David Cameron and the triumph of fence-sitting politicians

David Cameron is the king of the wishy-washy compromise. Cameron has never looked happier than when he appeared in the Downing Street Rose Garden in 2010 with Nick Clegg. There was something about being in that awkward Conservative-Lib Dem coalition that suited Dave. It was, of course, another attempt at compromising – by striking a desperate last-ditch deal with the EU that no one wanted – that sealed Cameron’s fate. Now, he’s back – but he isn’t the only politician who has made a career out of sitting on the fence.

Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle shows that the current Tory Prime Minister also likes to try and please everyone, only to please no one. Sunak’s resurrection of Cameron delighted wet Tories – but to avoid alienating his Red Wall MPs, he then appointed Esther McVey, a minister without portfolio, tasked with combating ‘wokery’. In his Tory conference speech, he said people were fed up of the political status quo – only to revive Dave a few weeks later.