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David Cameron should retain a position at the top of the Conservatives even if the party is defeated at the election to help stop a lurch to the political right, MPs have told i.
The Foreign Secretary is an ideal figure to help unite the party’s warring factions as the longest serving Tory prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, the MPs, from across the party’s political spectrum, believe.
They judge that he could bolster emerging efforts to bridge divides in a bid to stop right-wingers taking over in opposition and turning the party into “Reform-lite”.
Lord Cameron would also bring “corporate memory” of both winning from opposition, having defeated Gordon Brown’s Labour in 2010, and of government, which could prove vital as the Tories pick up the pieces from a likely election defeat.
While no one is advocating for him to make a comeback as leader, they suggested he could serve in the shadow Cabinet or in an informal but senior advisory role from the House of Lords.
One ex-Cabinet minister called for not only Cameron to remain in a prominent role, but also for his former chancellor George Osborne to return, arguing they could occupy a similar “elder statesman” role as Ken Clarke and William Hague did for them, and Peter Mandelson has for Sir Keir Starmer.
Cameron could help unite the party and prevent a lurch to the right, the MP said, arguing that although he was forced to resign as PM, he kept the Tories together for six years before the EU referendum precisely by appeasing Brexiteers without alienating moderates.
“He knows how to bring the party together,” the ex-Cabinet minister, who is on the economic right of the party, said.
Osborne should also return alongside Cameron, the MP argued: “They’ve got the corporate memory. They know how to win and they have experience of government”
Another former minister said talk of retaining the ex-prime minister was “part of a bigger discussion on the future direction of the party”, as factions regarded as traditionally right wing and traditionally moderate reach out in a bid to crowd out those furthest to the right.
The MP said Cameron’s retention could form part of efforts to “ensure we don’t become Reform-lite” as they described the peer as “unsurprisingly impressive” since his return to the Government as Foreign Secretary in November.
A third Tory said the “balance of MPs elected” after the next national poll would determine the future direction of the party but that “peers do have a degree of influence” so Cameron could “maybe” influence the debate.
They also suggested Cameron may want to hang around in opposition despite returning to play a specific role in the Government, pointing out that “he did it for a long time” as Tory leader from 2005 before becoming PM in 2010.
A Tory source suggested he could have a role but must not be allowed to mount a comeback as leader.
The source said: “Former leaders and elder statesman should be leant upon by the new generations coming through. If they truly accept their time in the sun is over, and aren’t planning an out-of-touch comeback, their advice can be invaluable and genuine.
“I think whoever the leader is should lean on him for advice, especially being – correct me if I’m wrong – the only Tory leader to lead us from opposition to Downing Street still alive.”
However, the idea was not welcomed by all in the party. A source in the arch-Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG) said: “‘Why should I do the hard shit,’ was his view [standing down after the referendum] in 2016, and it’s not clear anything has changed?
“In any event Cameron’s appeal as leader of the opposition was grossly exaggerated – he failed to win in 2010 and only won in 2015 on a promise of an EU referendum he didn’t believe in.
“So maybe Osborne’s suggestion that he stays on as Labour’s foreign secretary is a less fantastical suggestion?”
Cameron has not ruled out remaining on the front line of politics after an election defeat, although he has said he would not stand as an MP and not seek to become Tory leader.
He told Sky News in January: “The ability to come back and try and serve in some capacity as Foreign Secretary is a huge honour for me, I’m going to do my best, use the experience I’ve got but there’s no other agenda here.
“I’m doing the job I was asked to do, I’m delighted to do it, I’m not after any other role.”
