Look who's eyeing up a comeback! David Cameron is considering a dramatic political return by standing again as an MP, friends reveal
- Brexiteer MPs fear former Prime Minister could team up with George Osborne
- Any attempt by David Cameron to return to the Commons is controversial
- Allies say he is only Tory leader to win Commons majority in the past 27 years
David Cameron is considering making a dramatic political comeback by standing again for Parliament, friends have told The Mail on Sunday.
Brexiteer MPs fear the former Prime Minister could team up with his old ally George Osborne after claims that the ex-Chancellor privately hinted he harboured ambitions to return to government.
Any attempt by Mr Cameron to return to the Commons is likely to prove highly controversial. The Tory Party has been bitterly divided since the EU referendum which he called in 2016.
But allies point to Mr Cameron’s record as the only Tory leader to win a Commons majority in the past 27 years, and say that at the age of just 52, he has ‘three decades of public service left in him’.
Brexiteer MPs fear the former Prime Minister could team up with his old ally George Osborne after claims that the ex-Chancellor privately hinted he harboured ambitions to return to government
Tory MPs also claim Mr Osborne, who holds several jobs including editor of the London Evening Standard, had told friends he had considered standing in Kensington, the once-safe Tory seat that turned Labour in 2017
One source claimed last night that friends of Mr Cameron had made discreet enquiries about standing in Sevenoaks – one of the safest Tory seats in the country – after the expected retirement of the sitting MP Sir Michael Fallon.
However, Mr Cameron denied last night that he planned to re-enter the Commons.
Tory MPs also claim Mr Osborne, who holds several jobs including editor of the London Evening Standard, had told friends he had considered standing in Kensington, the once-safe Tory seat that turned Labour in 2017. The claim was spread on a WhatsApp group for Brexit-supporting MPs last week, with one warning the comeback had been discussed at a dinner party two weeks ago.
But friends of Mr Osborne said last night that he was very happy in his current jobs and would be staying out of Westminster.
The two men remain close friends, although it is unclear whether they would be prepared to serve under Boris Johnson, who is the current front-runner to succeed Theresa May. Since quitting No 10 and his Witney seat after the referendum, Mr Cameron has been giving lucrative speeches, taking long holidays and writing his memoirs, For The Record, which will be published in the autumn. But friends say he is ‘bone-numbingly bored’ and looking for a fresh challenge.
Mr Osborne has kept a close eye on Westminster in his role at the Evening Standard, delighting in using its columns to attack Mrs May, who sacked him in 2016.
Most watched News videos
- Terrifying moment driver overtakes van and narrowly avoids crash
- Sally Nugent hilariously finds out 'hedgehog' is a hat bobble
- Starmer and Rayner embrace as they launch election campaign
- Three men seen running out of Beckenham station after knife attack
- 'Satan took over me': Hamas terrorist confesses of raping woman
- Heartless criminals steal van terminally ill boy uses
- Camilla hands out gifts at Royal Maundy ceremony on behalf of King
- Tourist is filmed napping in his tent on the beach with a crocodile
- Hilarious moment King's Guard shout 'make way' at pigeons in London
- Police carry slingshots to defend themselves against crazed monkeys
- Russian plane spiralling out of control crashes in sea in Crimea
- Queen Camilla greets children after traditional Maundy service