David Cameron served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2016.
In 2010, in tandem with the Liberal Democrat party, he led Britain‘s first Coalition Government for 70 years and, following the 2015 General Election , formed the first Conservative majority Government for over two decades.
David Cameron stood down as a Member of Parliament in 2016 very soon after resigning as Prime Minister. Cameron initially maintained a low-profile after leaving Downing Street and during the subsequent Brexit negotiations.
While stating that he did not regret calling the 2016 referendum, he has told The Times it had left him ‘hugely depressed’ and understands that ‘some people will never forgive me’.
Return as foreign secretary
In the November 2023 cabinet reshuffle, David Cameron made a shock return to front line British politics having been appointed Foreign Secretary by Rishi Sunak. In order to take up the post, David Cameron was made Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton by King Charles III on the request of the government.
Cameron’s shock appointment made him just the second former prime minister since the second world war to return to cabinet. In this regard, Cameron’s career now mirrors that of Alec Douglas-Home, prime minister from 1963 to 1964, who later became foreign secretary, serving under Edward Heath from 1970 to 1974.
Other roles since leaving Downing Street
In 2016, Cameron became Chairman of Patrons at National Citizen Service (NCS), a youth development programme. He is also President of Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Further to these roles, Cameron advised a number of international businesses – concentrating on innovative technology-driven sectors, including Fin-Tech, Medi-Tech and Artificial Intelligence.
Greensill Capital
In March 2021, it was revealed that Cameron was employed by Greensill Capital, a firm that has subsequently collapsed. Cameron, who following the 2009 controversy around MPs expense claims, had mused that lobbying would be the next big political scandal, was now himself in a lobbying furore.
It was reported that Mr Cameron sent several texts to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and held a number of virtual meetings with permanent secretaries in Whitehall to try and secure coronavirus support payments for Greensill. The Common’s Treasury committee later investigated Mr Cameron’s lobbying activities in relation to the company. The collapsed firm paid Mr Cameron a salary of more than $1 million a year, according to reports.
Mr Cameron’s involvement with the company and its principke Lex Greensill
David Cameron – The Lecturer
Former prime minister David Cameron has kept a low profile since the end of his association with Greensill Capital. But, in January 2023, Cameron was assigned to teach politics in a three-week course at New York University Abu Dhabi.
As part of a three week course, Cameron lectured students on “practising politics and government in the age of disruption”, including topics such as the war in Ukraine and the migration crisis.
According to the Financial Times, a friend of the former prime minister said the NYU teaching post was a “logical extension” of talks he had given at schools and universities. “He led the Tory party for 11 years and the country for six years and will draw on his experience in teaching the course about politics and government in the age of populism and disruption”.
Commenting on Cameron’s course, NYU Abu Dhabi said: “These courses give students the opportunity to study together and experience the rich diversity of the NYU Global Network”, adding that the courses in January would be “taught by renowned scholars, writers, artists, journalists, practitioners and policy analysts”.
David Cameron – Recent political comments
David Cameron has been careful not to delve too deeply into contemporary politics since leaving frontline British politics. He was careful not to become involved in the public debates during 2019 about the future of Theresa May, nor those in 2022 about whether the Conservative party should dispense with the services of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss as prime minister.
However also recently voiced cautious support for the government’s plan, developed under Boris Johnson, to deport those who arrive in the UK illegally to the Rwanda.
In his first public comments on the scheme, the former prime minister told LBC he had “huge sympathy” with the Government’s attempts to crush the people smuggling gangs by detaining and deporting anyone who arrived illegally to safe countries such as Rwanda or their homeland.
“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”, he added.
