LONDON — Need to rally the troops? Why not hire ousted British Prime Ministers Rishi Sunak and David Cameron for a stirring motivational speech?
Disclosures by the U.K.’s revolving door watchdog Monday night reveal that Sunak — booted from office in last year’s general election — and Cameron, his former foreign secretary colleague who led Britain until the Brexit vote, have been cleared to pitch for potentially lucrative paid gigs on the U.S. speaking circuit.
Commenting on the new sign-ups to his agency, Washington Speakers Bureau president Ryan Heil pitched Sunak as a representative of a “new generation of global leadership” — a generous glow-up given Sunak’s stewardship of his Conservative Party to an historic election defeat last July.
Sunak’s combination of “corporate financial expertise, technological fluency, and experience leading a G7 nation” makes him an “invaluable voice” for firms navigating a complex environment, Heil said of Sunak.
Meanwhile, a bio uploaded by the firm puts an equally positive spin on Cameron’s record. The modernizing Tory PM – who served from 2010 to 2016 — had, the organization said, made Britain a “global leader” on international development and environmental stewardship.
But it failed to mention his historic role as the reluctant architect of the U.K.’s Brexit vote, a referendum that cost him his job. After years in the wilderness, Cameron came back into government in the dying days of Sunak’s administration as Britain’s top diplomat.
According to the bureau, Cameron is up for speaking on everything from “governing with a harder edge” to “practicing politics in the age of populism.” He’ll even offer a “fresh take on how the West can get its mojo back.”
The pair join a long line of former British leaders who have opted to cash-in on their experience in Downing Street, with ex-Prime Minister Theresa May earning close to £3m in the period between being ousted from office in 2019 until she stepped down as an MP last July.
Boris Johnson, who left the job in 2022 after rocky time at the top, reported an advance from a speaking firm of almost £2.5m for an unspecified number of speeches. A single speech to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers in Washington just months after his exit brought in almost £320,000 — more than double his yearly prime ministerial salary.
Even Liz Truss, the U.K. shortest-serving PM, has been able to make bank on the private speaking circuit, pocketing as much as £80,000 for a single speech despite her disastrous spell in Downing Street.
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