Cameron an ambitious leader defined by EU referendum defeat

[webfact]

Cameron an ambitious leader defined by EU referendum defeat
By JILL LAWLESS

LONDON (AP) — When David Cameron was elected leader of Britain's Conservative Party, the press called him the "heir to Blair." Like Labour premier Tony Blair, he was a young leader who dragged his sometimes reluctant party toward the political center.

Cameron steps down Wednesday after six years as prime minister — like Blair, defined by a historic blunder.

For Blair, it was the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For Cameron, it was the decision to call a referendum on Britain's European Union membership. He gambled that voters would choose to remain, after a cathartic debate that would resolve Conservative Party divisions on Europe.

Instead, Britain voted by 52 percent to 48 percent to leave — and a tearful Cameron announced his resignation the next morning, saying "I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination."He was due to stay on until the party picked a new leader in September, but on Monday Home Secretary Theresa May was chosen as Conservative chief after her last opponent dropped out. British politics can be brutal — the moving vans were pulling up to 10 Downing St. the next day.

Cameron's six-year term as prime minister will be remembered for its sudden, self-inflicted end. But historian Anthony Seldon said there were substantial achievements, too.

"Yes, it ended in disaster," Seldon told BBC radio.

But he said Cameron was "a substantial historical figure who also emerged victorious from two general elections, reshaped his party, instituted a whole range of left-of-center, progressive Conservative reforms including gay marriage, pressed for money to go to development and modernized the party."

When he took office in 2010, the 43-year-old Cameron was Britain's youngest prime minister in almost 200 years. He failed to win an outright majority in Parliament, so formed a coalition with the smaller Liberal Democrats. It was a compromise that suited him. The government was fiscally conservative and socially reforming, much like Cameron himself.

The confident, easygoing product of a privileged background — the first prime minister to say he liked to "chillax" — Cameron said he hoped to be remembered as a social reformer. He encouraged a vision of a "Big Society" built on volunteering and community activism and cited legalizing same-sex marriage as one of his proudest achievements — although it cost him the support of some socially conservative Tories.

His government had to deal with a stagnating economy after the 2008 global financial crisis, and brought in deep public-spending cuts in a bid to reduce the country's ballooning deficit. Cameron managed to deflect much of the blame onto the previous Labour government, accusing it of fiscal recklessness.

Internationally, Cameron was wary of the interventionism that had led Blair to take Britain into the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. When he sought Parliament's approval to join a campaign of air strikes against the Assad regime in Syria in 2013, lawmakers defeated him.

However, Britain did join a campaign of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Iraq the next year and expanded them to Syria in 2015.

But it was Britain's relationship with European Union neighbors and allies that proved his undoing, just when everything seemed to be going his way.

Cameron was re-elected in 2015 with an unexpected Conservative majority after campaigning on his economic record and vision of a "modern, compassionate Conservative Party."

But the final year of his premiership was overshadowed by what he had once called the party's predilection for "banging on about Europe."

Under pressure from the right-wing U.K. Independence Party and euroskeptics in his own party, Cameron called a referendum on membership of the 28-nation bloc.

He had already won two referendums, easily defeating a bid to introduce voting reforms in 2011 and by a narrower margin keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom in 2014.

But the third proved a vote too far. Cameron will be remembered as the prime minister who took Britain out of the EU and — potentially — triggered the breakup of the United Kingdom. Scotland voted strongly to remain in the EU, and the vote has given new momentum to demands for a second independence referendum.

Jon Davis of the Policy Institute at King's College London said that in many ways Cameron was a successful leader.

"He was a steady prime minister, he was competent, he was good-hearted," Davis said. "If it had been 52-48 the other way, we would be talking about a great leader, a great prime minister."

Instead, "what we have is an abject failure that he has to live with for the rest of his life."

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Follow Jill Lawless on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-07-13

[sujoop]

By comparison to most others in the wings, Cameron was a very capable, adept and deft leader who unfortunately did not anticipate that a slight majority of primarily under-educated, ageing, unsuccessful and angry at the world xenophobes would be his undoing (and the UK as well ultimately).

The real 'winners' here are those who wish to see our economic unions weakened (Russia/China) and fracture our societies with fear (ISIS et al). Congrats Brexiters (who will also exit the earth mostly within 15 years) thanks for your legacy of fear, xenophobia and isolationism.

[JetsetBkk]

By comparison to most others in the wings, Cameron was a very capable, adept and deft leader who unfortunately did not anticipate that a slight majority of primarily under-educated, ageing, unsuccessful and angry at the world xenophobes would be his undoing (and the UK as well ultimately).

The real 'winners' here are those who wish to see our economic unions weakened (Russia/China) and fracture our societies with fear (ISIS et al). Congrats Brexiters (who will also exit the earth mostly within 15 years) thanks for your legacy of fear, xenophobia and isolationism.

Please watch the following, although I don't expect you to understand or agree with it:

[Andaman Al]

By comparison to most others in the wings, Cameron was a very capable, adept and deft leader who unfortunately did not anticipate that a slight majority of primarily under-educated, ageing, unsuccessful and angry at the world xenophobes would be his undoing (and the UK as well ultimately).

The real 'winners' here are those who wish to see our economic unions weakened (Russia/China) and fracture our societies with fear (ISIS et al). Congrats Brexiters (who will also exit the earth mostly within 15 years) thanks for your legacy of fear, xenophobia and isolationism.

Actually you come across quite nicely as a representative of "primarily under-educated, ageing, unsuccessful and angry at the world xenophobes".

The UK will do incredibly well now and when within 5 years Italy goes belly up, you and your pension will be saying "thank God we got out in time". Germany may well be next to join us. Watch this space. If only these "well educated youngsters who can see into the future", had known anything other than the EU and could actually see further ahead than the two months they currently can. The doom and gloom will be gone within months of packing up our european desks and clearing off.

By the way the statistics concerning demographics/age/education have been shown to be nonsense. More 'older people' than 'younger people' voted remain and if the other 'younger whingers' could have been arsed to get out of bed or quit playing the play station or pokemon go for a while then maybe the result would have been different. Contrary to popular belief the 'younger' people have parents who fall in to the 'older' category' and I for one would not do anything that would jeopardize my childrens/grand childrens futures. I was for leave. I am educated and have made enough sacrifices for the UK and its young to entitle me to vote whatever I consider in the best interests of the country. Mark my words the entire country will soon breath a sigh of relief that the "primarily under-educated, ageing, unsuccessful and angry at the world xenophobes" got them out of the crap and the 20 years of severe austerity measures that will follow Italy going belly up. The ONLY thing I am nervous and apprehensive about is that technically we are still in and we need the legal separation with immediate effect. With current rates of exports/Imports in the UK, Europe and it's businesses need the UK far more than we need Europe - Fact! We need to leave and they will be eager enough to negotiate after that.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Andaman Al

[sujoop]

The angry, seething, sneering, Farage-like chap in the video - case in point, thanks. He's just espousing the usual dog-whistle speak to thinly veil brexiters primary motivation which was/is xenophobia. Such anger... Perhaps if he threw a stone through a kebab shop window he'd feel better?

And in TV, all one has to do is look at many Brexiter's posts on local topics to see a history of deriding Thais and Thai xenophobia, ironically.

Keeping on topic, hopefully Cameron is kept on May's team in some fashion (obviously not in the 'brexit ministry' though) as he's level-headed, good natured, quick on his feet and pragmatic.

[Andaman Al]

The angry, seething, sneering, Farage-like chap in the video - case in point, thanks. He's just espousing the usual dog-whistle speak to thinly veil brexiters primary motivation which was/is xenophobia. Such anger... Perhaps if he threw a stone through a kebab shop window he'd feel better?

And in TV, all one has to do is look at many Brexiter's posts on local topics to see a history of deriding Thais and Thai xenophobia, ironically.

Keeping on topic, hopefully Cameron is kept on May's team in some fashion (obviously not in the 'brexit ministry' though) as he's level-headed, good natured, quick on his feet and pragmatic.

Well I came to a decision without watching a single Farage speech. I have only watched them since the result. Please find any post of mine that derides Thais.

All the 'educated' in London who voted remain were not interested one iota in the future. Regardless of how good the future could be, everyone involved in the Finance Industry in London could not bear to think of losing 10K per day and having to think and work for 3-4 months. The fundamentals indicate that the UK will now become a european power house without the chains of bondage the EU had fitted.

As for David Cameron, does he qualify as one of your educated types? Yes he is " level-headed, good natured, quick on his feet and pragmatic" but you missed out that he also puts his dick in dead pigs mouths. Education isn't what it used to be!

An educated Remainer

An uneducated Leaver

Who do you trust?

[maoro2013]

What if they rerun the referendum and Brexit fails? Will he come back.

I think things have gone too far and there can be no return.

[Scott]

Inflammatory posts and replies removed.

[neverdie]

By comparison to most others in the wings, Cameron was a very capable, adept and deft leader who unfortunately did not anticipate that a slight majority of primarily under-educated, ageing, unsuccessful and angry at the world xenophobes would be his undoing (and the UK as well ultimately).

The real 'winners' here are those who wish to see our economic unions weakened (Russia/China) and fracture our societies with fear (ISIS et al). Congrats Brexiters (who will also exit the earth mostly within 15 years) thanks for your legacy of fear, xenophobia and isolationism.

Please watch the following, although I don't expect you to understand or agree with it:

He always presents himself so well.

He should run for pm. 5555555. Couldn't do a worse job that Cameron or Blair.