David Cameron
David Cameron is a Conservative politician, member of the Parliament, and was prime minister of the United Kingdom.
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History
Cameron became involved in the Conservative Party after college. He remained on the list of potential candidates for several years until being tapped in 1996, though he did not win in the 1997 general elections. He instead entered the Parliament in April 2000 for Witney, after the incumbent Shaun Woodward switched party affiliations and constituencies.
He rapidly rose in the Conservatives, joining the shadow cabinet in 2004.
Following the May 2005 general election, Michael Howard announced his resignation as party leader, but with a remarkably long period for the leadership contest. Cameron was a leading candidate in the ballots among MPs. The final contest between him and David Davis was decided instead by a party membership vote, which Cameron won in a landslide.
As leader of the party, he ended the Conservatives' alliance in the European Parliament with the European Peoples' Party, and established the European Conservatives and Reformists with ODS.
He led the Conservatives to victory in the May 2010 general election, although they fell 20 seats short of a majority. He established a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.
The May 2015 general election established a Conservatives' majority, allowing the coalition to be set aside. Part of his campaign included a referendum on EU membership, which he organized for June 2016. While he campaigned strongly for Remain, 52% of the UK public instead voted to Leave. Cameron immediately announced his intention to resign as leader. He had indicated he would return to the backbenches but instead resigned as MP as well.
In 2023, after Sunak won the chaotic second leadership contest of that year, Cameron was simultaneously created baron of Chipping Norton and appointed foreign secretary. His term was preoccupied with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Cameron remained in the government until the 2024 general elections, which the Conservatives lost by a wide margin. He has returned to the backbenches in the Lords.