Former PM David Cameron says he does not regret the Brexit referendum

Cameron: 'I think it was the right thing to do'
EPA
Ella Wills18 April 2018

Former Prime Minister David Cameron has said he does not regret holding the Brexit referendum, but he wishes the vote had gone the other way.

He told CNN on Wednesday: "I don't regret holding a referendum. I think it was the right thing to do.

"I don't think you can belong to these organisations and see their powers grow, and treaty after treaty, and power after power going from Westminster to Brussels and never asking the people whether they are happy governed in that way.

"But, I haven't changed my mind about the result of the referendum. I wish the vote had gone another way.

"I think we have taken the wrong course."

Mr Cameron reflected on his decision to call the referendum in his first major TV interview since resigning in 2016.

The former leader campaigned hard against the UK's departure from the EU and stepped down from the his position following the result of the vote.

But he said that it was a "legitimate choice to try and be a friend and a neighbour, and a partner of the European Union, rather than a member of the European Union" as the country is the "fifth, or sixth, largest economy in the world".

"And that's what the country has chosen. I accept the result. I wish my successor well in the work that she is doing," he said.

Brexit: Article 50 Triggered - In pictures

1/20

Mr Cameron said he has not been giving interviews as he knows "being Prime Minister... is a hard enough job without your predecessor giving you a running commentary".

Asked if he was worried his legacy would be defined by his decision to call the Brexit referendum, Mr Cameron said: "I think people will make up their own minds.

"I, obviously, believe that I was right to hold a referendum. I made a promise to the British people. I kept that promise."

The former Prime Minister also addressed the issue of people saying "this was all about politics".

He said: "Of course, there is always politics involved in these decisions, but there was also... a quite fundamental problem that Britain had, and Britain was seeing, with the development of the single currency, the beginning of decisions being made about us without us, and we needed to fix our position."

Mr Cameron added: "I wanted to fix it inside the European Union. The British public chose that we would fix it from outside the European Union.

"And, I wish my successor well with her work in being, what I hope will be a good, and friendly, and close neighbour to the European Union.

"Rather than as we were, perhaps we were, a slightly reluctant and sometimes unhappy tenant."

He was caught on camera making the comments during a conversation with steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal at the Davos summit of world leaders in Switzerland in January.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in