David Cameron

David Cameron (born 9 October 1966) led the Conservative Party from 2005 and became Prime Minister in May 2010, forming a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg after a hung parliament. He won an outright Conservative majority in the May 2015 general election.

Cameron's premiership is associated with several defining policies and events:

• Austerity: His government, with Chancellor George Osborne, pursued a deficit-reduction programme involving cuts to public spending and welfare following the 2008 financial crisis.
• Libya (2011): The UK, alongside France and the US, participated in NATO-led military intervention authorised by UN Security Council Resolution 1973.
• Scottish independence referendum (2014): Cameron's government agreed to the referendum via the Edinburgh Agreement (2012); the "No" side won with roughly 55% of the vote.
• Same-sex marriage: The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 was passed under his government in England and Wales.
• Syria votes: In August 2013, the House of Commons rejected his motion for military action against the Assad government following chemical weapons use.
• EU referendum: After renegotiating UK membership terms, Cameron called the referendum held on 23 June 2016. He campaigned for Remain; the Leave side won approximately 52% to 48%, and he resigned the following day, with Theresa May succeeding him in July 2016.

After leaving the Commons in September 2016, Cameron became involved in controversy over lobbying for the collapsed firm Greensill Capital, reviewed in the 2021 Boardman Report. In November 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unexpectedly appointed him Foreign Secretary, with a peerage as Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton enabling him to sit in the House of Lords. He served in that role until the Conservatives lost the July 2024 general election to Labour under Keir Starmer.