Premiership of David Cameron

Cameron in 2013
Premiership of David Cameron 11 May 2010 – 13 July 2016
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Cabinet	Cameron–Clegg coalition Second Cameron ministry
Party	Conservative
Election	2010 2015
Seat	10 Downing Street
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Coat of Arms of HM Government

This article is part of a series about David Cameron
Political positions Electoral history The A-List Cameron Cutie MP for Witney Foreign Secretary Shadow Cabinet Frontbench team One-nation conservatism Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership International trips First ministry and term Cameron–Clegg coalition and agreement Nick Clegg's tenure as Deputy Prime Minister Chancellorship of George Osborne Austerity programme 2010 budget 2011 budget 2012 budget 2013 budget 2014 budget March 2015 budget Theresa May's tenure as Home Secretary Iain Duncan Smith's tenure as Work and Pensions Secretary Michael Gove's tenure as Education Secretary Jeremy Hunt's tenure as Health Secretary Bloody Sunday apology Spending, Strategic Defence, Balance of Competences reviews Military intervention in Libya (Operation Ellamy) Big Society Big Society Award National Citizen Service Alternative Vote referendum Phone hacking scandal 2011 riots Welfare Reform Act Health and Social Care Act London 2012 Summer Olympics Belfast City Hall flag protests Bloomberg speech Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 Woolwich attack Scottish independence referendum Royal Mail privatisation Second ministry and term Second Cameron ministry July 2015 budget Operation Shader Military intervention against ISIL in Iraq 2015–16 floods 2016 budget EU referendum Brexit Murder of Jo Cox Panama Papers 2016 Conservative Party leadership election Resignation Honours Post-premiership 2016 Witney by-election Greensill scandal Greased piglet For the Record Tenure as Foreign Secretary International trips November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle
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David Cameron's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 11 May 2010 when he accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, and ended on 13 July 2016 upon his resignation following the 2016 referendum that favoured Brexit, which he had opposed. As prime minister, Cameron simultaneously served as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party.

Following the 2010 general election, Cameron became Prime Minister at the head of a coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, as no party had gained an overall majority in the House of Commons for the first time since the February 1974 general election. He appointed Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Deputy Prime Minister. Between them, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats controlled 363 seats in the House of Commons, with a majority of 76 seats.^[1]

Cameron's premiership was marked by the ongoing effects of the late-2000s financial crisis; these involved a large deficit in government finances that his government sought to reduce through austerity measures. His administration passed the Health and Social Care Act and Welfare Reform Act, which introduced large-scale changes to healthcare and welfare. It also enforced stricter immigration policies,^[2] introduced reforms to education and oversaw the 2012 London Olympics. It privatised the Royal Mail and legalised same-sex marriage in Great Britain. After the 2015 general election, he remained as Prime Minister, this time leading a Conservative-only government with a parliamentary majority of 12. To fulfil a manifesto pledge, Cameron introduced a referendum on the UK's continuing membership of the European Union in 2016. He supported the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign. Following the success of the Leave vote, Cameron resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Theresa May, his Home Secretary.

As Prime Minister, Cameron was credited for helping to modernise the Conservative Party and reducing the deficit. However, he was subject to a level of criticism for the 2015 manifesto commitment to implement the referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU and his vocal support for remain, which ultimately led to his resignation as Prime Minister. This led to a sustained period of political instability. The austerity measures introduced by Cameron's Chancellor George Osborne failed to reduce unemployment, lower interest rates and stimulate growth, and were linked to worsened inequality and poverty and a rise in political instability. In historical rankings of prime ministers, academics and journalists have ranked him in the third and fourth quintiles.