fondness for relaxing. The biography stated that Cameron's "ability to separate his private life from his professional life is seen as an asset by some friends, and by others as a sign of complacency in the midst of a double dip recession."


Faith

At a Q&A in August 2013, Cameron described himself as a practising Christian and an active member of the Church of England. On religious faith in general, he said: "I do think that organised religion can get things wrong but the Church of England and the other churches do play a very important role in society." He said he considers the Bible "a sort of handy guide" on morality. He viewed Britain as a "Christian country", and aimed to put faith back into politics.


Bibliography

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References


Further reading

* Alexandre-Collier, Agnès. "David Cameron, Boris Johnson and the 'populist hypothesis' in the British Conservative Party." ''Comparative European Politics'' 20.5 (2022): 527–54
online
* Allen, Chris. "Cameron, Conservatives and a Christian Britain: a critical exploration of political discourses about religion in the contemporary United Kingdom." ''Societies'' 8.1 (2018): 5–20 doi:10.3390/soc8010005 * Ashcroft, Michael. ''Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron'' (Biteback Publishing, 2015
online
* Atkins, Judi, Timothy Heppell, and Kevin Theakston. "The rise of the novice cabinet minister? The career trajectories of cabinet ministers in British Government from Attlee to Cameron." ''Political Quarterly'' 84.3 (2013): 362–370
online
* Bale, Tim. "The oratory of David Cameron." in ''Conservative orators from Baldwin to Cameron'' (Manchester University Press, 2016) pp. 182–197. * * Bennister, Mark, and Richard Heffernan. "The limits to prime ministerial autonomy: Cameron and the constraints of coalition." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' 68.1 (2015): 25–41
online
* Bennister, Mark, and Richard Heffernan. "Cameron as prime minister: The intra-executive politics of Britain's coalition government." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' 65.4 (2012): 778–801
online
* , a full biography * Evans, Stephen. "Consigning its past to history? David Cameron and the Conservative Party." ''Parliamentary Affairs'' 61.2 (2008): 291–314. * Evans, Stephen. "'Mother's Boy': David Cameron and Margaret Thatcher." ''British Journal of Politics and International Relations'' 12.3 (2010): 325–343. * Goodlad, Graham. "The Fall of David Cameron." ''Political Insight'' 7.2 (2016): 16–19. * Hayton, Richard. "British conservatism after the vote for Brexit: The ideological legacy of David Cameron." ''British Journal of Politics and International Relations'' 20.1 (2018): 223–238
online
* Heppell, Timothy. ''Cameron: The politics of modernisation and manipulation'' (Manchester University Press, 2019
online
* Heppell, Timothy. "Cameron and liberal conservatism: Attitudes within the parliamentary conservative party and conservative ministers." ''British Journal of Politics and International Relations'' 15.3 (2013): 340–361. * * ; argues the Tory Party's is a failure on all fronts but one: its ability to win office without principle. * Honeyman, Victoria. "From liberal interventionism to liberal conservatism: The short road in foreign policy from Blair to Cameron." ''British Politics'' 12 (2017): 42–62
online
* * * * Newman, Jack, and Richard Hayton. "The ontological failure of David Cameron's 'modernisation' of the Conservative Party." ''British Politics'' 17.3 (2022): 253–273
online
* * Pike, Karl. "Reform to conserve: Europe and David Cameron's Conservatism." ''Journal of Political Ideologies'' 29.2 (2024): 310–329
online
* Sassoon, David. "The worst British Prime Minister ever" ''The Political Quarterly'' (2020) 91#2 pp. 473–78, review of Cameron's ''For the Record'' *
online
* Smith, Julie. "Gambling on Europe: David Cameron and the 2016 referendum." ''British Politics'' 13 (2018): 1–16. * * Theakston, Kevin. "David Cameron as prime minister." in ''Cameron and the conservatives: The transition to coalition government'' (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2012) pp. 194–208. * *


Works by Cameron

*
David Cameron's articles
at ''The Guardian'' * David Cameron: ''My Legacy: What I Will Be Remembered For''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2017, (50 p.) * Cameron, David. ''For the Record'' (William Collins, 2019). 732 pp. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12820


Political career


Video

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News coverage

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David Cameron
collected news and commentary at ''The Daily Telegraph'' * Brian Wheeler
The David Cameron story
''BBC News'', 6 December 2005


External links

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Profile
at UK Parliament
David Cameron
official government website
David Cameron
official Conservative Party profile * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, David David Cameron, 1966 births 20th-century Anglicans 21st-century Anglicans 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century English memoirists 21st-century prime ministers of the United Kingdom Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Bullingdon Club members Conservative Party (UK) life peers, Cameron of Chipping Norton Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party prime ministers of the United Kingdom English Anglicans English people of German-Jewish descent English people of Scottish descent English people of Welsh descent ITV people Leaders of the Conservative Party (UK) Leaders of the opposition (United Kingdom) Life peers created by Charles III, Cameron of Chipping Norton Living people Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College People educated at Heatherdown School People from Marylebone Politicians from the City of Westminster People from West Berkshire District Political funding in the United Kingdom UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs who were granted peerages British lobbyists 21st-century British autobiographers