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David Cameron: I would not serve third term as PM David Cameron: I would not serve third term as PM
(35 minutes later)
David Cameron has ruled out standing for a third term as prime minister if re-elected and named Theresa May, George Osborne and Boris Johnson as possible future Conservative leaders. David Cameron unexpectedly ruled out serving a third term in office, causing dismay in Conservative circles as he highlighted three potential successors.
The prime minister made the announcement about his political future to the BBC in a highly unusual move for a party leader in the runup to a general election. The prime minister said he felt fit enough to serve another full five years in Downing Street – if he were to remain in power after the forthcoming general election but added that after that it would be “time for new leadership”.
He appears to have made a calculation that voters do not want a prime minister who continues for too long in the vein of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. In an interview with the BBC, conducted largely in the kitchen of the prime minister’s Cotswolds home, Cameron named home secretary Theresa May, chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson as potential Conservative leaders.
He has previously been rumoured to have struck a deal to hand over to another leader half way through a second term if he were re-elected. “I’ve said I’ll stand for a full second term, but I think after that it will be time for new leadership. Terms are like shredded wheat: two are wonderful but three might just be too many,” the prime minister said.
Speaking from his family home in the Cotswolds, Cameron said he felt “fit and healthy enough” to serve a full five years but prime ministers who go on for longer risk madness.
Related: Election 2015: David Cameron rules out third term - liveRelated: Election 2015: David Cameron rules out third term - live
“I’m standing for a full second time. I’m not saying all prime ministers necessarily definitely go mad or even go mad at the same rate … But I feel I’ve got more to bring to this job, the job is half done, the economy’s turned round, the deficit is half down and I want to finish the job. The three senior politicians are already the bookmakers’ favourites to be their party’s next leader, perhaps as soon as this year if the Conservatives lose the election. However, their ambitions have never been so publicly acknowledged by Cameron before.
The prime minister made the declaration about his political future during a informal interview with the BBC, which saw him preparing food in the kitchen and featured a brief appearance from his wife Samantha.
Cameron appears to have made a calculation that voters do not want a prime minister who goes on for too long in the vein of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. He has previously been thought to be planning to hand over to another Tory leader half way through a second term, if he were to get re-elected.
But his remarks were greeted with dismay by Conservative commentators. Fraser Nelson, the editor of the Spectator magazine, said that Cameron had just “set fire to his authority” by “pre-announcing his resignation”.
Douglas Alexander, Labour’s chair of general election strategy, seized on Cameron’s remarks as evidence of a complacent attitude towards the electorate.
“The Tories are taking the British public for granted,” Alexander said. “It is typically arrogant of David Cameron to presume a third Tory term in 2020 before the British public have been given the chance to have their say in this election. In the UK it is for the British people and not the prime minister to decide who stays in power.”
Downing Street sources immediately tried to row back on Cameron’s comments, saying he was only rejecting the idea of serving a full third term. In what appeared to be a damage limitation exercise, the source said: “What happens in five years’ time in 2020? Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.”
The source said that the prime minister is in a different position to Blair and Thatcher who declined to give similar commitments at the end of their first terms in office. This is because they chose to fight elections on four-year cycles.
Under the fixed term parliament act Cameron fights elections on five-year cycles. This means that Cameron is at the equivalent of Blair’s half way stage at the end of just one term. Blair won three elections, as did Thatcher.
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said it was “incredibly presumptuous of David Cameron to be worrying about a third term as prime minister weeks before the general election”.
“He should spend a bit more time considering how he can possibly justify to voters the Tories’ dangerous plans to cut public services than agonising over his own long-term legacy.”
The prime minister said political leaders should never regard themselves as “indispensable – however mad you go in this job”.
“I’m standing for a full second time,” he said. “I’m not saying all prime ministers necessarily definitely go mad or even go mad at the same rate… But I feel I’ve got more to bring to this job, the job is half done, the economy’s turned round, the deficit is half down and I want to finish the job.
“I didn’t just come to do this to deal with the debts and the mess, I want to go on with the education reforms and the welfare reforms.“I didn’t just come to do this to deal with the debts and the mess, I want to go on with the education reforms and the welfare reforms.
“But there definitely comes a time where a fresh pair of eyes and fresh leadership would be good, and the Conservative party has got some great people coming up: the Theresa Mays, and the George Osbornes, and the Boris Johnsons. There’s plenty of talent there. I’m surrounded by very good people. The third term is not something I’m contemplating.” “But there definitely comes a time where a fresh pair of eyes and fresh leadership would be good, and the Conservative Party has got some great people coming up: the Theresa Mays, and the George Osbornes, and the Boris Johnsons. There’s plenty of talent there. I’m surrounded by very good people. The third term is not something I’m contemplating.”
He added: “Terms are like shredded wheat: two are wonderful but three might just be too many.” But his intervention will hardly have delighted other cabinet colleagues such as Jeremy Hunt, Savid Javid, and Michael Gove who may have leadership aspirations of their own.
His wife Samantha also appeared in the short film, saying she thought Cameron was “definitely, in my mind, the best man for the job”. Cameron’s wife Samantha also appeared in the short film, saying she thought her husband was “definitely, in my mind, the best man for the job”.
“I hope that me and the family help him to keep things in perspective, keep him grounded and help him pace himself over the next eight weeks,” she said.“I hope that me and the family help him to keep things in perspective, keep him grounded and help him pace himself over the next eight weeks,” she said.
During the film, Cameron was seen cheering on son Elwen’s football team, shopping at a local butcher’s and preparing food in the kitchen of his Oxfordshire home.
His children were also filmed eating a meal at the kitchen table and Cameron spoke of how his daughter, Nancy, has threatened to go on hunger strike unless his friend Jeremy Clarkson is reinstated as presenter of Top Gear. The television star was suspended after allegedly hitting a BBC producer, sparking a petition for him to return.His children were also filmed eating a meal at the kitchen table and Cameron spoke of how his daughter, Nancy, has threatened to go on hunger strike unless his friend Jeremy Clarkson is reinstated as presenter of Top Gear. The television star was suspended after allegedly hitting a BBC producer, sparking a petition for him to return.
Cameron said political leaders should never regard themselves as “indispensable”. “Countries, like big organisations, benefit from strong and consistent leadership but there comes a time when you want a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh agenda,” he said. “I told her this is not necessarily a useful intervention. It is not exactly Gandhi,” Cameron said. Samantha added: “Nancy’s hunger strike this morning lasted approximately five minutes.”
“[There are] certain things that other people would bring, and so you must never think that you’re indispensable. However mad you go in this job.” Cameron paid tribute to his wife Samantha for keeping him “sane” in Downing Street, and revealed she will be playing a role in the Conservative election campaign. The prime minister then joked: “It’s between lunch and tea is the way it works.”
“The fact that we do different things helps actually,” he said. “She keeps me sane because she’s one of the most organised people that I’ve ever come across, so home life, the children’s life, everything is just brilliantly organised.
“Otherwise you wouldn’t get this family time - unless you’re really well organised, everything would be blown off course, you wouldn’t get the chance. She’s amazing like that.
“But we’ll be out on the campaign trail because we’re passionate about this election and what comes next. She is right behind me and what I’m trying to do.”
He added: “She will be out there campaigning with me some of the time, she will be out there on her own supporting Conservative candidates some of the time, but she has also got a job and we’ve got three children.”