The Cameron Years

Editorial

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

Documentaries

Factual: Politics

Two-part series looking at David Cameron's political legacy.

Drawing on an exclusive interview with David Cameron, this series explores his leadership, the events that led to the EU referendum and his impact on our political landscape.

Series 1

BBC One London

London

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One North West

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC One Cambridgeshire

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Channel Islands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC One Yorkshire

Ian Leese

Melanie Fall

James Parris

Denys Blakeway

Menace Productions Ltd

The Cameron Years: Series 1: The Best Is Yet to Come

The Best Is Yet to Come

BBC One - The Cameron Years, Series 1, The Best Is Yet to Come

Examining David Cameron's leadership between 2005 and the 2015 election.

Examining David Cameron's leadership, from his rise to the top of the Conservative Party in 2005 to his 'sweetest victory' at the 2015 election.

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 felt marginalised by the new arrangement?

The film turns to the first major tests of David Cameron’s leadership. First, examining how the implementation of austerity, masterminded by his close ally George Osborne, saw the start of long-lasting public outrage and sowed the seeds of coalition division over the introduction of increased tuition fees. Secondly, questioning Cameron’s response to the Libyan Civil War - whether his decision to intervene was the right one, and whether he was experienced to lead the country in war. 

Finally, the programme tackles the three great challenges of Cameron’s first term: the passage of gay marriage legislation in 2013, which was simultaneously the high point of Cameron’s 'compassionate' social agenda, but also the nadir of his relationship with the party and grassroots; the Scottish referendum in 2014, which saw Cameron’s government come dangerously close to presiding over the break-up of the Union; and the general election in 2015, in which David Cameron led his party to a victory that defied the polls, but at the expense of his coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats. 

We leave David Cameron in 2015, at the height of his powers. Had his journey to this point set in motion political events and personal blindspots that would, ultimately, usher him out of office just over one year later?

The Cameron Years: Series 1

BBC One

Drawing on an exclusive interview with David Cameron, the series explores his leadership, the events that led to the EU referendum and his impact on our political landscape.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Cameron Years

Series 1

The Best Is Yet to Come

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One South East

About BBC One