1. 3 4 / W W W . S H O R T L I S T . C O M
T
here are times when
the daily goings on at
Westminster can feel
a million miles away
from our everyday
lives. However, now
is certainly not one
of them. We are living
in the most exciting
times, politically speaking, for at least a
decade, as our main parties gear up for a
general election contest that could go
either way.
In the red corner sits our current prime
minister, Gordon Brown, while in the blue
corner sits David Cameron, leader of
a resurgent Tory party, and one of the
most important men in the country right
now. So it is with a degree of excitement
that I approach London’’s Portcullis House
where Cameron and I are to meet on
a drizzly afternoon in February.
Approaching his office, a thousand
thoughts pass through my mind. Will he
laugh at my jokes? Will I give one of those
handshakes where I squeeze a little too
hard because I am nervous? Will he think
my red tie inappropriate? The answers will
soon be revealed as I meet Cameron
outside his door. Dressed in a plain white
shirt and blue tie, he’’s a lot taller than
you’’d imagine –– around 6’’3”” –– and is
solidly built. I’’m led into his private office,
a huge room that’’s minimally decorated
bar a few pictures of former leaders on the
wall, and he politely asks if I’’d like a cup of
tea. I decline. It’’s not every day the leader
of the Conservatives asks if you’’d care for
a brew, but for now I have some serious
questions to ask –– not least getting to the
bottom of why the 43-year-old has a soft
spot for Eric Bristow……p
DAVIDCAMERON
DAVE
WhenShortListmet
Darts fan, Guinness drinker, iPod lover. These aren’t the words you’d expect to describe David Cameron,
but that’s what ShortList’s Matt Hussey discovered when he spoke to the leader of the opposition
OurmanHusseysits
downwithCameron
atPortcullisHouse

2. W W W . S H O R T L I S T . C O M / 3 5
DoesCameronwatch
BigBrotheror
TheXFactor?““No,never””
“I bought Florence + The Machine
recently. I have the occasional
country-and-western moments too.
Eilen Jewell – very good”

3. 3 6 / W W W . S H O R T L I S T . C O M3 6 / W W W . S H O R T L I S T . C O M
So, when did you decide you wanted
to run the country?
Nobody believes this about politicians,
but most people [who] go into politics
don’’t think, ““And one day, I want to be
prime minister.”” Most people go in
thinking, ““I believe in public service,
I enjoy politics, I’’m interested in the
issues, I want to work with people.”” I
didn’’t think I wanted to be party leader or
prime minister or anything like that. But
after the 2005 election defeat, I just felt
I had the right ideas. I felt I’’d learned a
great deal about what was going wrong,
and thought I had a chance to put it right.
Is the job stressful?
Parts of it are stressful, but compared
to being prime minister, it’’s nothing.
Do you have any techniques to keep
you calm under pressure?
I don’’t meditate. William Hague does,
difference for the next four years rather
than the next four news cycles, and one
of New Labour’’s failings was that they
never got that.
Tony Blair has been portrayed several
times in TV and films, in particular by
Michael Sheen. Who would you like to
play you?
I wouldn’’t even go there.
You wouldn’’t ever suggest somebody?
I’’m trying to be prime minister, not
a casting director! [Laughs]
Have you ever been starstruck?
Not by anyone I can think of. I’’m quite
talkative, so I tend to sort of gabble on.
There’’s a picture over there with me and
Arnold Schwarzenegger [Cameron
gestures to an image on his wall]. I went
to his headquarters in Sacramento.
[He was] sitting in his [smoking] tent
smoking a big cigar with cowboy
country music coming from soft
background speakers, but then
talking extremely intelligently,
particularly about the environment,
which he’’s very, very knowledgeable
about. There was something quite
majestic about it.
We hear you’’re a big darts fan too……
Well, this comes from this film I haven’’t
seen yet, When Boris Met Dave. I used
to watch the darts mainly because
I thought Sid Waddell and his
commentary was just epic. Eric Bristow,
John Lowe, Keith Deller –– I met them all
actually, it was weird. I was switching on
the Christmas lights in Witney [in 2007],
and they always quite rightly think that
a member of parliament isn’’t important
enough to do this alone, so they often get
other people to help. One year it was
John Lowe, Eric Bristow and Keith Deller
–– I was a bit starstruck. It was all such
a shock that they were all still alive and
well, sinking pints as they ever were and
talking about the magic arrows.
Do you have an iPod?
I do. My children have actually just
broken it, which I’’m incredibly cross
about. I got one of those connections
for the car and my daughter is obsessed
by Lily Allen, who I think is slightly
unsuitable, so a bit of a fight takes place,
““I want to listen to Lily Allen,”” ““No it’’s The
Jungle Book, etc etc...”” And in the tussle
it broke.
What’’s the last thing you listened to?
I bought Florence + The Machine
recently. I have the occasional country-
and-western moments too. Eilen Jewell
was embarrassing [laughs]. But no, I like
dramas. I love Life, all the [Sir David]
Attenborough stuff.
Do you watch The Thick Of It?
I didn’’t watch all of it. I watched the
beginning. I [think] they did a Christmas
special once, which I watched on a plane
and I thought was fantastically funny.
I saw In The Loop, the film, which
I thought was only quite good; it didn’’t
quite capture it.
How accurate a representation of
politics is The Thick Of It?
There are some parts of it that do ring
true in modern politics, depressingly.
Anything in particular?
They have taken off New Labour’’s
obsession with 24-hour news
management –– I mean it’’s just been
brilliantly done. It’’s very important if we
win the election you have to put away
those tools, you have to put away all that
obsession with the day-to-day headlines,
because you need to get on with the job
of running the country, and try to make a
I think. I find the most important way of
making decisions is to make sure your
diary is well-ordered, you have plenty of
time to think, you don’’t get exhausted,
you make time for your family, you try
to keep your life in a reasonable
equilibrium –– that is how I try to think
about it. I don’’t want to get too Zen about
it, but if you’’re not exhausted and fried
then you bring your judgment and
character to the decisions you make and
hopefully you make some good ones.
What do you do when you’’re off work,
on the weekends for example?
I am a TV fan. I watch a lot of dramas.
Along with draught Guinness in cans,
Sky+ is one of the great inventions of
our time. What was I watching recently?
Silent Witness. It’’s gotten a bit violent
actually; the school shooting one
was very, very compelling. So Silent
Witness, Spooks, I have been known
to go a bit soft on Lark Rise To
Candleford, but normally quite gritty
dramas and movies.
What about Celebrity Big Brother or
The X Factor?
No, never. I watched the very beginning
of Big Brother and never got into it,
never liked it. Strictly [Come Dancing]?
Don’’t watch it. X Factor, dip into it, but
in another interview I famously couldn’’t
remember the name of the winner,
even though I’’d actually met him, which
“One year John Lowe, Eric Bristow and
Keith Deller helped me switch on the
lights in Witney – I was a bit starstruck”
Cameronsayshechats
““perfectlyamicably””withthe
primeminister
Cameronregularlycycles
toandfromparliament

4. W W W . S H O R T L I S T . C O M / 3 7
–– very good. Alongside Sky+ and
Guinness in cans, Genius [Apple’’s music
recommendation program] is the other
great invention. The Genius button has
changed my music habits.
Do you read newspapers?
I don’’t read every one. I have a flick. In
the morning I’’ll have a look at a few
websites. If I’’m in the back of the car
I’’ll fiddle with the BlackBerry. But I try
not to spend too long on all that,
otherwise you get drawn in to the
minutiae of it all –– it’’s much better to
focus on the big picture.
So how much of what we see of you in
the press is you? Do you have an image
consultant, for example?
I don’’t have image consultants; I don’’t
have too many minders. Obviously, I’’ve
got a team of people who help me with
everything, but family time is family time.
At the moment, I don’’t have to have...
Someone dressing you?
I certainly don’’t have that. But I don’’t
have a team of people following me
around all the time either. Genuinely,
I do my own shopping and cook my
own food, and all those things that
you do as a family dad. And long may
it continue.
Do you buy your own suits?
I do. Where do I shop? Gap and
Marks & Spencer’’s are very good.
Is that for suits as well?
Suits? Paul Smith is my favourite. I
like his suits. I have a couple of smart
ones for when you’’ve got to look smart.
So what’’s your relationship like
with Gordon Brown?
When we meet at events we chat
perfectly amicably. I wouldn’’t say we’’d
have dinner with our wives but we get
on OK. I have security briefings and other
things you’’d expect as leader of the
opposition too, perfectly cordial.
So it’’s all very professional?
Yeah.
Courteous?
Yeah.
But you wouldn’’t go for a drink
with him?
No.
What would you say his most affable
qualities are?
He’’s good at stories. Very knowledgeable
about history and politics. I remember
once chatting to him about, er……
American politics in the Thirties.
I’’ve heard he has quite a wicked
sense of humour……
I don’’t remember any great rib-tickling
moments, but maybe he’’s saving them
up! [Laughs quietly]
He could be our future PM, but he was once a young man
with a love of Phil Collins, reveals writer Toby Young
What do you think he thinks of you?
I’’ve no idea.
You’’ve never heard anything through
the grapevine?
I hear all sorts of things but I’’m sure
he’’d be just as polite [laughs].
Let’’s say you were to win the election
this year. Would you speak to
Gordon afterwards?
Yes, of course. I mean, if there’’s a reason
to talk, like there was over the bank
bailouts or over security issues or if
there are things to do with the election
and we need to talk, either of us would
pick up the phone.
So it’’s very much ‘‘the door is
always open’’?
My door is always open. There’’s good
contact between my office and 10
Downing Street, about when statements
are coming and those sorts of things
you’’d expect, in a businesslike way.
Was there anything you learned from
Tony Blair’’s time in charge?
The lesson I learned from that was if
you win an election you start with a pile
of brownie chips and you’’ve got to use
those brownie chips and turn them into
real changes straight away. And he left
that too late. Iraq broke him, in terms of
public trust. And after that, although he
was getting the hang of actually making
real changes like academy schools and
the start of welfare reform, it was too
late, the public had lost faith in him.
The last X Factor was watched by an
audience size similar to the number
that voted in the last General Election.
Do you think there’’s something politics
can learn from Simon Cowell?
Yes and no. Politics isn’’t showbusiness
and shouldn’’t try to be. And in an age
where people can book their holiday,
change their insurance, sell their house,
change their life with the click of a mouse
–– politics can’’t continue just along the
track of, ““Well, you elect your MP every
five years and then parliament decides
everything for you.”” We need more
transparency, openness and interaction.
Last question –– on the day of the
General Election, what will you do to
prepare for it?
It’’s too late to change people’’s minds, so
the nail-biting begins. What you normally
do is go around all the polling stations in
your constituency and visit the people
who’’ve been working for you. [A member
of Cameron’’s team signals the end of the
interview.] Well, I think we covered some
good ground there. I tried to keep my
answers as succinct as possible, didn’’t I?
I hope I didn’’t ramble on too much.
Read our extended interview with Cameron
at ShortList.com. See next week’’s issue
of ShortList for our interview with Prime
Minister Gordon Brown
PHOTOGRAPHS:ANDREWPARSONS,JACKBARNES,PAPHOTO,REXFEATURES
DAVIDCAMERON
overlapped with David
Cameron for one year
[1985-86] at Brasenose
[College, Oxford]. We were both
studying politics, philosophy and
economics, which is ironic because
I remember thinking at the time,
““It’’s a great combination of
subjects, but it’’s as though the
tutors are preparing us to be future
prime ministers rather than
journalists, broadcasters and
flim-flam men. What planet are
they on?””
I remember David –– he was
never ‘‘Dave’’ –– as being part of an
unusually large contingent of Old
Etonians to arrive at the college
that year. Because they arrived in
numbers in 1985 they were happy
to mill about in the college bar and
the Junior Common Room. David
was probably the most gregarious
one of the bunch: friendly,
charming, perhaps a little arrogant,
but not stand-off-ish. There was a
key group of Brasenose men ––
sharp-tongued, heavy drinkers ––
who prided themselves on not
suffering fools gladly. David won
them over easily.
When he arrived he
was a fairly typical
Sloane Ranger, wearing cords and
navy blazers, but within a short
time he’’d become more trendy,
favouring a Bohemian look. To
begin with, his favourite musician
was Phil Collins and he was
notorious at Eton for being able to
do faultless ‘‘air drums’’ to In The
Air Tonight. However, Collins was
quickly discarded in favour of
UB40 and The Smiths.
The general impression I got
was of a man deliberately rounding
himself out, broadening his social
circle to include the sort of people
he’’d never encountered before. He
became a regular at the Hi-Lo café,
a Caribbean restaurant on the
Cowley Road, and even ended up
babysitting for the Rastafarian
owner. But whether this was
because he had already made up
his mind to go into politics, or was
just naturally curious, is hard to
tell. I would occasionally engage
him in debate about the political
issues of the day and he was a
dry-as-dust Thatcherite. He was
a braying, triumphalist
Conservative who made no
concessions to the left-wing
atmosphere of Oxford in the
mid-Eighties –– there was no hint
of the ‘‘wet’’ he was to become.
Whether this was his true
character or not, only time will tell.
What was David Cameron
like as a student?
“Cameron was
notorious for being
able to do ‘air drums’
to In The Air Tonight”
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MetDave,whichwas
co-writtenbyYoung
I