The book will make a serene existence
unlikely – one Twitter user commented,
‘I hope it’s printed on perforated,
soft paper, so it can be of use for us all’[Press Secretary, Sir Craig Oliver,
at the Ivy Club, where he was, one
guest tells me, ‘among friends, relaxed
and unabashed, smiling and talking
to everyone.’ But, added the source,
‘I think he chooses where to go
carefully, like Blair did. You certainly
don’t see him as much on the social
circuit as you might expect.’
But he’s certainly seen around
and about in Oxfordshire, being
photographed with hen parties
at Wilderness, at drinks with the
Bamfords, at Elisabeth Murdoch’s
New Year’s Eve party, hanging out
with Jeremy Clarkson, chatting to a
fellow lunch guest about his Cornish
house, getting Tony Gallagher to
cook his 50th birthday dinner,
showing up at Alex James’, ‘exactly
as he always was: slightly aloof, quite
shy. He’s looked a little defensive.
Perhaps because he’s always expecting
trouble.’ But, this source adds, there’s
not much danger of that: ‘People are
too polite in Oxfordshire. And every-
one loves Samantha, so no one’s going
to upset her.’ Or as one London host-
ess put it, ‘If he’s been invited, I
don’t think anyone would be that
rude; the last thing you want is to
have a fight with a former Prime
Minister.’ Not that everyone feels
that way. ‘I’ve heard of people going
up to him at parties and shouting
at him,’ recalls one ornament of
Cotswold society. ‘But,’ he added,
suddenly afflicted by amnesia, ‘I can’t
remember who.’Not, presumably, anyone from
the firms that pay him handsomely
for speeches – £120,000 per hour,
it’s reported – or that have to do
with his various business roles.
Cameron has, it’s clear, been making
money, but he won’t make any money
from his book: he has recently
(and shrewdly) announced that
any profits from his £800,000
advance will go to charities –
including those to do with disabled
children, Alzheimer’s and the
armed forces.But Cameron’s book is clearly
going to make any chance of a
serene existence unlikely. ‘Will the
hardback come without a spine as
well?’ one Twitter user asked, while
another quipped, ‘I do hope it will
be printed on perforated, soft paper, so
it can be of some use for us all.’ And
these are the publishable comments.
Even in the traditional media, there
will be hard questions, harsh reviews- and, I’m told, a multipart BBC
series. And Cameron has already
told a doorstep BBC interview that he
doesn’t regret calling the referendum- saying that he was sticking to
‘a promise I’d made two years before
the 2015 General Election’ – though
he said he ‘obviously, deeply’ regrets
losing it. Whereupon, wearing shorts,
he jogged off.
Of course, Cameron also promised
that he would stay on as PM to
implement the result, only to resign
the morning after. And that’s what
gets Remainers really steamed up –
‘by quitting the captain’s post, he left
us to the lunatics,’ said one friend;
while one non-forgiver said, ‘“Society”
may be lenient towards him, but
the Great British public thinks he’s
a twat. He should have seen this
through’ – which seems to ignore what
the European Research Group did
to Theresa, the almost subterranean
Remainer. And as for Cameron
helping out with the People’s
Vote... well, I was authoritatively
told that when Sir Nick Clegg
turned up at an early People’s Vote
meeting, he was informed that he’d
be ‘toxic’ – hence his disappearance
into Mark Zuckerberg’s lucrative
embrace. Triple the effect for Cameron,
loathed by the centrists for calling a
referendum, and even more loathed
by the left for the austerity that he
and George Osborne had visited on
the country. Osborne, incidentally,
had counselled against a referendum;
Lord Hague backed one. Lord
Hague prevailed.
Just as Aston Villa prevailed over
Derby at Wembley, in front of an
out, proud and celebratory Cameron
(a soi-disant Villa fan), on the day
that the European election results
were announced. ‘Not a good look,’
sniffed a Tatler editor, echoing the
feeling Cameron should be wearing
sackcloth and ashes. He wasn’t.
But he was next to Lord King, ex-
Governor of the Bank of England
and dedicated Brexiteer. Perhaps
the ex-Prime Minister should be
careful of the company he keeps,
for time – the great healer – has yet
to do its work. Though, as one
Oxfordshire crony observes, ‘He’s
off the hook as the worst PM of all
time – thanks to Theresa.’
Just as well he didn’t sack her. ( PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK
BYS TA NDE R
SOCIETYClockwise from left, Cameron with Sir Nick Clegg
and Theresa May during the Mexican President’s State
Visit to London in 2015; at Wilderness in 2017;
celebrating Aston Villa’s victory with his son, Elwen,
and Lord King in May 201952 Tatler September 2019 tatler.com09-19BYST-Society-DavidCameron.indd 52 16/07/2019 15:44