Cameron’s Threats and Political Maneuvering in Brexit Battle: Johnson Reveals All

[Social Media]

 

In his memoir *Unleashed*, Boris Johnson has revealed startling details about the intense political battles leading up to the 2016 EU referendum, including an explosive threat from David Cameron. According to Johnson, Cameron, the then-Prime Minister, threatened to “f---” him up "forever" if he supported the Leave campaign. This bold allegation adds a new layer to the political drama that engulfed the Conservative Party during the Brexit crisis.

 

Johnson claims that Cameron, desperate to keep the UK in the European Union, attempted to sway him with promises of a top position in the Cabinet if he backed the Remain campaign. During a tennis match, Cameron reportedly urged Johnson, “Come on – go with the campaign to stay in and I’ll make sure you get a top-five job in the Cabinet.” However, Cameron's approach wasn’t purely conciliatory. Johnson recounts a phone conversation where Cameron's tone turned threatening, warning him of the dire consequences of backing Brexit.

 

“The PM had rung me one evening at City Hall, urging me to make up my mind,” Johnson wrote. “I was torn, I said. I wanted to back him, but over the years I had written hundreds if not thousands of articles attacking the undemocratic features of the EU. I felt I had to be consistent.”

 

According to Johnson, Cameron was furious at his indecision, emphasizing the national stakes of the referendum. “'This isn’t about articles!' he spluttered. 'It’s about… the future of the country!'” But when Johnson admitted he was leaning toward voting Leave, Cameron’s response was severe. “‘If you do that,’ he said – and these were his exact words – ‘I will f--- you up for ever.’”

 

Johnson admitted that Cameron’s threat left an impression. He pondered the implications of being targeted by a Prime Minister with the power and resources of the government at his disposal. “Did I want to be f---ed up? For ever? By a prime minister equipped with all the f---ing-up tools available to a modern government, and thousands of f---er-uppers just waiting to do his bidding?” Johnson mused in his memoir. At the time, with polls indicating that the Leave campaign was likely to lose, Johnson recalled feeling the pressure as a potential defeat could brand Brexit supporters as political pariahs. “Once we lost the failed and defeated Leavers would of course be crushed like bugs: dismissed as Powellite cranks and misfits who had been rejected by the people.”

 

But the revelations don’t stop at Cameron. Johnson also alleges that Philip Hammond, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, suggested overthrowing Theresa May following her disastrous performance in the 2017 general election, which saw the Conservative Party lose its parliamentary majority. Johnson wrote that Hammond, despite his typically reserved demeanor, approached him with a radical proposal in the early hours of the morning.

 

“He thought it was all very unfortunate but Theresa’s goose was cooked. She would have to go sooner or later, and it might as well be now,” Johnson wrote of his conversation with Hammond. The Chancellor reportedly proposed a Hammond-Johnson partnership, where Johnson would become Prime Minister and Hammond would continue as his "economic co-pilot."

 

Johnson admits he briefly considered the offer but ultimately rejected it. “I thought about it briefly, as dawn started to break, and then said no,” he wrote.

 

These allegations shed light on the extraordinary levels of political maneuvering and personal ambition that characterized the Brexit era. Johnson’s memoir paints a vivid picture of a divided Conservative Party, with key figures like Cameron and Hammond plotting behind the scenes to maintain power or shape the future direction of the country.

 

A spokesman for David Cameron declined to comment on the claims, while Philip Hammond has yet to respond publicly. Regardless of the response, Johnson’s revelations are bound to reignite debate over the internal power struggles that shaped one of the most tumultuous periods in modern British political history.

 

Based on a report from: Daily Telegraph 2024-10-01

 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

I thought my opinion of Cameron could not have gone lower. I was wrong.

[Homburg]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

'It’s about… the future of the country!'

Really?  Or was it about the future of David Cameron's ego.