London – Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprising comeback to a prominent government role on Monday, taking up the position of foreign secretary in a significant overhaul of the Conservative government. This reshuffle included the dismissal of the polarizing Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, orchestrating the Cabinet shakeup, replaced Braverman with James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary.
Cameron’s unexpected appointment raised eyebrows among political observers, as it is uncommon for a non-lawmaker to assume such a senior government position. Furthermore, it has been decades since a former prime minister held a Cabinet role. The government announced that Cameron would be appointed to the unelected upper chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords. The last foreign secretary to serve in the Lords was Peter Carrington in the 1980s, during Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s tenure.
This development marks the return to government for Cameron, who resigned following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Cameron had anticipated a vote to remain in the EU but stepped down when the outcome favored leaving. Sunak, a prominent supporter of the “leave” campaign, has now brought Cameron back into the fold.
Braverman’s departure was less surprising, given the mounting pressure on Sunak to remove her from the significant role overseeing immigration and policing. Braverman, associated with the authoritarian wing of the Conservative Party, faced criticism for accusing the police of leniency toward pro-Palestinian protesters and contributing to tensions. In a departure from protocol, she wrote an article for the Times of London without prior approval from the prime minister’s office, suggesting favoritism by the police in handling protests.
Braverman, a 43-year-old lawyer, has been a leading figure in the party’s populist faction, advocating stringent immigration controls, challenging human rights protections, and criticizing liberal social values. Her tough stance on migration, including endorsing the government’s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, has fueled her rise within the party. However, critics argue that her recent actions may be aimed at positioning herself for a potential party leadership contest in the event of a Conservative defeat in the upcoming expected election. Recent polls consistently show the party trailing behind the opposition Labour Party by 15 to 20 points.
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