The first episode looks at how David Cameron went from riding high following his successful 2015 election campaign to offering his own resignation to the British public on the steps of Downing Street just over a year later. The film begins by exploring twin pressures on the PM to make his fateful commitment to a referendum in 2013: first, a growing Euroscepticism, both within the Conservative party and the nation at large, which was putting increasing strain on his leadership; and second, the impact of the Eurozone crisis, which set Britain on a collision course with European politicians intent on shoring up their fragile shared currency. Cameron, against the advice of his friend and chancellor George Osborne, his chief whip and his coalition partners, became convinced that pledging a renegotiation and referendum was necessary to resolve the increasing instability of Britain's place in Europe. After leading his party to a surprise electoral victory in 2015, which saw him win a Conservative majority, Cameron's renegotiation faced huge challenges from the start. He struggled to persuade his two closest allies, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, to support the case for remaining, which left him struggling to stay in control of a campaign riven by party in-fighting, 'post-truth' politics and strategic challenges.
With unprecedented access to David Cameron himself, and drawing on the testimony of leading allies and critics from his close team, party and coalition partners, this second programme explores the former prime minister’s legacy as a leader, from his rise to the top of the Conservative Party in 2005 to his ‘sweetest victory’ in the 2015 general election. We begin at a moment of crisis for the Conservative Party, after three successive general election defeats. We investigate how Cameron and his small group of supporters sought radically to shift the party’s direction of travel, and how, against the odds, he managed to become leader in the teeth of opposition from the party’s traditional right wing, his veteran opponent David Davis and accusations of past drug use. The film then investigates David Cameron’s programme to reshape his party and the opposition he faced in doing so. Environmentalism, social justice and international aid - prioritising these made the Conservatives appear more electable but also ran the risk of alienating their powerful old guard. Two crises, political and personal, threatened to destabilise everything Cameron had achieved. First, we explore the extent to which the 2008 financial crisis forced a fundamental rethink of 'modern, compassionate Conservatism' in a new political landscape that demanded tough economic measures. Secondly, we turn to the death of David Cameron’s firstborn son, Ivan, and its impact on Cameron as he wrestled with his personal grief in the public gaze. The general election in 2010 was Cameron’s greatest test yet, and a hurdle at which he fell short. The film explores how, having failed to win an outright majority, David Cameron persuaded his party to join in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. In the Rose Garden, Cameron and his new political comrade Nick Clegg suggested that a new era of political compromise was beginning, but did the coalition stir up resentment among backbenchers who f
