In the first Cabinet reshuffle since taking office last October, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on November 13 made a decision that shook the political scene in the "foggy country".
Accordingly, former Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016) has returned to the front line after 7 years of "hiding". Mr. Cameron's return not only caused surprise but also caused division within the ruling Conservative Party in the context that this party is falling behind the Labor Party ahead of the general election scheduled for the end of next year.
Mr Sunak also risks a backlash from right-wing members of his party after removing Suella Braverman as Home Secretary following days of speculation about the hardliner's political future, replacing her with moderate counterpart James Cleverly.
Mr Cleverly was foreign secretary. So to fill the void, Mr Cameron, who was recently elected to the House of Lords, was appointed the UK’s top diplomat – marking the first return to government by a former prime minister since Alec Douglas-Home in the 1970s.
Mr Cameron said he hoped his experience as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016 would help him tackle current challenges on the international stage.
“Although I have been out of politics for the past seven years, I hope that my experience – as Leader of the Conservative Party for 11 years and Prime Minister for six – will support me in helping the current Prime Minister tackle these important challenges,” Mr Cameron said in a statement on X/Twitter after his appointment.
Mr Cameron, who resigned the day after the UK's Brexit referendum (June 23, 2016 - June 23, 2023), has spent the seven years since then writing his memoirs and pursuing business.
The right choice
Politico EU spoke to more than half a dozen Conservative MPs and ministers who welcomed Mr Cameron’s return. Most, but not all, came from the left and centre of the Conservative Party. Some spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about the state of the ruling party.
From left: New Home Secretary James Cleverly, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and new Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Photo: India Today
“This could really be a breakthrough” for Mr Sunak and herald “a return to the sensible middle ground”, said one Conservative MP elected in 2019.
Another MP elected to the House of Commons in 2019 said that as Conservative leader, Mr Cameron had helped unite the party after years of division.
As leader of the Conservative Party, Mr Cameron modernised the party's image, diversifying its membership and negotiating an unlikely coalition with the centre-left Liberal Democrats in 2010 to end years of Labour rule.
Mr Cameron also oversaw the Scottish referendum in 2014, and then won a landslide victory in the 2015 general election – when many experts predicted a “hung” parliament (ie no party would win enough support to form a government).
Richard Graham MP, who represents Gloucester and is the trade envoy for East Asia, said Mr Cameron was a good choice because of the former prime minister's “deep experience and gentle temperament”.
Another former minister echoed the sentiment, saying the move would “reassure the party and the public that the Conservatives are serious about governing and winning”.
Meanwhile, Conservative MPs representing parts of southern England are hoping that Mr Cameron’s return will be backed by voters at the next election, many of which face a strong challenge from the left-wing Liberal Democrats.
Controversy
But Mr Sunak's cabinet reshuffle has angered some right-wing Conservative MPs, who say it represents a shift to the left in Mr Sunak's government.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns MP – a loyalist to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson – revealed that she had sent a letter of no confidence to Mr Sunak on the evening of 13 November, citing Ms Braverman’s dismissal. The letter, posted in full on X/Twitter, described the reshuffle as a “purge” of the “centre-right”.
Members of the Conservative caucuses New Conservatives and Common Sense Group also met on the evening of 13 November to discuss the impact of Ms Braverman's dismissal.
Mr. David Cameron leaves the British Prime Minister's Office (No. 10 Downing Street) after being appointed as British Foreign Secretary, November 13, 2023. Photo: The Telegraph
In Mr Cameron's case, some in the House of Commons have suggested that the controversy over his performance since leaving office could make Prime Minister Sunak "regret" bringing him back into politics.
Former Prime Minister Cameron is at the centre of the Greensill scandal, one of the biggest lobbying scandals in recent British political history. Labour strategists in the British Parliament on November 13 cited Greensill when they said Cameron’s appointment would ultimately hurt the Conservative Party.
Asked about the controversy, Mr Cameron told broadcasters on 13 November: “As far as I know, it’s all settled and in the past.”
Conservative MPs who have been sanctioned by Beijing are also concerned about what Mr Cameron's appointment as foreign secretary means for the UK's approach to China.
As prime minister, Mr Cameron heralded a “golden era” in relations with Beijing, hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping on an official visit to the UK in 2015.
After leaving office, Mr Cameron became vice chairman of a British-Chinese investment fund. Politico EU previously reported that in September, Mr Cameron traveled to Sri Lanka to attract investment in a Chinese-built port city in the South Asian island nation's capital, Colombo .
Minh Duc (According to Politico EU, RFI, iNews)
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