David Cameron Says He Is Stepping Down From Parliament

By Bill Chappell / NPR

Published September 12, 2016 at 5:50 AM PDT

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

David Cameron speaks to the media on July 13 as he leaves 10 Downing St. in London after formally resigning as prime minister. Cameron announced Monday that he is resigning from his position as a member of Parliament.

Two months after he resigned as Britain's prime minister, David Cameron is leaving the seat in Parliament that he first won 15 years ago.

Cameron left 10 Downing St. in July, weeks after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union.

In the House of Commons, Cameron represents Witney, in Oxfordshire. But the politician who led the Conservative Party for more than a decade says that it's now time to move on.

Become a KPBS sponsor

"It isn't really possible to be a proper back-bench MP as a former prime minister. I think everything you do will become a big distraction and a big diversion from what the government needs to do for our country," Cameron told reporters Monday, adding that he supports his successor as prime minister, Theresa May.

From the BBC:

"Asked about his legacy, and whether he would be remembered as the prime minister that took the UK out of the European Union, he said he hoped his tenure would be recalled for a strong economy and 'important social reforms' and that he had transformed a Conservative Party that was 'in the doldrums' into a 'modernising winning force'."

After Cameron's resignation plan was announced, May said via Facebook that she "was proud to serve in David Cameron's Government — and under his leadership we achieved great things."

Thanking Cameron for his service, May concluded, "I wish him and his family well for the future."