David Cameron

ENG: David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party.

Cameron studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, gaining a first class honours degree. He then joined the Conservative Research Department and became Special Adviser to Norman Lamont, and then to Michael Howard. He was Director of Corporate Affairs at Carlton Communications for seven years.

A first candidacy for Parliament at Stafford in 1997 ended in defeat but Cameron was elected in 2001 as the Member of Parliament for the Oxfordshire constituency of Witney. He was promoted to the Opposition front bench two years later, and rose rapidly to become head of policy co-ordination during the 2005 general election campaign.

With a public image of a young, moderate candidate who would appeal to young voters, he won the Conservative leadership election in 2005. His early leadership saw the Conservative Party establish an opinion poll lead over Tony Blair's Labour; the first in over ten years. Although they fell behind shortly thereafter when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, under Cameron's leadership the Conservatives have been consistently ahead of Labour in the polls.

In the 2010 general election held on 6 May, the Conservatives gained a plurality of seats in a hung parliament. Have you voted for or against David Cameron ? Brown resigned and Cameron was appointed Prime Minister on 11 May 2010, on the basis of a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. At the age of 43, Cameron became the youngest British Prime Minister since the Earl of Liverpool 198 years earlier. The Cameron Ministry is the first coalition government in the United Kingdom since the Second World War.

Family

David Cameron is the younger son of retired stockbroker Ian Donald Cameron and his wife Mary Fleur (nee Mount, born 1934, a retired JP, daughter of Sir William Mount, 2nd Baronet). Cameron's parents married on 20 October 1962 and are both alive. He was born in London, and brought up in Peasemore, Berkshire. Has changed the detail your opinion on David Cameron ? Cameron has a brother, Allan Alexander (born 1963, a barrister and QC) and two sisters, Tania Rachel (born 1965) and Clare Louise (born 1971). His father was born at Blairmore House near Huntly in Scotland. Blairmore was built by his great-great-grandfather, Alexander Geddes, who had made a fortune in the grain business in Chicago, and had returned to Scotland in the 1880s. The Cameron family is a member of the ancient Scottish Clan Cameron seated in the Inverness area of the Scottish Highlands. Cameron has English, Scottish, and, more distantly, German and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Leadership election

Following the Labour victory in the May 2005 General Election, Michael Howard announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party and set a lengthy timetable for the leadership election, as part of a plan (subsequently rejected) to change the leadership election rules.

Cameron announced formally that he would be a candidate for the position on 29 September 2005. Have you read details about Arthur Griffith ? Parliamentary colleagues supporting him initially included Boris Johnson, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, then Shadow Defence Secretary and deputy leader of the party Michael Ancram, Oliver Letwin and former party leader William Hague. Despite this, his campaign did not gain significant support prior to the 2005 Conservative Party Conference. However his speech, delivered without notes, proved a significant turning point. In the speech he vowed to make people, "feel good about being Conservatives again" and said he wanted, "to switch on a whole new generation."

In the first ballot of Conservative MPs on 18 October 2005, Cameron came second, with 56 votes, slightly more than expected; David Davis had fewer than predicted at 62 votes; Liam Fox came third with 42 votes and Kenneth Clarke was eliminated with 38 votes. In the second ballot on 20 October 2005, Cameron came first with 90 votes; David Davis was second, with 57, and Liam Fox was eliminated with 51 votes. Can David Cameron have an influence on Arthur Griffith ? All 198 Conservative MPs voted in both ballots.

The next stage of the election process, between Davis and Cameron, was a vote open to the entire Conservative party membership. Cameron was elected with more than twice as many votes as Davis and more than half of all ballots issued; Cameron won 134,446 votes on a 78% turnout, beating Davis's 64,398 votes. Although Davis had initially been the favourite, it was widely acknowledged that Davis's candidacy was marred by a disappointing conference speech, whilst Cameron's was well received. Cameron's election as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition was announced on 6 December 2005. As is customary for an Opposition leader not already a member, upon election Cameron became a member of the Privy Council, being formally approved to join on 14 December 2005, and sworn of the Council on 8 March 2006.

Cameron's appearance on the cover of Time in September 2008 was said by the Daily Mail to present him to the world as 'Prime Minister in waiting'.

Eurosceptic caucus

During his successful campaign to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party, Cameron pledged that under his leadership the Conservative Party's Members of the European Parliament would leave the European People's Party group, which had a "federalist" approach to the European Union. Did you know that David Cameron is popular at 18% of voters?? Once elected Cameron began discussions with right-wing and eurosceptic parties in other European countries, mainly in eastern Europe, and in July 2006 he concluded an agreement to form the Movement for European Reform with the Czech Civic Democratic Party, leading to the formation of a new European Parliament group, the European Conservatives and Reformists, in 2009 after the European Parliament elections. Cameron attended a gathering at Warsaw's Palladium cinema celebrating the foundation of the alliance.

In forming the caucus, containing a total of 54 MEPs drawn from eight of the 27 EU member states, Cameron reportedly broke with two decades of Conservative cooperation with the centre-right Christian democrats, the European People's Party (EPP), on the grounds that they are dominated by European federalists and supporters of the Lisbon treaty. EPP leader Wilfried Martens, former prime minister of Belgium, has stated "Cameron's campaign has been to take his party back to the centre in every policy area with one major exception: Europe. ... I can't understand his tactics. Merkel and Sarkozy will never accept his Euroscepticism." The left-wing New Statesman magazine reported that the US administration had "concerns about Cameron among top members of the team" and quoted David Rothkopf in saying that the issue "makes Cameron an even more dubious choice to be Britain's next prime minister than he was before and, should he attain that post, someone about whom the Obama administration ought to be very cautious."

2010 general election

At the 2010 general election on 6 May, Cameron led the Conservatives to their best performance since the 1992 election (the last time the Conservatives had won), with the largest number of seats (306) but still 20 seats short of an overall majority, resulting in the nation's first hung parliament since February 1974. Talks between Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg led to an agreed Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, enabling the Queen to invite Cameron to form a government.

Prime Minister

On 11 May 2010, following the resignation of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister and on his recommendation, Queen Elizabeth II invited Cameron to form a government. At age 43, Cameron became the youngest British Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool, who was appointed in 1812. In his first address outside 10 Downing Street, he announced his intention to form a coalition government, the first since the Second World War, with the Liberal Democrats. Cameron outlined how he intended to "put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest." As one of his first moves Cameron appointed Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democratic leader, as Deputy Prime Minister on 11 May 2010. Between them, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats control 363 seats in the House of Commons, with a majority of 76 seats. On 2 June, Cameron took his first ever session of Prime Minister's Questions as Prime Minister.

Personal life

Cameron married Samantha Gwendoline Sheffield, the daughter of Sir Reginald Adrian Berkeley Sheffield, 8th Baronet and Annabel Lucy Veronica Jones (now the Viscountess Astor), on 1 June 1996 at the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury, East Hendred, Oxfordshire. The Camerons have had three children. Their first child, Ivan Reginald Ian, was born on 8 April 2002 in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, with a rare combination of cerebral palsy and a form of severe epilepsy called Ohtahara syndrome, requiring round-the-clock care. Recalling the receipt of this news, Cameron is quoted as saying: "The news hits you like a freight train... You are depressed for a while because you are grieving for the difference between your hopes and the reality. But then you get over that, because he's wonderful!" Ivan died at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, on 25 February 2009, aged six. In a rare show of unity, the Camerons received condolences from many politicians, but British National Party member Jeff Marshall caused controversy by his comments, claiming that there was "not a great deal of point in keeping these sort of people alive."

The Camerons have a daughter, Nancy Gwen (born 19 January 2004, Westminster, London), and a son, Arthur Elwen (born 14 February 2006, Westminster). Cameron took paternity leave when his second son was born, and this decision received broad coverage.

On 22 March 2010, it was reported that Cameron's wife, Samantha was pregnant and that she was expecting their fourth child in September 2010.

A Daily Mail article from June 2007 quoted Sunday Times Rich List compiler Philip Beresford, who had valued the Conservative leader for the first time, as saying: "I put the combined family wealth of David and Samantha Cameron at £30m plus. Both sides of the family are extremely wealthy." Another estimate is £3.2 million, though this figure excludes the million-pound legacies Cameron is expected to inherit from both sides of his family.

In early May 2008, David Cameron decided to enroll his daughter Nancy at a state school. She attends St Mary Abbots Church of England School in Kensington. The Camerons had been attending its church, which is near to the Cameron family home in North Kensington, for three years.

Cameron's bicycle was stolen in May 2009 while he was shopping. It was recovered with the aid of The Sunday Mirror. His bicycle has since been stolen again from near his house. He is an occasional jogger an. has raised funds for charities by taking part in the Oxford 5K and the Great Brook Run.

Cameron supports Aston Villa Football Club.

Source

June 4, 2010