Reshuffle: Resurrecting Cameron shows a Government 'out of ideas and running out of road' says Jim Allister

Ulster Unionists, TUV and Alliance critical of Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle which has brought David Cameron back from the political grave.
By David Thompson
Published 13th Nov 2023, 17:06 BST
Updated 13th Nov 2023, 19:52 BST
Former prime minister David Cameron leaving Downing Street, London, after being appointed as Foreign Secretary in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ministerial reshuffle following the sacking of home secretary Suella Braverman. Maja Smiejkowska/PA WireFormer prime minister David Cameron leaving Downing Street, London, after being appointed as Foreign Secretary in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ministerial reshuffle following the sacking of home secretary Suella Braverman. Maja Smiejkowska/PA Wire
Former prime minister David Cameron leaving Downing Street, London, after being appointed as Foreign Secretary in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ministerial reshuffle following the sacking of home secretary Suella Braverman. Maja Smiejkowska/PA Wire

The sacking of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman brought about one of the biggest political comebacks in recent years as David Cameron was elevated to the Lords and appointed foreign secretary.

Reacting to the appointment, the UUP leader said that the “turmoil” in the Tory party highlights how far down the government agenda Northern Ireland is.

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Doug Beattie said “What we need now is stable government at Westminster to lead the United Kingdom in difficult times”.

Meanwhile Jim Allister was scathing about the former-PM’s return to frontline politics.

“Rishi Sunak’s decision to resurrect David Cameron speaks to a government which is out of ideas and increasingly running out of road. Lord Cameron, who as Prime Minister led the campaign to remain, is hardly the sort of appointment the Prime Minister would make if he was planning to take the fight to the EU in terms of restoring Northern Ireland’s place as a full and equal part of the UK.

“Having overlooked all of his MPs and effectively said none of them are up to doing the job of one of the great offices of state, I expect the fall out among his own backbenchers to be considerable which may well make the dying days of this fag end government more eventful.”

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The Alliance Party’s Eoin Tennyson said “Appointing David Cameron as an unelected bureaucrat Foreign Secretary is an affront to democracy. His legacy as Prime Minister is political chaos, a weakened economy and destroyed relationship with our European neighbours”.

The reshuffle came after Suella Braverman was sacked from the Home Office after accusing the Metropolitan police of not being impartial in its handling of pro-Palestine marches as well as comments comparing the rallies to Northern Ireland.

Lord Cameron left government in 2016 in the wake of the Brexit referendum. He returns as the government aims to take advantage of the opportunities for post-Brexit trade deals – and at a crucial time in world affairs with conflicts raging in the middle east and Ukraine.

Related topics:David CameronSuella BravermanGovernmentJim AllisterRishi SunakNorthern Ireland