Exit Cameron in the bloodless revolution

LESS than 16 months ago, David Cameron stood outside 10 Downing Street celebrating his famous election triumph and the first Tory majority since 1992.

Just three months ago, he quit Downing Street in the political earthquake caused by the EU referendum result.

Then yesterday, he announced he was leaving political life entirely by standing down as MP for Witney. What an astonishing descent in so short a time!

Mr Cameron’s departure is the final act of the extraordinary bloodless revolution we have seen in politics since Brexit.

With the impressive start Theresa May has made as Prime Minister, the waters seem to have closed over the Cameron years as if they were never there. When he quit as PM, Mr Cameron said he’d stay as an MP until 2020.

Yesterday he justified this change of heart by claiming his continued presence would be an ‘enormous diversion and distraction’ to Mrs May.

There is some truth to this. Had he loudly opposed his successor, or reopened old Brexit wounds, it would have been extremely damaging to Tory unity. But couldn’t Mr Cameron have opted for a period of quiet support while fulfilling his duty to his constituents? There is no reason why this must involve a Ted Heath-style sulk.

At 49, Mr Cameron is very young to be leaving the political stage. He, like Tony Blair, is from a breed of ‘here today gone tomorrow’ politicians.

Contrast his dash for the exit with Sir Winston Churchill, still in Parliament nine years after leaving No10, or Harold Wilson, an MP seven years later. They saw politics as a solemn lifetime commitment to public service.

Whatever our differences over the years, the Mail has always acknowledged that Mr Cameron is a skilful politician, highly articulate and, in his moment, a strong leader. No one should underestimate his achievements. He was chairman of the 2010-2015 Coalition and saw Britain through the difficult post-crash period.

He defied the economic naysayers, and Labour, by securing record employment levels fuelled by a huge private sector jobs boom, more than making up for much-needed cuts in the public sector.

This vital rebalancing was matched with prudent management of the public finances, and significant steps towards cutting obscene levels of borrowing.

By appointing Iain Duncan Smith, he began the long overdue task of reforming welfare. With Michael Gove as Education Secretary he drove up school standards.

But to our eyes, his self-styled One Nation, progressive conservatism often appeared devoid of strong convictions. Mr Cameron also had a regrettable sense of gimmickry about him. Who could forget his toe-curling hug-a-husky trip to the Arctic to highlight climate change?

Also in the minus column, he committed Britain to a reckless foreign aid target of 0.7 per cent of GDP. Worse, he made it law despite warnings about inevitable waste.

Having run his sofa government through a clique of aides known as the chumocracy, he then abused the honours system to garland them with gongs and peerages.

Ultimately, whether he likes it or not, Mr Cameron’s abiding legacy is Brexit.

To his credit, he honoured a pledge to give the public a vote on leaving the EU.

But he then conducted a sham negotiation with Brussels before attempting to browbeat the public into voting Remain with apocalyptic warnings about the dangers of Brexit.

We won’t know the true results of the decision to leave for many years, although the initial signs are good.

The Mail wholeheartedly believes Brexit will be a success. But won’t that just further tarnish his legacy, given he opposed it with every bone in his body?