Anthony Seldon - Cameron at 10 - From Election to Brexit

YOUNGER, ALEX – Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), 2014–15.

Conservative Party (All members of, or closely aligned with, the Conservative Party)

BRADY, GRAHAM – MP for Altrincham and Sale West. Chairman of the 1922 Committee, 2010–15.

CROSBY, LYNTON – Australian political strategist. Director of 2015 campaign, 2012–15.

CRUDDAS, PETER – Conservative Party Co-treasurer, 2011–12.

DAVIDSON, RUTH – Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, 2011–15.

JOHNSON, BORIS – Mayor of London, 2008–15.

MAJOR, JOHN – Prime Minister, 1990–1997.

NORMAN, JESSE – MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire.

SOAMES, NICHOLAS – MP for Mid Sussex.

SPICER, MICHAEL – MP for West Worcestershire. Chairman of 1922 Committee, 2001–10.

STEWART, RORY – MP for Penrith and The Border. Chair of the Defence Select Committee, 2014–15.

Other UK

ALEXANDER, DOUGLAS – Shadow Foreign Secretary, 2011–15.

BALLS, ED – Shadow Chancellor, 2011–15.

BERCOW, JOHN – Speaker of the House of Commons, 2009–15.

BROWN, GORDON – Prime Minister, 2007–10.

DARLING, ALISTAIR – Chair of the Better Together Campaign, 2012–14.

FARAGE, NIGEL – Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), 2010–15.

HARMAN, HARRIET – Acting Leader of the Labour Party, May–September 2010. Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, 2007–15.

LEVESON, BRIAN – Judge. Chairman of the Leveson Inquiry, 2011–12.

LUCAS, CAROLINE – Leader of the Green Party, 2008–12.

MILIBAND, ED – Leader of the Labour Party, 2010–15.

ROBINSON, PETER – First Minister of Northern Ireland, 2008–15. Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, 2008–15.

SALMOND, ALEX – First Minister of Scotland, 2007–14. Leader of the Scottish National Party, 2004–14.

STEVENS, SIMON – CEO of NHS England, 2014–15.

STURGEON, NICOLA – First Minister of Scotland, 2014–15. Leader of the Scottish National Party, 2014–15.

WEI, NAT – Social entrepreneur. Government adviser, 2010–11.

USA

BIDEN, JOE – Vice President, 2009–15.

BLOOMBERG, MICHAEL – Mayor of New York City, 2002–13.

CLINTON, HILLARY – Secretary of State, 2009–13

DONILON, THOMAS – National Security Advisor, 2010–13.

EMANUEL, RAHM – White House Chief of Staff, 2009–10.

GATES, ROBERT – Secretary of Defense, 2006–11.

GIBBS, ROBERT – White House Press Secretary, 2009–11.

KERRY, JOHN – Secretary of State, 2013–15.

KNAPP, BILL – Media strategist and consultant.

OBAMA, BARACK – President of the United States, 2009–15.

RICE, SUSAN – National Security Advisor, 2013–15.

YELLEN, JANET – Chair of the United States Federal Reserve, 2014–15.

Europe

ASHTON, CATHERINE – High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, 2009–14. Vice President of the European Commission, 2010–14.

BARNIER, MICHEL – European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, 2010–14.

BERLUSCONI, SILVIO – Prime Minister of Italy, 1994–1995, 2001–06, 2008–11.

DRAGHI, MARIO – President of the European Central Bank, 2011–15.

HOLLANDE, FRANÇOIS – President of France, 2012–15.

JUNCKER, JEAN-CLAUDE – Prime Minister of Luxembourg, 1995–13. President of the European Commission, 2014–15.

KATAINEN, JYRKI – Prime Minister of Finland, 2011–14.

KENNY, ENDA – Taoiseach, 2011–15.

LAGARDE, CHRISTINE – Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, 2011–15.

MERKEL, ANGELA – Chancellor of Germany, 2005–15.

MEYER-LANDRUT, NIKOLAUS – Adviser to Angela Merkel on European Affairs, 2011–15.

MONTI, MARIO – Prime Minister of Italy, 2011–13.

ORBÁN, VIKTOR – Prime Minister of Hungary, 2010–15.

RAJOY, MARIANO – Prime Minister of Spain, 2011–15.

REINFELDT, FREDERIK – Prime Minister of Sweden, 2006–14.

RENZI, MATTEO – Prime Minister of Italy, 2014–15.

RUTTE, MARK – Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 2010–15.

SARKOZY, NICOLAS – President of France, 2007–12.

SCHULZ, MARTIN – Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, 2004–12, 2014. President of the European Parliament, 2014–15.

THORNING-SCHMIDT, HELLE – Prime Minister of Denmark, 2011–15.

TUSK, DONALD – Prime Minister of Poland, 2007–14. President of the European Council, 2014–15.

VAN ROMPUY, HERMAN – President of the European Council, 2009–14.

WESTERWELLE, GUIDO – German Foreign Minister, 2009–13.

International (UN, other foreign PMs, etc.)

AL-ABADI, HAIDER – Prime Minister of Iraq, 2014–15.

AL-ASSAD, BASHAR – President of Syria, 2000–15.

AL-MALIKI, NOURI – Prime Minister of Iraq, 2006–14.

AL-THANI, HAMAD BIN JASSIM BIN JABER (‘HBJ’) – Prime Minister of Qatar, 2007–13.

BAN KI-MOON – Secretary General of the United Nations, 2007–15.

DALAI LAMA – Tibetan spiritual leader, 1950–2015.

ERDOGAN, RECEP TAYYIP – Prime Minister of Turkey, 2003–14. President of Turkey, 2014–15.

GADDAFI, MUAMMAR – De facto ruler of Libya, 1969–2011.

HARPER, STEPHEN – Prime Minister of Canada, 2006–15.

JIABAO, WEN – Premier of China, 2003–13.

JINTAO, HU – President of China, 2002–12.

KARZAI, HAMID – President of Afghanistan, 2004–14.

KEQIANG, LI – Premier of China, 2013–15.

LAVROV, SERGEI – Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2004–15.

MEDVEDEV, DMITRI – President of Russia, 2008–12. Prime Minister of Russia, 2012–15.

NETANYAHU, BENJAMIN – Prime Minister of Israel, 2009–15.

POROSHENKO, PETRO – President of Ukraine, 2014–15.

PUTIN, VLADIMIR – President of Russia, 1999–2008, 2012–15. Prime Minister of Russia, 2008–12.

SINGH, MANMOHAN – Prime Minister of India, 2004–14.

USHAKOV, YURI – Adviser to President Putin, 2008–15.

XIAOMING, LIU – Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 2010–15.

YANUKOVYCH, VIKTOR – President of Ukraine, 2010–14.

YI, WANG – Chinese Foreign Minister, 2013–15.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION

The decision to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union was the biggest gamble of David Cameron’s political career. Had the result tipped in his favour, he would have been able to capitalize on his second term, in which he was already developing a distinctive domestic agenda. But like Margaret Thatcher and John Major before him, Britain’s troubled relationship with Europe would leave his premiership in ruins. His downfall was on an even greater scale than theirs. He will forever be remembered as the prime minister who precipitated the country’s most momentous decision in over fifty years, with far-reaching and profound consequences.

How did this happen? None of Cameron’s predecessors had managed to hold the Conservative Party together over the issue of Europe since Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973. On becoming leader he urged the party to ‘stop banging on’ about Europe, desperate to cast aside years of internecine conflict between Tory Europhiles and Eurosceptics. He came to office in May 2010 with little coherent plan for how to achieve this, beyond hoping that Europe must not overshadow his premiership. Yet within eighteen months, the pressure to commit to a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union was becoming overwhelming. By the summer of 2012, over one hundred Conservative MPs had added their names to a letter calling on Cameron to make a commitment, fearful that the rise of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) would destroy the party’s chances of winning the next election. He chose to assuage their concerns by promising a ‘new settlement’ with the EU following a renegotiation of Britain’s membership. The referendum pledge Cameron made in his Bloomberg speech in January 2013 ultimately led to his undoing. It gave the impression of a prime minister reacting to events rather than mastering them.