David Cameron: his time at number 10 Downing Street

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David Cameron will go down in history as the Prime Minister who was in charge when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

On the morning of the result of the referendum he stood outside number 10 and announced his resignation which at that time he believed would take effect in the autumn.

It was six years earlier, then aged forty three and the youngest prime minister since 1812 that the man whose wife Samantha calls, “Dave” took up residency in the most famous street in the UK.

But his party had failed to win an absolute majority and so was forced to form a coalition government with Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats.

It was the first such government since World War II and its priority was to get the economy back on track. It was a policy which led to frequent clashes within the coalition.

And on the streets the subsequent austerity measures – the deepest cuts for a generation prompted demonstrations. Cameron defended the policy throughout and by 2013 it bore fruit with the UK showing growth above 3.5 percent with a million jobs created in two years.

On September 15 2011 David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy arrived on a visit to Libya. British troops, as part of a joint mission with France had helped to overthrow Colonel Gadaffi’s regime. They were thanked for taking “brave positions” during the Libyan uprising.

In 2012 he signed off an agreement for a referendum in Scotland to vote on independence from the UK. He did not want to be seen as the PM who presided over the break up of the union. To his relief his bet paid off and Scotland voted to stay in the UK.

In May last year his party defied all the pollsters predictions and were swept to power with an overall majority. His election manifesto had promised a referendum on EU membership.

“We will deliver that in/out referendum on our future in Europe. As we conduct this vital work, we must ensure that we bring our country together,” he told reporters outside number 10.

It wasn’t until February this year and after months of negotiations with Brussels that David Cameron felt he had secured enough reforms of Britain’s relationship with the EU to confirm the date for the poll.

He said his government would support the remain campaign. But what followed was a bitter and intense run up to the referendum with splits in his cabinet and party.

Three weeks after his failure to keep the UK in Europe David Cameron quit front-line politics leaving behind the turbulence created by Brexit.

“We will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening. Thank you very much,” he announced outside number ten and as he left, with his microphone still live was heard to hum a tune.