‘He can’t lie in front of Sam’: Why the PM blurted 2-term plan
SIX weeks before the 2015 General Election, the BBC’s deputy political editor James Landale is interviewing Cameron in his Witney constituency and, when the pair are standing by a sports pitch, he asks him about his intentions for the future.
Cameron parries the question. Later, back at the PM’s house, Landale asks again. To everyone’s surprise, Cameron blurts out: ‘Terms are like Shredded Wheat – two are wonderful but three might just be too many.’
An aide explains: ‘When he came back to the house, Sam was there and he finds it harder to conceal the full truth with her present.’
No10 damages many Prime Ministers’ marriages, but Cameron’s relationship with Samantha becomes stronger. He leans on her for emotional and practical support. She is the sheet anchor of his life and premiership. When Samantha is happy, so is he.
Although a strong personality, Samantha is painfully shy and can be overwhelmed by the grandeur of the role, especially in the early years. For example, when Cameron flies out see the US President in March 2012, everyone in the PM’s party at the front of the plane is euphoric (the Prime Minister usually sits in seat 1B, with space for boxes by the window, and 1C free for him to call up whoever he wants to talk to), apart from Samantha, who is far from happy.
‘It is unusual for her to go, she is very nervous because she is not a natural lover of the limelight, and particularly hates the moment when the plane door opens and all the cameras start clicking.’
There is criticism that she is too retiring in her role as ‘First Lady’ and does not attend as many events as might a more ambitious consort. But no PM’s wife in the modern era, with the exception of Cherie Blair, has managed to cope with having a child while bringing up a family in No10. Samantha has become content enough at Downing Street but looks forward to the day when the commotion of their lives there is over.