David Cameron as foreign secretary

[beeonmybonnett]

I didn’t know you could serve in the cabinet if you’re not a sitting MP? I didn’t know he was in the House of Lords and I also didn’t know that a member of the House of Lords could be a cabinet member?

I wonder what has made him want to return to government after all these years?

Eh, I wouldn’t worry, I give them all 9 months tops.

I would not expect a Tory victory when the GE arrives, but I think Cameron is a sound choice and a safe pair of hands for Foreign Secretary.

Esther McVey has been given a new appointment- Minister for Common Sense.

I feel a need to repeat that because it's one of the most ludicrous, mind-boggling things I feel I have ever heard. Esther McVey is our new Minister for Common Sense.

I feel I can see Macron sniggering uncontrollably up his sleeve.
Angela Merkel with her feet up and a nice tipple on hand, head exploding as she reads the news.
At least Rees-Mogg hasn't been given a job. One small bullet dodged in a veritable hail.

Walked away while whistling a merry tune caught by the microphone …

They just don’t care about anyone but themselves.

That's his w/ends sorted. Feet up at Cheavening the FS grace and favour residence and some Euro schmoozing saying sorry and networking. Never know when a Euro job might crop up

Cameron also did it in 2015 with Baroness Altmann

Clearly there is no talent in the parliamentary party.

Bit of a throwback vibe, presumably Sunak has ditched his claim to be the 'change' candidate.

I thought he was forced to do a referendum on Brexit?

Rearranging the titanic deck chairs

Cameron is an experienced safe pair of hands in a very troubled world, with first person relationships with most of the world's leaders. Inspect every leaders' relationships closely enough and there are likely to have been some poor decisions along the way. No politician has a completely unblemished record, except those that never had the opportunity to make decisions. Politics remains the field of possibilities.

I did actually wonder whether Sunak would try and bring Theresa May back as Home Secretary - although can’t see her wanting the job.

Wonder if James Cleverly actually wanted Home Secretary?

And Boris sent Zac Goldsmith to the HoL after he lost his seat as an MP.

Delighted to see Steve Barclay out as Health Minister, not that anyone is going to be able to fix the NHS without a complete Euro-style reform. More money is not going to solve the problems.

I presume he wants someone who isn’t a threat to his post as PM-DC won’t want that job again!

DO you really think Sunak wants a second term as PM?

The person whose opinion I'd be most interested to read on today's reshuffle would be that of Ken Clarke. Who was, IMO, the most talented polician of his generation who never became the PM.

I'm not persuaded that Cameron is a safe pair of hands, but I think he'll do the statesmanlike side of diplomacy well.

Lord Carrington was SoSFA from the Lords for most of the 1980s, and it worked then, so I don't see why I couldn't work now (questions in the Commons were answered on his behalf by the then Privy Seal)

So the quote "All political careers end in failure" is untrue then?

I am not a David Cameron fan but I do agree with this. He tended to be moderate and statesmanlike on the world stage so isn't the worst choice for Foreign Secretary.

But I still can't see the Conservatives getting elected next year/Jan 2025.

Or his career isn’t ended yet and there’s a bigger failure out there…

Isn't it obvious that this is the way that the "real power" behind the Tory party are going to get rid of Sunak before the next election and hand the job to Cameron? Let's face it, they've no hope of winning the next GE with Sunak as party leader and no one else is "acceptable" to the people behind the scenes, so they're desperate enough to try to win the next GE that they've brought back Cameron, who is very photogenic for the media, says the right things, and has a "moderate" reputation. They've no one else who can win a GE, so they've dragged him back and I think he'll replace Sunak in the New Year, giving him several months to campaign ahead of the next GE.

It's not what he thinks, it's his puppet masters pulling his strings.

awful man, was so glad when he walked away. the way he shut down debate about disability related things was awful.

@heldinadream

At least Rees-Mogg hasn't been given a job. One small bullet dodged in a veritable hail.

He doesn't need a "formal" job. He's one of the puppet masters and runs things anyway in the background along with Gove. Neither want the top job as it's too risky for them and if they get thrown out of the top job, they lose their power. They prefer sitting and plotting in the background.

No political career ends in failure, I think, especially once you've been the leader of a country. Even if you absolutely wrecked the country for the next few decades (like David Cameron) you can still make a lot of money sitting on the board of various companies and by giving speeches. Well it depends how you define failure but by Tory values I assume they measure how successful their political career was by how much made money they have made and how money they will continue making.

I don't think David Cameron has lost any sleep over the decades of issues he has caused the UK and it's people.

David Cameron isn't moderate. He's a populist so he will do whatever furthers his ambitions. I don't think he has any ideology beyond that.