A Look Back... David Cameron: Palace ‘Displeasure’ at Former PM - BBC News

Sep 19, 2019 | Buckingham Palace has expressed displeasure after the former Prime Minister David Cameron revealed that he sought the Queen's help during the Scottish independence referendum campaign. In a BBC documentary, Mr Cameron said that in 2014 he had asked if the Queen could intervene because he was concerned Scotland was going to vote for independence. The Queen later urged people to 'think very carefully' about the future.

Another former Conservative Prime Minister is also in the spotlight, as Sir John Major’s lawyers tell the Supreme Court that the current PM, Boris Johnson, was ‘dishonest’ about his reasons for suspending Parliament. Mr Johnson says progress is being made in Brexit talks with the EU.

BBC News at Ten’s coverage with Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell, Home Editor Mark Easton, and Europe Editor Katya Adler.

UK Considering Recognising Palestine State, Lord Cameron Says | BBC News

Jan 30, 2024 | Britain is ready to bring forward the moment when it formally recognises a Palestinian state, the foreign secretary has suggested. Lord Cameron said Palestinians had to be given a political horizon to encourage peace in the Middle East. He is beginning his fourth visit to the region since being appointed foreign secretary in November. The UK has a responsibility to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, he told a Westminster reception.

How Lord Cameron Rolled Out the Red Carpet for the UAE

THE TELEGRAPH: Plus, we look at how the Gulf state’s network of influence is spreading throughout the UK

Three years after becoming prime minister, Lord Cameron set up a secretive Whitehall unit codenamed Project Falcon.

Its job was to court the oil-rich sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates with the aim of persuading them to invest billions in the UK.

The unit’s work was so politically sensitive that the Government did not even admit to its existence for two years, and only then after a Freedom of Information battle.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was to the UAE that the former premier went for part of his portfolio of jobs after he quit No 10 in 2016, earning an estimated £470,000 for making four speeches in the autocratic state, as well as taking a part-time teaching role at a university in Abu Dhabi.

Nor is he alone in establishing connections with the Gulf state: almost 100 current and former MPs and peers – including eight ministers – have declared financial links to the UAE in the past decade. » | Investigations Team and Gordon Raynor, Associate Editor | Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Cameron is a weak man. A weasel, perhaps? Despite being already fabulously wealthy, it appears that he can’t get enough to line his own pockets. The country’s future be damned.

This country is being Islamized under our very noses, and by our own government to boot!

Is this what the Conservatives understand by "taking back control"? Is this what they understand by regaining our sovereignty? Theey bitched, moaned and whined when we pooled our sovereignty with Brussels, but are absolutely willing and ready to give our sovereignty away to the Islamic world, to the fabulously wealthy Muslim Arabs? – © Mark Alexander

David Cameron on the Importance of Standing with Ukraine

Dec 7, 2023 | UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron joins Morning Joe to discuss meeting with Secretary of State Blinken and congressional leadership on the importance of Ukraine support and the Israel-Hamas war.

Truth To Power: Why David Cameron Is Unfit to Be Foreign Secretary

Nov 18, 2023 | David Cameron is our new unelected Foreign Secretary, appointed by Rishi Sunak, who was not even elected by members of his own party. And they told us that Brexit would get rid of unelected bureaucrats. David Cameron’s astonishing return to government comes just two years after a parliamentary inquiry found he had shown a “significant lack of judgment” over a lobbying campaign for Greensill Capital, a financing company in which he stood to gain 60 million pounds for his so-called expertise - and given his complete lack of experience in financing, this would appear in reality to have been to buy his influence with ministerial ex-colleagues still in government as Greensill attempted to win a lucrative government contract. And this is just the tip of the iceberg in our new unelected Foreign Secretary’s chequered past.

This country is being run into the ground! Since that ludicrous Brexit referendum, which was both undemocratic and corruptly conducted, the country has been so badly run. Our government is extreme, to say the least. Most of its members are economic illiterates, who are devoid of management skills and who are corrupt in the extreme!

Wouldn’t it be true to say that a madame would manage her brothel more efficiently that the short-**** who runs this country, and in whom the running of this country has been entrusted? And wouldn’t she be fairer to both her staff and clientele? But to be balanced and fair to this ‘leader’, he is but the last in a string of incompetent clowns entrusted to lead the nation since Brexit.

What is it going to take to get this country back on its feet? I know what I think it needs, but I shall let you, the reader, decide for yourself. – © Mark Alexander

David Cameron ‘Wants to Unlock Billions of Dollars for Foreign Aid’

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: New foreign secretary to say UK has ‘moral mission’ to help world’s poor in white paper

The former prime minister is to say he wants to push for the restoration of the status of aid in British foreign policy. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock
David Cameron is marking his return to frontline politics by saying he wants to unlock billions of dollars for foreign aid over the next decade, as part of a “moral mission” to help the world’s poorest people.

In a remarkable change of tone for a government that closed the Department for International Development and slashed the foreign aid budget, the former prime minister is to say he wants to push for the restoration of aid’s status in British foreign policy.

Cameron, who was appointed foreign secretary by Rishi Sunak on Monday in an astonishing political comeback, is to write in a foreword to a new international development white paper that foreign aid is even more vital, but more difficult than when he was last in office.

The internationalist tone will probably infuriate the Tory right, already angry that Cameron’s return signals a rush to the political centre ground, while his failure to formally commit extra public money to aid will dismay many charities. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Saturday, November 18, 2023

Can a senior politician really be this stupid? It is all well and good to help the world's poor, but doesn't this idiot – the idiot that brought us that stupid and ridiculous Brexit – realise that charity begins at home? Does this man's gilded cage cut him off completely from the outside world? Doesn't he know that there is poverty aplenty here in the United Kingdom, and doesn't he realise that these poor people are crying out for help? Doesn't he know that there are tens of thousands of parents who have to go to food banks to be able to put food on the table for their children? Does this out-of-touch, superrich idiot not know that there are thousands of people living rough – homeless people? And no, they didn't choose that lifestyle; they have been forced into it by circumstance. And if there are so many billions in the coffers to be spent, why don't you increase state pensions, so that the elderly in this country don't have to be known as the poorest pensioners in Europe, so that they will be able to afford enough heating to keep thenselves warm this winter, and be able to treat themselves to some decent, nourishing food to help keep them healthy?

Moreover, if there are so many billions lying around in government coffers, why don't you do something daring, something dramatic, something progressive? Why don't you introduce a universal basic income (UBI)? Now that would really give you a few gold stars. That would really put some gold thread in your braid. It would really give you some genuine kudos. UBI would also solve the homeless problem. It would also solve many other problems in this country, too.

Mr Cameron: You cocked up once with Brexit. Make sure you don't cock up a second time by giving billions away in aid to the world's poor when people at home are hurting so badly and need that aid just as much as people abroad. Never forget: Thousands are starving, thousands don't have even a roof over their heads, thousands need your help and assistance – so, so badly. – © Mark Alexander

How Brexit Has Changed British Politics Forever

Nov 14, 2023 | In this new Federal Trust video, John Stevens and Brendan Donnelly discuss the dismissal of Suella Braverman and the appointment of David Cameron. Does this represent a new political path for the Conservative Party and Rishi Sunak? Or is it simply the latest throw of the dice for a divided Party that will be reversed before Christmas?

In Europe, We Can’t Help Laughing at David Cameron’s Return – but We Welcome It Too

THE GUARDIAN: The surprise resurrection of the man who gave us Brexit could be good news for a political scene in need of compromise

David Cameron with Jean-Claude Juncker at the European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 2016. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
It is quite incredible really. David Cameron is back. The former prime minister who gambled with the future of his country by calling the Brexit referendum because he wanted to resolve a dispute within his own party is now entrusted with representing British interests on the world stage.

As a European, it is impossible not to laugh: I did, for several minutes, when news broke of his resurrection. But in spite of the staggering irony of it all, this could actually be good news from the perspective of the UK’s allies in Europe and beyond. Politics is the art of the possible, and every appointment should be weighed against its alternatives. Bearing in mind some of the candidates that Rishi Sunak could have chosen to replace James Cleverly at the Foreign Office, this appointment is good news. » | Helene von Bismarck | Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Related here.

Why Has David Cameron Returned to Front-line politics? | Inside Story

Nov 13, 2023 | David Cameron stunned Britain when he quit as Prime Minister after the 2016 Brexit referendum. Now, he has triggered another political earthquake, making a shock return as Foreign Secretary.

That follows the sacking of the interior minister who tried and failed to suppress major demonstrations in support of Palestinians in Gaza. So what does this mean for UK policy - at home and abroad?

UK: An Unelected Foreign Secretary Appointed by an Unelected Prime Minister? | DW News

Nov 13, 2023 | David Cameron has spent the past seven years in the political wilderness – the man who gambled on a referendum that ended with Britain's seismic Brexit bust-up with Europe. Today, another gamble by another British leader brought David Cameron back to the frontline of government as British foreign secretary.

Few expected David Cameron to arrive at 10 Downing Street today for his appointment – his comeback made even more unlikely by the fact that he's currently not an elected lawmaker. The rare move by prime minister Rishi Sunak is part of a major cabinet shake-up which also saw the replacement of his divisive interior minister – Suella Braverman was sacked after writing an article accusing London's police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters.

'David Cameron Has Exactly the Sort of Status This Country Requires', Says Lord Heseltine

Nov 13, 2023 | Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine says he is "absolutely delighted" to see David Cameron "back on the frontline of politics", after the former PM was appointed as foreign secretary. The appointment came after Suella Braverman was fired as home secretary and James Cleverly appointed to replace her, leaving the top job open at the foreign office.

Ex-PM David Cameron, of Brexit Fame, Returns as UK Foreign Secretary | DW News

Nov 13, 2023 | Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron has been appointed foreign secretary, replacing James Cleverly. Cameron says he hopes his six years in the top job will assist him in helping current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet vital challenges. Cameron quit as PM and left politics in 2016, following the Brexit referendum that removed the UK from the European Union. He'd called the vote, and campaigned for Britain to remain, in hopes of overcoming anti-EU sentiment in his Conservative party. It was considered a major political blunder.

David Cameron Returns to UK Government as Foreign Secretary

THE GUARDIAN: Former PM makes surprise comeback as part of reshuffle in which Suella Braverman replaced by James Cleverly as home secretary

David Cameron outside 10 Downing Street in London on Monday. He stood down in 2016 after losing the Brexit referendum. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
David Cameron has returned to government as UK foreign secretary, in a stunning comeback for the former prime minister that highlighted Rishi Sunak’s willingness to take risks as he looks to revive his political fortunes.

Downing Street announced on Monday that Cameron would join the government, accepting a peerage in order to do so, as part of a wider reshuffle in which Suella Braverman was sacked as home secretary and replaced by the foreign secretary, James Cleverly.

A spokesperson also confirmed Jeremy Hunt would remain as chancellor.

Cameron posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “We are facing a daunting set of international challenges, including the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East. At this time of profound global change, it has rarely been more important for this country to stand by our allies, strengthen our partnerships and make sure our voice is heard. » | Kiran Stacey, Political correspondent | Monday, November 13, 2023

David Cameron nommé aux affaires étrangères après le limogeage de Suella Braverman du ministère de l’intérieur britannique : Située à l’aile droite du Parti conservateur, la ministre de l’intérieur avait récemment qualifié les marches londoniennes en soutien à Gaza de « marches pour la haine ». Elle est remplacée par James Cleverly. »

Sunak holt früheren Premierminister Cameron als Außenminister: Der britische Premierminister baut sein Kabinett um. Die umstrittene Innenministerin Braverman muss gehen. Mit der Personalie David Cameron sorgt Sunak für eine Überraschung. »

There’s a chance now for Cameron to start to undo the damage brought onto this country with that ridiculous Brexit referendum. For starters, that referendum divided the nation. It has also put this nation on the road to impoverishment. How could we expect to prosper when we turned our backs on the largest single market in the world – a market which is right on our doorstep? The Single Market is a ready market of approximately 450 million consumers! Without being part of that market, we can forget about turbo-charged economic growth. Moreover, the City would thank the Tories for taking us back into the EU. And, by the way, the internal single market was Thatcher’s baby. She worked tirelessly to bring that market about. So the Conservative Party dishonoured her proud legacy by ditching the Single Market, an inevitable consequence of leaving the EU.

Further, with the world in turmoil as it now is, the EU needs to be as strong and as united as it can be. As we all know, divisions weaken, unity strengthens.

But not only has the European Union been weakened by this country’s departure but our own union of nations, the United Kingdom, has been fractured and weakened, too.

If we were to return to the European Union, the cause of Scottish independence would be put to bed. In fact, we could start glueing this nation back together again. I am sure that the King would be pleased. That would be another bonus.

The United Kingdom has never before in my lifetime been as disunited as it is today, and all because of Brexit. It should also be remembered that this nation is made up of millions of people who regret voting for Brexit, the so-named ‘Bregretters’.

So much could be gained by a policy reversal on this most important of issues. Why! You would even get people like me voting Tory again (as long as you ditch Sunak’s dotty incremental ban on cigarette-smoking). I am almost certain that you’d be in favour of ditching that, Mr Cameron, because a little dickie bird once told me that you yourself are rather partial to the occasional naughty puff!

So please, Mr Cameron, start undoing the damage caused by Brexit – TODAY! It could well be the recipe for a landslide Tory victory at the next election! – © Mark Alexander

Lord Heseltine on Brexit: Cameron and Remain Campaign Didn't Want Me Involved in Referendum

Sep 23, 2023

Cameron, Alexander, Osborne, Clegg: How the Austerity ‘Quad’ Sold Their Souls

THE GUARDIAN: The 2010 coalition was a disaster. Its leaders have done little to restore their reputation

It was excruciating. To watch a former British prime minister before a committee of MPs last week trying to explain away his aggressive lobbying of ex-colleagues on behalf of Greensill, which has since collapsed into insolvency, was as humiliating as it was distressing. That we are citizens of a country whose former leader can behave in such a way is shocking. He claimed that lobbying for Greenshill was consistent with a commitment to public service. Really?

Worse was the glaring mismatch between the former puritan apostle of austerity – we are all in this together – and the compromising of such values. And not only him. In varying degrees, the other three members of the coalition quad – chancellor George Osborne, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and chief secretary Danny Alexander, who together imposed “peak austerity” between 2010 and 2015 – have all walked away from the public square only to raise major questions about how their new lives are consistent with their old and thus the credibility of what all politicians say as they vie for support. Our democracy is the weaker. » | Will Hutton | Sunday, May 16, 2021

Greensill Lobbying Leaves Your Reputation in Tatters, Cameron Told

THE GUARDIAN: MPs grill former prime minister for four hours about his text message and WhatsApp campaign

David Cameron was on Thursday told that his persistent lobbying of ministers, begging for favours on behalf of the controversial bank he worked for, had “demeaned” the position of the prime minister and left his “reputation in tatters”

. The former prime minister was forced to deny that his text message and WhatsApp lobbying campaign on behalf of Greensill Capital was driven by fears that an “opportunity to make a large amount of money was at risk”.

Cameron, who joined Greensill as an adviser and lobbyist exactly two years after he left Number 10, repeatedly refused to tell MPs how much money he stood to make from Greensill before the bank collapsed last year.

He told MPs he was paid “a generous amount, far more than I earned as prime minister” but declined to give even a ballpark figure, claiming that his pay was “a private matter”.

Cameron, 56, also refused to state how many shares he had been granted in the bank. He dismissed as “completely absurd” reports that he had boasted to friends that he stood to make £60m from a successful flotation of the supply chain financing firm. » | Rupert Neate | Thursday, May 13, 2021

Cameron and the Queen: Palace 'Displeasure' over Comments

‘Johnson Is a Liar Who Only Backed Leave to Help His Career’ – David Cameron

THE OBSERVER: Former PM vents fury in his memoirs at his old colleagues over their stance on Brexit and compares Leave campaign to racist Tory electioneering in 1964

Boris Johnson is a liar who only backed the Leave campaign to help his career and Michael Gove was a “foam-flecked Faragist” whose “one quality” was disloyalty, David Cameron writes in his memoirs.

The former prime minister poured vituperation on both his former colleagues Priti Patel, the current home secretary, and Dominic Cummings, the No 10 adviser, in extracts from the book published on Sunday.

In what may be Cameron’s most explosive allegation yet, he effectively accused Boris Johnson of mounting a racist election campaign by focusing on Turkey and its possible accession to the EU.

“It didn’t take long to figure out Leave’s obsession,” he writes. “Why focus on a country that wasn’t an EU member?

“The answer was that it was a Muslim country, which piqued fears about Islamism, mass migration and the transformation of communities. It was blatant.” » | Michael Savage and Emma Graham-Harrison | Sunday, September 15, 2019

Cameron 'Tried to Get Daily Mail's Editor Paul Dacre Sacked' over Brexit - BBC Newsnight (January 2017)

The proprietor of the Daily Mail told its editor that David Cameron pressed for him to be sacked during the EU referendum, BBC Newsnight has learned. Lord Rothermere told Paul Dacre the prime minister urged him to rein in his pro-Brexit editor, then suggested he sack him, a source told the BBC. A spokesman for Mr Cameron said he "did not believe he could determine who edits the Daily Mail". Emily Maitlis reports.

What’s to Blame for This Misfortune? David Cameron’s Hubris about Brexit

THE GUARDIAN: He treated politics as a game of chance and allowed the referendum vote to become a virility contest about whether or not Britain could stand alone

Sometime before the 2015 general election, an aeon ago in the history of British politics but less than two years ago in ordinary time, David Cameron told the Financial Times that he wanted to be judged on his success in resolving the two big questions that had overshadowed British politics for nearly a generation. This is how he described them: “One is, does the United Kingdom want to stay together? Yes. Secondly does the United Kingdom want to stay in a reformed European Union? Yes.”

No need to trouble with the score, then.

But where is Cameron, that sunny optimist, on this bleak morning when half his fellow Britons feel as if their country is being severed from Europe like a limb from its body? Where is he today, the day after the Scottish parliament voted in favour of a second referendum? Cameron is famously even tempered in the face of the buffeting of fate. He is a man said by those who know him to be exempt from the dark nights of the soul that keep ordinary folk tossing and turning at night in agonies of self-loathing. But even that David Cameron must have given some thought to the chaos his catastrophic commitment to a referendum on Europe has unleashed. And wondered why he ever thought it was a good idea. Read on and comment » | Anne Perkins | Wednesday, March 29, 2017