This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/15/five-things-we-learned-from-david-cameron-memoir-boris-johnson-michael-gove-referendum
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Five things we learned from David Cameron's memoir | Five things we learned from David Cameron's memoir |
| (42 minutes later) | |
| Extracts from the former prime minister David Cameron’s memoir For the Record have been published in the Times and Sunday Times. Here are five things we learned from the book. | Extracts from the former prime minister David Cameron’s memoir For the Record have been published in the Times and Sunday Times. Here are five things we learned from the book. |
| What he thinks of Boris Johnson | What he thinks of Boris Johnson |
| Boris Johnson “didn’t believe” in Brexit, but backed the leave campaign to further his career. Johnson wanted to become the “darling of the party” and “didn’t want to risk allowing someone else with a high profile – Michael Gove in particular – to win that crown”, Cameron claims. “The conclusion I am left with is that he risked an outcome he didn’t believe in because it would help his political career.” Furthermore, Cameron claims Johnson privately believed there should be a second referendum to confirm the terms of Brexit – something Johnson has strongly resisted since. He reveals he tried to stop Johnson joining the Brexit campaign by offering him the post of defence secretary. Johnson, he says, believed the leave camp would lose, and if it did win, there could always be a fresh negotiation followed by a second referendum. | |
| His opinions on Michael Gove | His opinions on Michael Gove |
| Cameron turns on Michael Gove, once a close friend, in a blistering attack, referring to him as “mendacious”. He describes him as a “foam-flecked Faragist warning that the entire Turkish population was about to come to Britain”. He reveals he texted Gove: “You are either a team player or a wanker.” He adds : “One quality shone through, disloyalty. Disloyalty to me and, later, disloyalty to Boris”. Gove’s claims the public were tired of experts made him “an ambassador for the truth-twisting age of populism”. While Cameron claims Johnson did not believe in Brexit, he says of Gove: “Michael had backed something he did perhaps believe in, but in the process had broken with his friends – while taking up positions that were completely against his political identity.” | Cameron turns on Michael Gove, once a close friend, in a blistering attack, referring to him as “mendacious”. He describes him as a “foam-flecked Faragist warning that the entire Turkish population was about to come to Britain”. He reveals he texted Gove: “You are either a team player or a wanker.” He adds : “One quality shone through, disloyalty. Disloyalty to me and, later, disloyalty to Boris”. Gove’s claims the public were tired of experts made him “an ambassador for the truth-twisting age of populism”. While Cameron claims Johnson did not believe in Brexit, he says of Gove: “Michael had backed something he did perhaps believe in, but in the process had broken with his friends – while taking up positions that were completely against his political identity.” |
| He (partly) regrets the 2016 European referendum | He (partly) regrets the 2016 European referendum |
| Cameron comes close to issuing an apology. He has no regrets about calling the referendum, saying it was “necessary” and “inevitable”. But he says he is sorry about the divisions it has caused. He writes that he thinks about the consequences daily and worries “desperately” about what will happen. He claims he was disadvantaged in campaigning for Remain. Both Johnson and Gove “behaved appallingly”, attacking their own government, turning a blind eye to their side’s unpleasant actions. But, as prime minister, Cameron felt he could not hit back as hard, resulting in “asymmetric warfare”. The referendum turned into a Conservative party psychodrama, he writes, and he was “hugely depressed” about leaving his post as prime minister. “I deeply regret the outcome and accept that my approach failed. The decisions I took contributed to that failure. I failed.” On the leave campaign’s mastermind, Dominic Cummings, now Johnson’s top aide, and Farage, he claims they were part of a “cauldron of toxicity” with “something of the night about them”. | |
| What he feels about his family | What he feels about his family |
| Cameron describes his despair at the death of his first-born son Ivan, who died aged six in 2009, and had Ohtahara syndrome, suffering multiple seizures daily. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare you for the reality of losing your darling boy in this way. It was as if the world stopped turning,” he writes. Then leader of the opposition, he was due to attend prime minister’s questions in the commons on the day after Ivan’s death. But Gordon Brown, whose daughter Jennifer Jane died a few days after birth in 2002, adjourned the house for the day. Cameron writes that Brown’s “real warmth and humanity” meant a lot to both him and wife Samantha. | Cameron describes his despair at the death of his first-born son Ivan, who died aged six in 2009, and had Ohtahara syndrome, suffering multiple seizures daily. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare you for the reality of losing your darling boy in this way. It was as if the world stopped turning,” he writes. Then leader of the opposition, he was due to attend prime minister’s questions in the commons on the day after Ivan’s death. But Gordon Brown, whose daughter Jennifer Jane died a few days after birth in 2002, adjourned the house for the day. Cameron writes that Brown’s “real warmth and humanity” meant a lot to both him and wife Samantha. |
| The effect of Brexit on his three other children is also revealed. His daughter, Nancy, aged 12 at the time of the referendum, took “Conservative in” badges to school to hand to friends. At a school fair an older girl, asked if she was for “out” or “in”. Cameron wrote: “Nancy replied she was for in. The girl said, ‘well , f*** you’. Nancy replied, ‘well, f*** you too’. Sam and I had never heard her say the f-word. We thought it was a bit shocking, but rather extraordinary.” | The effect of Brexit on his three other children is also revealed. His daughter, Nancy, aged 12 at the time of the referendum, took “Conservative in” badges to school to hand to friends. At a school fair an older girl, asked if she was for “out” or “in”. Cameron wrote: “Nancy replied she was for in. The girl said, ‘well , f*** you’. Nancy replied, ‘well, f*** you too’. Sam and I had never heard her say the f-word. We thought it was a bit shocking, but rather extraordinary.” |
| His proudest moment in office | His proudest moment in office |
| One of the proudest moments of his premiership, Cameron says, was the introduction of same-sex marriage, though he had worried and “wobbled” over the issue and faced heated opposition with the Conservative party: “Equal marriage was one of the most contentious, hard-fought and divisive issues during my time as prime minister.” One party member tore up his card in front of him. But, he acknowledges, he did regret abstaining from voting on an Iain Duncan Smith motion to block gay couples’ right to adopt children. “I should have proactively supported that right,” he wrote. | One of the proudest moments of his premiership, Cameron says, was the introduction of same-sex marriage, though he had worried and “wobbled” over the issue and faced heated opposition with the Conservative party: “Equal marriage was one of the most contentious, hard-fought and divisive issues during my time as prime minister.” One party member tore up his card in front of him. But, he acknowledges, he did regret abstaining from voting on an Iain Duncan Smith motion to block gay couples’ right to adopt children. “I should have proactively supported that right,” he wrote. |
| David Cameron | David Cameron |
| Politics books | Politics books |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| Boris Johnson | Boris Johnson |
| Michael Gove | Michael Gove |
| Gordon Brown | Gordon Brown |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |