NOVEMBER 13, 2023
Ex-British PM David Cameron.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has been appointed as the country’s new Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the UK Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday. Cameron previously served as the British PM from 2010 to 2016. He was also the Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016.
“The Prime Minister has asked me to serve as his Foreign Secretary and I have gladly accepted. We are facing a daunting set of international challenges, including the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East,” Cameron wrote on X after his appointment. He said his experience as Conservative Leader for eleven years and Prime Minister for six, will assist him in helping Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to meet these vital global challenges.
“Britain is a truly international country. Our people live all over the world and our businesses trade in every corner of the globe. Working to help ensure stability and security on the global stage is both essential and squarely in our national interest. International security is vital for our domestic security. Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable Prime Minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time,” the former UK PM said.
Cameron was given the foreign office after Foreign Secretary James Cleverly replaced Suella Braverman as the country’s new Home Secretary. In a post on social media, the Conservative Party said PM Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle “strengthens his team in government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future”.
Surprise Return
Cameron has made a surprising return to government as the country’s foreign secretary. Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum, accepted a peerage to join the government in a reshuffle led by PM Sunak.
His return comes amid a broader shake-up that saw Suella Braverman dismissed as home secretary after she criticised the police’s handling of a pro-Palestinian march. Cameron’s reentry into politics is seen as a bold move by Sunak, and it has generated reactions from both moderates and the right-wing factions of the Conservative party.
Critics point to Cameron’s involvement in the Greensill Capital lobbying scandal and his earlier stance on the HS2 high-speed train line cancellation. Labour’s Pat McFadden commented, “This puts to bed the prime minister’s laughable claim to offer a change from 13 years of Tory failure.”
Courtesy: New18 / PTI
