Sunak rolls the dice with Cameron resurrection

Britain’s former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Acquire Licensing Rights

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Rishi Sunak’s latest pivot is riskier than it might look. The British prime minister has appointed former leader David Cameron as foreign secretary, part of a reshuffle in which he sacked firebrand Home Secretary Suella Braverman. The move suggests Sunak may be looking to appeal to centrist voters ahead of next year’s national ballot, but that may also make his party more fragile.

Cameron, who left parliament in 2016 after proposing a referendum on Brexit he then lost, isn’t an obvious choice for Sunak. True, he brings experience and is well known to foreign leaders. Yet he has been tainted by his lobbying for Greensill Capital, the disgraced supply chain finance provider.

Appointing a centrist like Cameron does send a signal that Sunak is trying to court moderate conservative voters, who have been turned off by the party’s embrace of a damaging Brexit, plus Sunak’s own rolling back of green policies and investment in poorer regions. That may weaken support for opposition leader Keir Starmer, who has been gaining ground with moderate voters and businesses.

Yet Cameron is still a divisive figure. Centrist voters may not forgive him for allowing an EU referendum and jumping ship shortly afterwards. And the Conservative party’s hard-right factions will be more rebellious. Sunak may go to the polls with an even more fragmented and chaotic party. (By Neil Unmack)

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are their own.)

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