David Cameron: I have no regrets over calling Brexit vote
2 min read
David Cameron has insisted he does not regret calling the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union that cost him his job as Prime Minister.
The former Tory leader - who campaigned for the UK to stay in the bloc - resigned from Number 10 after the UK instead opted for Brexit.
But he told CNN he felt no remorse about the decision to give voters a say on an EU that had changed substantially since the UK joined in the 1970s.
Mr Cameron said: “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.”
However, the ex-PM said he not changed his mind about the result of the referendum, and still wished “the vote had gone another way”.
He added: “I think we have taken the wrong course.”
The former Prime Minister, who had to ditch a planned domestic policy push when he handed over to Theresa May earlier than expected, also said he believed people would “make up their own minds” about his legacy.
“I, obviously, believe that I was right to hold a referendum. I made a promise to the British people. I kept that promise,” he explained.
And he expressed hope that Britain will remain “a good, and friendly, and close neighbour to the European Union” after it quits the bloc, rather than “a slightly reluctant and sometimes unhappy tenant”.
Back in January Mr Cameron was caught on tape saying Brexit had so far “turned out less badly” than he thought it would.
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