Who is David Cameron: From Brexit Fallout PM to a Peerage and Shock Return to UK Govt – News18

In a surprising comeback, former British Prime Minister David Cameron has accepted a peerage to join the government as the new foreign secretary ahead of a general election expected next year. The move is part of a broader reshuffle that saw Suella Braverman sacked as home secretary and replaced by James Cleverly.

Cameron, 57, said he is making a comeback in the cabinet because he believes in public service. “That is what first motivated me to get involved in politics in the 1980s, to work in government in the 1990s, become a Member of Parliament in the 2000s and put myself forward as Party Leader and Prime Minister,” he said in a long note on social media platform X.

Unexpected return

Cameron quit as prime minister in 2016 after losing the Brexit referendum. He stood down as an MP the same year. He became mired in scandal in 2021, after lobbying the UK government for finance group Greensill Capital, which later collapsed and the episode was seen as badly tarnishing his reputation. He will be made a life peer in the House of Lords, Britain’s upper chamber of parliament, Downing Street announced, meaning that he can sit in government.

The former leader said he “gladly accepted” the role as Britain faced “a daunting set of international challenges”. “While I have been out of front-line politics for the last seven years, I hope that my experience — as Conservative leader for 11 years and prime minister for six — will assist me in helping the prime minister to meet these vital challenges,” Cameron added.

His Past

Cameron is a former public relations executive for a commercial television company. He became Britain’s youngest leader in almost two centuries after the 2010 election when he led the nation’s first coalition government since World War Two. In 2013, his government legalised same-sex marriage, which Cameron backed strongly, saying at the time: “I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.”

As prime minister, Cameron ordered military intervention in Libya, when Britain and its allies led international efforts to help oust then-leader Muammar Gaddafi in early 2011. Cameron agreed to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, campaigning successfully against secession as Scots voted by 55-45% to stay in the United Kingdom.

Aiming to repeat that success, Cameron called a referendum on membership of the European Union in June 2016 to end decades-long arguing in his Conservative party on the issue. However, Britain voted for Brexit and he announced he would quit as prime minister the following day.

‘I want to help’

The Conservatives, in power for nearly 14 years, said the changes “strengthen his team in government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future”. Cameron’s unexpected return surprised even those who comment daily on British politics and was viewed as having been made with the next general election firmly in mind.

Cameron said though he may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to him that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable PM, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time. “I want to help him to deliver the security and prosperity our country needs and be part of the strongest possible team that serves the United Kingdom and that can be presented to the country when the General Election is held,” he added.

(With agency inputs)