Cameron’s memoirs ‘on hold until after Brexit’
SPARE a thought for David Cameron as Brexit is dragged on endlessly. I hear that the former prime minister, who resigned after losing the EU referendum in 2016, had planned to begin promoting his long-awaited memoirs this month.
However, he is said to have given his successor, Theresa May, a private understanding that he would not publish the autobiography until after Britain had left the European Union so as ‘not to rock the boat’.
Now, publication is on hold with no date set for when the book will see the light of day.
Cameron has told friends that his publisher, William Collins, can’t even give him a launch date, so he is unable to make any long-term plans.
‘I honestly don’t know when it’s coming out,’ he tells me.
Britain was, of course, due to leave the EU on March 29 and Cameron’s office is said to have set aside the first three weeks in April for him to start publicising his long-awaited memoirs. His publisher had planned a nationwide tour, plus a number of dates in America, where Cameron has been making a succession of lucrative speeches recently.
‘It’s frustrating because David finished writing the book three months ago,’ one of his friends tells me. To complicate matters, the publisher is thought to be demanding a 100,000 word cut to the manuscript.
There is, however, likely to be little sympathy from Remainers, who blame him for calling a referendum
which he then lost. Many Brexiteers have also criticised him for resigning rather than taking us out of the EU.
It had been expected that the book would be published in September to coincide with the Conservative Party conference.
Cameron signed an £800,000 book deal with William Collins in October 2016 after a bidding war among publishers. Last night, the publisher’s spokesman said it still intended to bring the book out this autumn.
Dave famously bought a £25,000 shepherd’s hut to provide him with a peaceful spot in his Oxfordshire garden to write the book.
Perhaps he could return to the hut to pen a new chapter on how he would get us out of this mess? Or will it be a case of je ne regrette rien?