Premiership of David Cameron

The Right Honourable David Cameron MP
David Cameron at St Stephen's Club, London, 2010
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 May 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Nick Clegg
Preceded by	Gordon Brown
Personal details
Born	(1966-10-09) 9 October 1966 London, England, UK
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Samantha Sheffield (1996-present)
Children	3
Residence	10 Downing Street (Official)
Alma mater	Brasenose College, Oxford
Signature	File:David Cameron Signature.svg
Website	Conservative Party website

The premiership of David Cameron began on 11 May 2010 when Cameron accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government. This occurred upon the resignation of Cameron's predecessor as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown. While serving as prime minister, Cameron also serves as the First Lord of the Treasury, the Minister for the Civil Service and the Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron is prime minister at the head of a coalition government between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats following the 2010 General Election in which no party gained an overall majority in the House of Commons.

Background

At the 2010 general election on 6 May, the Conservative Party achieved its highest number of seats since the 1992 election, returning 306 MPs. However, it was 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 a coalition of the two parties, enabling Her Majesty The Queen to invite Cameron to form a government.

First day in office

Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron were driven from Buckingham Palace arriving at Downing Street at about 20:55 on 11 May 2010. Cameron made a speech which started with a short tribute to the out-going Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the former Labour government. He went on to describe the "difficult decisions" to reach "better times ahead". Cameron and his wife entered 10 Downing Street together. He soon received a telephone call from United States President Barack Obama, the first foreign leader to congratulate him on his premiership.

Cameron met with his MPs in the Committee Room of the Commons at 22:00 on 11 May, celebrating, with cheering audible from the central hall of the Commons. It is likely that he then explained the details of any coalition agreements made between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to his MPs.

Premiership

First official trips

Cameron made his first official trips as Prime Minister in May 2010. His first visit was to Scotland where he met with First Minister Alex Salmond. He then went on to visit Wales, meeting First Minister Carwyn Jones, and Northern Ireland, meeting First Minister Peter Robinson. His first trip outside the United Kingdom was to France on 20 May where he met with the French President Nicolas Sarkozy. They discussed the European Union, Iran, Afghanistan and Anglo-French relations. He then visited Germany on 21 May where he held talks with Chancellor Merkel, mainly centred around the economic crisis in Greece.

PMQs

On 2 June 2010, Cameron took his first session of Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) as Prime Minister. Since taking office he has twice been reprimanded by the Speaker of the Commons John Bercow for breaching parliamentary protocol and order. The first occasion was on 7 July, during PMQs, when he presented an opposition peer's book at the dispatch box, and attempted to quote from it. Bercow intervened, deciding that it was not in order. The second occasion was on 14 July when, after being questioned on cancer targets during PMQs, Cameron broke parliamentary protocol by questioning the opposition as to whether it was their policy to cut spending on the NHS, rather than supplying answers himself. Speaker Bercow intervened and stated that he hoped the opposition leader would not answer the question.

Capital Gains Tax

Some of Cameron's own Tory MPs have attacked the planned rise on non-business Capital Gains Tax (CGT) - which could see second home sales taxed at a rate of 40% or 50% - as a tax on the middle classes. Cameron urged them to wait for the Budget. He told GMTV: "People don't yet know what our proposals are. Everyone's getting a bit ahead of themselves on this issue." He added: "We have to be calm about this because in a coalition there are inevitably going to be arguments and discussions about tax policy and other policies. And sometimes these will happen much more in the open than in the past." Mr Cameron said the country is at a "turning point". "The decisions we make now will live with us for decades to come. For many years we have been heading in the wrong direction," he said. "Our economy has become more and more unbalanced, with our fortunes hitched to a few industries in one corner of the country, while we let other sectors like manufacturing slide. "It has become over-reliant on welfare, with mass worklessness accepted as a fact of life and around five million people now on out-of-work benefits. "It has become increasingly hostile to enterprise, with business investment in the past decade growing at around 1% each year - only a quarter of what it was the decade before. "It has become far too dependent on the public sector, with over half of all jobs created in the last 10 years associated in some way with public spending."

Cumbria shootings

After the Cumbria shootings, Cameron visited Cumbria on 4 June, along with Home Secretary Theresa May.

Saville Inquiry apology

On 14 June 2010, after publication of the Saville Report on the Bloody Sunday killings of 1972 in Northern Ireland, Cameron made a full apology on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom.

In a statement to the House of Commons he said, "What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong." He went on to say "Lord Saville says that some of those killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to the assistance of others who were dying. The Report refers to one person who was shot while “crawling…away from the soldiers”… …another was shot, in all probability, “when he was lying mortally wounded on the ground'… …and a father was “hit and injured by Army gunfire after he had gone to…tend his son”".

Afghanistan

In June, Cameron promised that British troops would not remain in Afghanistan a day longer than necessary as he flew into the country for the first time as Prime Minister. Cameron gave his broadest hint yet that 10,000 British troops would start to return home in 2011, and confirmed that the question of sending more British Forces to the country was “not remotely on the agenda”. He urged his ministers to challenge the military, particularly if they suspected that defence chiefs were ignoring inconvenient facts. “I’ve always had a very clear view that the military stand up to politicians and give them unvarnished military advice, and it’s very important that politicians stand up to the military and ask all the tough questions,” he said. He continued saying “That’s the way you get good policy, by having a robust and proper debate with the military taking a military view and giving military advice: unvarnished, clear and not skimping on detail. And it’s very important the politicians don’t just sit back and accept it but interrogate it and probe it.”

Cameron said: "This is the year when we have to make progress—progress for the sake of the Afghan people, but progress also on behalf of people back at home who want this to work. Obviously no one wants British troops to stay in Afghanistan for a day longer than is necessary. The President doesn’t, the Afghan people don’t, the British people don’t."

During his visit Cameron was forced to abandon a visit to a British base in Afghanistan after military intelligence suggested a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister.

In June 2011 Cameron spoke to U.S. President Barack Obama via videophone to coordinate British and US withdrawal plans before Mr Obama addressed the American nation on live TV. Obama was on Wednesday night expected to confirm the withdrawal of 33,000 troops, up to 10,000 of them by the end of this year, despite criticism. Cameron has already confirmed that almost 450 of Britain's 9,500 troops will start leaving soon but Whitehall sources said that a second, smaller withdrawal will come towards the end of 2011, with another, larger reduction likely in the autumn of 2012. Despite Mr Cameron's deadline to end combat operations by 2015, military leaders including Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, have made clear that Britain will retain a major presence in Afghanistan, supporting and training Afghan forces.

Crime and punishment

Ken Clarke, the Justice Secretary, signalled an end to short prison sentences in England and Wales after warning it was "virtually impossible" to rehabilitate an inmate in less than 12 months. In his first major speech since taking office, Mr Clarke indicated a major shift in penal policy by saying prison was not effective in many cases. This could result in more offenders handed community punishments. Cameron was quick to dismiss fears, insisting: "You can't get rid of all the short-term sentences but I accept there is a good case for saying sending someone to prison for a few weeks or a few months, there's no time to reform them or rehabilitate them or train them, so what's the point?"Mr Cameron’s spokesman said the Prime Minister agreed with Mr Clarke, but insisted: “There is a place for short sentences."

Education

In July 2010 Cameron said that "I've got a six-year-old and a four-year-old and I'm terrified living in central London,” he told a Sunday newspaper. "Am I going to find a good secondary school for my children? I feel it as a parent, let alone as a politician." Mr Cameron, said he remained determined to send his children to state schools despite rejecting 15 primary schools for his six-year-old daughter Nancy, before sending her to St Mary Abbots, Church of England primary in Kensington. Good schools in central London are hugely over subscribed, with six parents chasing every place in one near Downing Street, and Mr Cameron said the dilemma has strengthened his resolve to drive up standards so there are "really good state schools available for all."

Pakistan

On a trip to India and Pakistan in late July, Cameron suggested that Pakistan had links with terrorist groups, and was guilty of double dealing by aligning itself with both the West and the forces it was opposing. Mr Cameron’s attack was even more unwelcome given that he was speaking during a visit to India, Pakistan’s neighbour and great military rival. Cameron said: "We can not tolerate in any sense the idea that this country is allowed to look both ways and is able, in any way, to promote the export of terror, whether to India or whether to Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world. It should be a relationship based on a very clear message: that it is not right to have any relationship with groups that are promoting terror". Pakistan responded with alarm to Mr Cameron’s words. Abdul Basit, spokesman for the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, said: "Pakistan is fully committed against militancy and terrorism anywhere in the world as we ourselves are victims of this hydra-headed menace." These comments led to a diplomatic crisis as the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha called off a scheduled trip to discuss security cooperation with British intelligence agencies. Shadow Foreign Secretary David Miliband, accused Cameron of alienating an important ally: "The prime minister's comments this week told only part of the story and that has enraged people in Pakistan. It is vital he shows that he understands the need not just for Pakistan to tackle terrorism but that he will support them in doing so and understand the losses they have suffered."

Before the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari travelled to London to Cameron at Chequers, Downing Street stressed that Mr Cameron would not back away from his remarks about Pakistan promoting “the export of terror” and he would not apologise. “He stands by his comments,” a senior source said. “We are not looking to inflame the situation and we made clear that his comments were not directed at the Pakistan government, but what he said was clear. We are glad the president’s trip is going ahead and we are looking forward to the talks.” David Miliband, the shadow foreign secretary, stepped up his attack on Mr Cameron, saying he should have recognised Pakistan’s suffering at the hands of terrorists and its democratic progress over recent years, rather than highlighting allegations of covert support for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Aircraft carriers

In October 2010 Cameron backed David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, who has questioned the military value of the carriers and wants to focus resources on ground forces. The new carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, are expected to enter service in 2016 and 2018. Work on the first is well under way, meaning it is all but certain to be completed. Richards supported by officials from Mr Cameron’s National Security Council, has argued that HMS Prince of Wales should be abandoned. In a television interview, Mr Cameron repeatedly refused to guarantee the future of both carriers, saying only that “one of them is under way”. He said: “We need in many cases to make our Armed Forces more flexible, more adaptable, and sometimes that is going to mean changes.” Asked if that meant scrapping the second carrier, he replied: “That’s obviously a very big part of the decisions that we have to make about how we make sure our forces are flexible.” The Navy has argued that cutting the second carrier will save little money, because the Government is contractually obliged to give shipbuilders alternative work. Mr Cameron confirmed that major existing systems such as Challenger tanks will be mothballed as the Armed Forces are remodelled.

At a meeting of the National Security Council on 12 October, the Navy won its battle for two new aircraft carriers. The Army will face only modest cuts, the RAF is now in line to bear the brunt. Plans to order 138 new F35 Joint Strike Fighters are set to be cut to around 50, and the RAF’s entire fleet of Tornadoes and Harrier faces cuts after next week’s review. It would lead to the loss of RAF bases in Lossiemouth and Marham and of almost 5,000 personnel. Cameron indicated the RAF would face deep cuts, saying: “We’ve got aeroplanes that are ready to do dog fights with the Soviet Union air force. That’s not right.” Air Marshal Timo Anderson said: “High-end air capabilities are not synonymous with Cold War ‘white elephants’”. “Without such an air defence capability, the UK would not be able to guarantee security of its sovereign air space and we would be unable to respond effectively to a 9/11-style terrorist attack from the air.”

Tuition fees

Main article: 2010 UK student protests

There have been protests against rise in tuition fees among other austerity measures especially by students.

NHS reforms

Main article: Health and Social Care Bill 2011

The Health and Social Care Bill was introduced into the UK Parliament on 19 January 2011. The bill amounts to the most deep-rooted and extensive reworking of the structure of the National Health Service ever undertaken. The bill has implications for all health organisations in the NHS, not least for NHS primary care trusts (PCTs) and Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), which will be abolished. £60 to £80 billion of commissioning will be transferred from PCTs to several hundred consortia nominally run by GPs, although in practice many consortia will be operated by private health companies.

The bill is one of the coalition government's most controversial proposals, and in April 2011 the government announced a "listening exercise" postponing further action on the bill until after the May 2011 local election. The controversy arises in part because the proposals were not discussed during the 2010 general election campaign and were not contained in the 20 May 2010 Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, which in fact declared an intention to "stop the top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care", yet within two months a white paper outlined what the Daily Telegraph called the "biggest revolution in the NHS since its foundation".

In June 2011 Cameron announced that the original 2013 reforms deadline would no longer be part of the bill. There will also be changes to the health and social care bill to make clear that the main duty of the health regulator, Monitor, will be to promote the interests of patients rather than promoting competition.

Waiting times were reduced and quality of life experienced dramatic gains.

Project Merlin

In February 2011 Chancellor George Osborne announced Project Merlin whereby banks will lend about £190bn to businesses during 2011 - including £76bn to small firms - curb bonuses and reveal some salary details of their top earners. The Bank of England will monitor whether loans targets are being met. This was in addition to the government increasing its levy on banks to £2.5bn in 2011 - raising an extra £800m. HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group signed up to the Project Merlin agreement, while Santander agreed to the lending parts of the deal. Other pledges include providing £200m of capital for David Cameron's Big Society Bank, which is intended to finance community projects. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott resigned after the agreement was announced.

Multiculturalism speech

On 5 February 2011 Cameron has criticised "state multiculturalism" in his first speech as prime minister on radicalisation and the causes of terrorism. At a security conference in Munich, he argued the UK needed a stronger national identity to prevent people turning to all kinds of extremism. "Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism," the prime minister said. "These are the sorts of questions we need to ask. Fail these tests and the presumption should be not to engage with organisations," he added.

Middle East trip

In a surprise trip to the Middle East amid violence in Libya, and chaos of protests elsewhere, Cameron said that popular uprisings now flaring across the Middle East showed the West had been wrong to support dictators and oppressive regimes. Speaking to the Kuwaiti Parliament, Mr Cameron said Britain would back democracy campaigners seeking greater rights across the Middle East. "History is sweeping through your neighbourhood," he said. "Not as a result of force and violence, but by people seeking their rights, and in the vast majority of cases doing so peacefully and bravely." He said that Britain's economic and security interests would ultimately be advanced by a more democratic Middle East. "Our interests lie in upholding our values – in insisting on the right to peaceful protest, in freedom of speech and the internet, in freedom of assembly and the rule of law." Cameron insisted his remarks did not mean Britain will try to force Gulf regimes to become Western-style democracies. "There is no single formula for success, and there are many ways to ensure greater, popular participation in Government," he said. "We respect your right to take your own decisions, while offering our goodwill and support."

Arms sales

Even as he declared his support for the Arab Spring, however, Cameron spent three days touring undemocratic Gulf states with eight of Britain's leading defence manufacturers. In response to the ensuing criticism, Cameron issued a three-point defence. Early in 2012, Cameron again visited the Middle East to "broaden and deepen" business ties with Saudi Arabia—Britain's leading arms export market—even after Amnesty International had several weeks earlier accused the Saudi government of unleashing a wave of repression against the repressed minority-Shia population in the east of the country, and even as Saudi troops added to the list of Shia protesters they had shot dead. The week before his Saudi visit, the Committees on Arms Export Controls published questions it had asked the Coalition regarding arms sales to Saudi Arabia, in particular querying why, when there was unrest in the country in 2011, licences for a range of equipment had not been revoked.

Libya no fly zone

Cameron told MPs on 21 March 2011 that a “bloody massacre” was narrowly avoided by the military action in Libya. He said the decisive air strikes had enabled the citizens of Libya to determine their “destiny.” The Prime Minister fielded questions for more than an hour in a Parliamentary debate on Libya. He disclosed how close the rebel-held city of Benghazi came to being “rolled up”, along with the rest of Libya, by Col Muammar Gaddafi. Mr Cameron told the House that rapid action was needed to halt Col Gaddafi. "If we had waited for that, Benghazi would have fallen and, from that, probably Tobruk would have fallen and Gaddafi would have rolled up the whole of his country in the next 24 to 48 hours,” he said. “It’s quite clear the population of Benghazi was under heavy attack. Civilians were being killed in significant numbers [and] an exodus from the town had begun. There was an urgent need to stop the slaughter." Cameron has backed his senior Cabinet colleagues, including Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, who have indicated that it would be legitimate to target Col Gaddafi as part of the operation.

On 24 March Cameron urged Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's political allies and military chiefs to abandon the Libyan regime and help bring down the dictator. Speaking at a European Union summit in Brussels, Mr Cameron went public with that call, saying senior Libyans should ignore Col Gaddafi's orders and leave their posts. "The people around him and the people who are obeying his orders should recognise that the time is up," Mr Cameron said. "Don't obey his orders, walk away from your tanks, leave the command and control that you are doing, give up on this regime because it should be over for him and his henchmen." He added: "Every day you work for him you are at risk of the International Criminal Court, and you are at risk of being found guilty of war crimes."

In April Cameron made his remarks about giving weapons to the rebels in a letter to Bill Cash, the senior Conservative MP who first raised the prospect of arming the rebels in March. The Prime Minister wrote: "We do not rule out supplying lethal equipment, but we have not taken a decision to do so and there remain legal and practical questions which need to be carefully considered."

In May Cameron committed £110 million to help ensure the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East succeed, he disclosed at the G8 meeting of world leaders in France. He said: “There is a real case for saying if you can secure greater democracy and freedom in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, that is good for us back at home. “That will mean less extremism, it will mean more peace and prosperity, it will mean there will not be the pressure on immigration that many otherwise face our country.” The chief beneficiaries will be Egypt and Tunisia.

During the battle of Tripoli in August 2011, Cameron said that there would "undoubtedly be difficult days ahead", but the Libyan people were "closer to their dream of a better future". He said the UK could be "proud" of the part it had played, but stressed the future of the country - and Col Gaddafi himself - was up to Libyans themselves.He went on saying that: "The situation in Tripoli is clearly very fluid and there is absolutely no room for complacency. "Our task now is to do all we can to support the will of the Libyan people which is for an effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive Libya. "This will be and must be and should be Libyan-led and a Libyan-owned process with broad international support coordinated by the United Nations."

Comments by senior commanders

In June 2011, just days after the Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope spoke out about cuts and the planned SDSR. Sir Simon Bryant, said "huge" demands were being placed on equipment and personnel in light of the 2011 Libyan civil war. He made the comments in briefing notes obtained by The Daily Telegraph. Armed forces minister Nick Harvey MP said the UK continued to have the resources necessary to carry out operations. Bryant, who is the RAF's head of combat operations, said morale among personnel was "fragile" and their fighting spirit was being threatened by being over-worked. He said that "Morale remains fragile. Although fighting spirit remains positive, this assessment will be challenged by individual harmony targets as Operation Ellamy [in Libya] endures [after September]." He continued: "There is decreasing satisfaction with the remunerative offer and allowances cut, and the pay freeze continues to bite. "The impact of SDSR [strategic defence and security review] continues to undermine the sense of being valued. There is concern over the perceived lack of strategic direction which is restricting confidence in the senior leadership." In response, Prime Minister Cameron said that Mr Cameron's gave a sign of his frustration at a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday when questioned on the Coalition's military deployment in Libya in the context of cuts to the Ministry of Defence's budget. He said: "There are moments when I wake up and think "you do the fighting, I'll do the talking"." Mr Cameron added: "Time is on our side, not Gaddafi's. We are allied to some of the richest and most militarily capable countries in the world. We have the Libyan people on our side and we'll keep going. "The pressure [on Col Gaddafi] is turning up all the time: you can see that in the desertions from his regime, the pressure on the west of the country, the pockets of resistance that people had assumed would be snuffed out are growing in strength.

"You do the fighting, I’ll do the talking" criticism

Cameron was wrong to try to silence military chiefs about the conflict in Libya, James Arbuthnot MP, the chairman of the Commons defence committee, said he was uneasy about hearing the Prime Minister apparently reject military advice. The chiefs put “a great deal of thought” into their comments, he said. Cameron this week showed his exasperation with military leaders, telling them: “You do the fighting, I’ll do the talking”. The comments followed warnings leaked to The Daily Telegraph from the heads of the RAF and Royal Navy that the operation in Libya was not sustainable and that defence cuts had left morale “fragile”. Arbuthnot said: “At the level that these senior military people are, they are largely kept back from the front line and they do a lot of the deciding as well as a lot of the talking and the Prime Minister does a lot of the deciding based on military advice. The military advice is something we should not cast aside or dismiss as not being very important.” Servicemen have also been stung by Mr Cameron’s remarks calling them “extremely dismissive”. A senior RAF officer said: “This was an extraordinarily patronising outburst verging on the outrageous. I think the PM should do a bit more listening and a little less talking. Essentially he’s giving us the Charge of the Light Brigade orders – 'Theirs not to reason why. Theirs but to do and to die’.” Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, accused the Prime Minister of being “high-handed”, but Mr Cameron said he stood by his rebuke to the chiefs. “The only point that I have tried to make in recent days is I think when you are at war, and we are, in both Afghanistan and Libya, I think it’s very important, whether you are a political leader or whether you are a military leader, to think very carefully about what you are about to say.”

Immigration speech

In his first major speech on immigration just before the local elections since taking power, the Prime Minister said on 13 April: “Nothing is more important to this Government than growing our economy, creating jobs and prosperity across the country.” Cameron said he wants to see "good immigration, not mass immigration" "discomfort and disjointedness" in neighbourhoods because some migrants have been unwilling to integrate or learn English. He will say that the "real issue" is "migrants are filling gaps in the labour market left wide open by a welfare system that for years has paid British people not to work". "Put simply, we will never control immigration properly unless we tackle welfare dependency," Mr Cameron said. Cameron said: "When there have been significant numbers of new people arriving in neighbourhoods, perhaps not able to speak the same language as those living there, on occasions not really wanting or even willing to integrate, that has created a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods. "This has been the experience for many people in our country and I believe it is untruthful and unfair not to speak about it and address it." However in response Vince Cable, a Liberal Democrat, described the speech as “very unwise” and suggested it could fuel extremism over immigration. “The reference to the tens of thousands of immigrants rather than hundreds of thousands is not part of the coalition agreement, it is Tory party policy only,” Mr Cable told the BBC. “I do understand there is an election coming but talk of mass immigration risks inflaming the extremism to which he and I are both strongly opposed.”

Referendum on Scottish independence

A victory by the Scottish National Party in the 2011 Scottish parliament elections in which the party secured an absolute majority of MSPs, raised the prospect of the Scottish government holding an independence referendum within the following five years. Though the constitution is reserved to Westminster, the SNP planned to get round that by holding a referendum to seek a mandate to negotiate for independence. David Cameron spoke to Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, hours after the SNP victory and guaranteed that the UK government would not put any legal or political obstacles in the way of an independence referendum.

On 16 February 2012 Cameron visited Edinburgh and offered to consider more devolution powers for Scotland, in the event of a vote against independence. Ahead of a referendum, expected in 2014, Cameron admitted Scotland could go it alone, but said he believed in the United Kingdom "head, heart and soul". He said it would be "deeply, deeply sad" if Scotland became independent. He suggested the move would have implications for the UK's EU and Nato membership. Mr Cameron has since been in talks with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who said after the meeting: "Things have moved on quite substantially". He said the only serious issue of disagreement was over the question used in the referendum and whether there should be a second question on "devo max".Salmond said it was now incumbent on Mr Cameron and others to set out more details on the offer of further devolution for Scotland. "The prime minister is now saying for the first time that another option is now on the table. What I said to the prime minister in the discussions is if that is the case, we now have to know what it will be."

Archbishop of Canterbury comments

On 8 June 2011 Rowan Williams said that the Government is committing Britain to "radical, long-term policies for which no-one voted". Writing in the New Statesman magazine, Dr Rowan Williams raised concerns about the coalition's health, education and welfare reforms. He said there was "indignation" due to a lack of "proper public argument". Dr Williams said the Big Society idea was viewed with "widespread suspicion". The archbishop's article also said there was concern that the government would abandon its responsibility for tackling child poverty, illiteracy and poor access to the best schools. He also criticised the government's welfare reforms, complaining of a "quiet resurgence of the seductive language of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor" and the steady pressure to increase "what look like punitive responses to alleged abuses of the system". In response Cameron said that he “profoundly disagreed” with Dr Rowan Williams’s claim that the Government was forcing through “radical policies for which no one voted”.said the Government was acting in a “good and moral” fashion and defended the “Big Society”, and the Coalition’s deficit reduction, welfare and education plans. “I am absolutely convinced that our policies are about actually giving people a greater responsibility and greater chances in their life, and I will defend those very vigorously,” he said. “By all means let us have a robust debate but I can tell you, it will always be a two-sided debate.”

News of the World phone hacking scandal

Main article: News of the World phone hacking affair

David Cameron's close relationship with senior figures of News International came under increasing scrutiny as the controversy of the News of the World phone hacking scandal grew. A close friend of Rebekah Brooks, Cameron had also hired Andy Coulson as his communications director before Coulson was implicated in, and later arrested for his role in, the phone hacking. Cameron, who had spent his Christmas with Brooks, was accused by Ed Milliband of being "out of step with public opinion" and lacking leadership on the matter due to his "close relationships" with News International. Right-wing political commentator Peter Oborne argued that it was no longer possible assert that Cameron was "grounded with a decent set of values" after a "succession of chronic personal misjudgements", equating the scandal with Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq as a turning point in his premiership, and calling for him to distance himself from Brooks.

2011 English riots

During the riots that began in London - first sparked on 6 August after a fatal police shooting two days before - have spread throughout England. Cameron returned from his holidays to chair the emergency COBRA committee. Police officers fought disturbances in Manchester and Birmingham, involving hundreds of youths who set fire to shops and smashed store windows. There were also riots in Gloucester. Cameron announced that the number of officers on the streets of the capital would rise from 6,000 to 16,000 in a bid to stamp out escalating lawlessness. Steve Kavanagh, the Acting Met Commissioner, said: “That is a tactic that will be used if it is deemed necessary. We are not going to throw 180 years of community policing away lightly, but that does not mean that the Met is scared of using any tactics. “The Met does not want to use baton rounds, but if we get put into the position where it is best for the safety of property and lives in London then we will do so.” He said that the youth of the rioters was a consideration: “We had people as young as 11 arrested. Do we generally want to see police in London using that type of tactic on 11 year-olds?” Cameron said water cannon – until now only ever seen in the UK in Ulster - will be available at 24 hours notice to deal with the “despicable violence” being carried out in cities across the country. In his strongest comments yet on the perpetrators of the violence, Mr Cameron said: “There are pockets of our society that are not only broken, but frankly sick...It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel that the world owes them something.” Water cannons have been used this summer by police in Ulster and have been a regular sight at disturbances in the province. Despite calls for it to be used on the mainland – including after last year’s student riots in London – ministers have always ruled it out.

Cameron recalled Parliament on Thursday 11 August to make a statement and answer questions. He said that extended police powers would be considered, such as the ability to demand that suspected criminals remove face masks. Cameron promised that offenders would pay for their crimes after the riots, many of which were organised through social media services and mobile messaging systems. The Prime Minister also announced a review of dispersal rules which could give police a "wider power of curfew". He said that police had failed in their initial response to the disturbances and insisted that he would press ahead with cuts in police budgets. Cameron said the root causes of the violence were cultural, not economic. "A culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities. The young people stealing flatscreen televisions and burning shops – that was not about politics or protest, it was about theft,". He added that "In too many cases, the parents of these children – if they are still around – don't care where their children are or who they are with, let alone what they are doing," he said.

In a speech given on 15 August in Whitney, Oxfordshire, Cameron said that the riots have been a “wake-up call” for Britain. Cameron blamed “children without fathers; schools without discipline; reward without effort; crime without punishment; rights without responsibilities; communities without control”. Mending that “broken society”, Mr Cameron said, his fundamental aim in politics. “Do we have the determination to confront the slow-motion moral collapse that has taken place in parts of our country these past few generations,” he asked. “Do we have the determination to confront all this and turn it around? “I have the very strong sense that the responsible majority of people in this country not only have that determination; they are crying out for their government to act upon it. And I can assure you, I will not be found wanting.” Bill Bratton, Mr Cameron’s controversial US crime adviser, warned that soft policing and sentencing had “emboldened” criminals in recent years. Cameron echoed that remark in his analysis of the wider problems of society. “Some of the worst aspects of human nature have been tolerated, indulged — sometimes even incentivised — by a state and its agencies that in parts have become literally demoralised,” he said.

Royal succession change

In October 2011 Cameron wrote to the heads of government of the Commonwealth in which he said that he wished to change the succession law and end the ban on spouses of Catholics ascending to the throne and give women the same rights of succession as men. However Cameron needs the 15 other Commonwealth nations to agree to the changes. In his letter, Mr Cameron said: "We espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public office we continue to enshrine male superiority". The change would mean a first-born daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could become Queen. Cameron also said the ban on any monarch married to a Roman Catholic was an "historical anomaly" and could not "continue to be justified". Cameron did not propose changing the ban on monarchs themselves being Catholic because the British monarch is also supreme governor of the Church of England.

On 28 October 2011 the leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries where the Queen is head of state, unanimously approved the changes at a summit in Perth, Australia. Sons and daughters of any future UK monarch will have equal right to the throne. It means a first-born daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will take precedence over younger brothers. The ban on the monarch being married to a Roman Catholic was also lifted. Cameron said they would apply to descendents of the Prince of Wales. Cameron said that The idea a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he's a man... is at odds with the modern countries we have become "Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen," he said. "The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic - this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become."

Euro crisis

In November 2011 after Chancellor Angela Merkel made a speech saying that "Europe is in one of its toughest, perhaps the toughest hour since World War Two," she added that "If the euro fails then Europe fails, and we want to prevent and we will prevent this, this is what we are working for, because it is such a huge historical project," Cameron said that leaving the EU was “not in our national interest” but said he felt “very personally” that now was the time for a fundamental reconsideration of European relations. He added that: “Think how the European Union, as it is tonight, looks to those with growing economies watching from Sao Paulo, from Delhi or indeed Washington. Not – as it should be – a place to admire and emulate … but a source of alarm and crisis.” He accused the EU of being “out of touch” with European citizens. “It’s the pointless interference, rules and regulations that stifle growth not unleash it,” the Prime Minister said. “The sense that the EU is somehow an abstract end in itself, immune from developments in the real world, rather than a means of helping to deliver better living standards for the people of its nations.” He said: “It does not have to be like this. Out of crisis can come opportunity for the European Union, if its member states are ready to grasp it.”

In the course of a summit on 8-9 December 2011 it was proposed that there was a need to have "balanced budgets" – defined as a structural deficit no greater than 0.5% of gross domestic product. Under these proposals there would be automatic sanctions for any country whose deficit exceeded 3% of GDP. Governments would also have to submit their national budgets to the European Commission, which would have the power to request that they be revised. Nearly 10 hours of overnight talks could not produce an agreement between all member states. Cameron effectively vetoed an EU-wide treaty change to tackle the eurozone crisis, saying it was not in the UK's interests. Instead a new "accord" setting out tougher budget rules will now be drawn up for the eurozone and at least six other EU states which want to sign up. Nicolas Sarkozy said the UK PM had made "unacceptable" demands for exemptions for the UK over financial services. The UK has long resisted calls from other EU leaders for a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions – a so-called Tobin tax – which it argues would affect the City of London disproportionately. Cameron said that "We want the eurozone countries to come together and solve their problems. But we should only allow that to happen within the EU treaties if there are proper protections for the single market, for other key British interests. Without those safeguards it is better not to have a treaty within a treaty, but have those countries make their arrangements separately."

Deficit reduction

Main article: Con-Lib austerity programme

Cameron admitted in November 2011 that reducing Britain's debts was proving "harder than anyone envisaged". He blamed the same debts for acting as a "drag on growth" and insisted that the Government had to press on with its deficit reduction plans. He said that reducing the deficit was "line one, clause one and part one" of the Government's strategy for business and that "everything else was extra." He added that there was no justification for claims that additional spending now would pay off later: "Yes, there are some who seriously try to argue that additional spending and borrowing will actually lead to less debt in the end, despite the fact that no evidence supports this assertion".

In January 2012 it emerged that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is preparing a report for the Chancellor George Osborne MP on the proceeds raised from the 50% tax rate, introduced by Gordon Brown in 2010. Cameron has come under increasing pressure from business leaders and backbench Tories to scrap the tax to stimulate the economy. He has said it should only be temporary and he is sceptical that it raises money. However, the HMRC report is expected to show a "surge" in revenues totalling hundreds of millions of pounds from the first year — undermining the economic case for scrapping the levy.

Welfare reform

In January 2012 Cameron said that living on welfare had become an “acceptable alternative” to working and suggested that benefit payments were too easy to receive. He spoke as the Government faced serious opposition to the plan to cap the maximum benefit payments that can be received by any household at £26,000. The House of Lords is seeking to block the policy. The cap has been set at the same level as the average family’s earnings and ministers insist that it is unfair that taxpayers must subsidise those receiving more from the state than typical employees earn. The Government was defeated in the House of Lords after bishops tabled an amendment to the Welfare Bill proposing that child benefit is excluded from the cap. The amendment, which was backed by dozens of Liberal Democrat peers, threatens to wreck the entire concept of the cap.

Asked about the impact of the £26,000 benefits cap, Mr Cameron said: “In many cases the answer will be for someone in that family to go out and work, and that will be the right answer for that family. “We have too many children growing up in our country in households where nobody works, where a life on welfare has become an acceptable alternative”. Opponents have claimed that the cap will push more children into poverty but the Prime Minister insisted that the greatest suffering was endured by children growing up in workless households. “The way children suffer today, there are far too many children in households where no one is working,” he said. “And one of the reasons why in some households no one is working is because welfare has become so available.”Figures released in January 2012 showed that there are currently at least 190 families with 10 or more children who are dependent on benefits. Each family can claim more than £60,000.

Cabinet appointments

Further information: Cameron Ministry

A press conference on the new cabinet took place at 14:15 on 12 May 2010 between the media, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Soon after Cameron took office, it was confirmed that Clegg would be appointed to the semi-official role of Deputy Prime Minister, whilst George Osborne would become the Chancellor of the Exchequer. William Hague was appointed Foreign Secretary. The post of Home Secretary went to Theresa May. Cameron's Cabinet includes Clegg and four other Liberal Democrats: Danny Alexander, Vince Cable, Chris Huhne, and David Laws.

On 29 May 2010 David Laws resigned as Chief Secretary to the Treasury after admitting he claimed expenses to pay rent to his partner. He was succeeded by Liberal Democrat Scottish Secretary Danny Alexander, who was in turn replaced by Liberal Democrat Michael Moore.

Emergency budget

Main article: June 2010 United Kingdom Budget

During the election campaign, the Conservatives had promised to hold an emergency budget within fifty days of coming to office. The budget, the first of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, was presented by Chancellor George Osborne at 12:30pm on 22 June and aimed to reduce the national debt accumulated by the Blair-Brown government. In his speech Osborne quoted data and forecasts made by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility that was formed by the coalition soon after they took up office. Highlights of the budget included a 2.5% increase in VAT to 20% and a large reduction in public spending. Concerns were raised about the impact the VAT raise would have on the less well off, and the effects which would be felt by those working in the public sector. During a televised discussion with members of the public on 23 June Cameron admitted that the pensions of existing public sector workers would be cut.

See also

• Premiership of Gordon Brown (Brownism)
• United Kingdom coalition government 2010 to present

External links

• Simon Jenkins David Cameron faces toughest hand of cards ever dealt a new prime minister The Guardian, 11 May 2010
• Tory-Lib Dem coalition: Now for the difficult part BBC News, 11 May 2010
• The coalition cabinet and ministerial appointments PoliticsHome, 12 May 2010
• Can Pakistan stomach Cameron's WikiLeaks remarks? Radio France Internationale, 5 August 2010