David Cameron returns: how can a prime minister make someone who isn’t an MP foreign secretary? And what happens now?

Thomas Caygill, Nottingham Trent University In a surprise move, Rishi Sunak, the UK’s prime minister, has appointed former prime minister David Cameron as foreign secretary. Cameron, who resigned immediately after losing the 2016 Brexit referendum, has been almost entirely absent from the political scene ever since. It’s rare these days for a prime minister to appoint someone who is not a sitting member of the House of Commons as a cabinet level minister in their government but Sunak certainly can do it. The prime minister has what we call the power of patronage. What we mean by this is that there are a number of public roles for which the prime minister gets to decide who gets the job. Those powers of patronage include appointing members of the cabinet as well as other junior ministers to serve in government. It is only a constitutional convention, rather than a rule, that government ministers be a member of either house of parliament. However, it is a convention that has been strongly abided by. This convention revolves around the constitutional principle of responsible...

Read More........ → November 14, 2023

Ex-UK PM David Cameron to promote SL, Colombo Port City

By Nisthar Cassim: Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron has come forward to promote the Colombo Port City, dubbed as Sri Lanka’s game changer for the future.Cameron is slated to promote the Colombo Port City at a invitee-only separate top events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on 26 September.He will be involved in a conversation on “Now is the time to invest in the Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka.”The exclusive event will also focus on the role of Sri Lanka in the new Indo-Pacific economy and position Port City as the nexus of trade investment and sustainability.The event will showcase Port City Colombo as a new city rising from the Indian ocean, as a strategic financial, residential, medical, education, leisure and entertainment hub for South Asia, Indian-Sub Continent, Middle East, East Africa and Southeast Asia.Prime movers of the event includes Senior Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka Nirj Deva Aditya who is a former UK MEP European Parliament and ex-MP of British Parliament and The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan and the Port City Economic Commission.The event...

Read More........ → September 20, 2023

Not nearly enough women' in Cabinet, says Cameron

PM admits the government needs more women - but why did he need his wife to explain it to him? DAVID CAMERON has decided there are not ”nearly” enough women in the top echelons of government. ”My wife likes to say that if you don't have women in 50 per cent of top positions, you are not missing out on 50 per cent of the talent, you are missing out on more than 50 per cent of the talent and I think she's right”, the Prime Minister told an audience in Mumbai today. Nice sentiment, says the Daily Telegraph’s Emma Barnett, but there’s a problem – the prime minister is acting on advice from Samantha rather than coming to his own conclusions. ”If Mr Cameron really has to take his advice on promoting women from his wife, akin to having her help him pick out a pair of socks or a decent tie, our Prime Minister really has proven just how out of touch he is. ”It’s a bit like when someone white talks about racism, and quickly qualifies their views by explaining that ‘their best friend is black’.” Barnett believes that Cameron – who in his last reshuffle cut the number of women in his 27-strong...

Read More........ → August 23, 2014