As the PM’s inner circle of of advisers is chopped and changed, Cain, Cummings and anyone who follows them haven’t too much to fear. Mace considers the fortunes of David Cameron’s old advisors. They’ve done rather well:
Ed Llewellyn, British Ambassador to France
At Eton at the same time as Cameron, Llewellyn worked for Chris Patten in Hong Kong and for the late Paddy Ashdown in Bosnia. He later became chief of staff to Cameron in opposition and in government. After Cameron stepped down, Llewellyn was given a peerage, but before he could enter the Lords, he became our man in Paris. The appointment was said to have raised eyebrows in the FCO because the plum posting didn’t go to a career diplomat
Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough
Taking the now less common route of adviser-MP, O’Brien entered parliament as the MP for Harborough at the 2017 general election. In earlier life, O’Brien was director at think tanks Open Europe and Policy Exchange, later spending four years as a SpAd to George Osborne and later to Theresa May. This may well have helped with getting that cosy safe seat: O’Brien had a good general election, increasing his majority by almost 5,000 to 17,278.
Ameet Gill, Public Affairs Consultant
Cameron’s former strategy director worked on big campaigns, including the Scottish referendum, 2015 general election and EU referendum. He launched his lobbying firm, Hanbury Strategy, on leaving Downing Street but was slapped on the wrist by government watchdog ACOBA for securing clients before getting its approval. Hanbury’s list of clients includes CEOs and prime ministers – which PMs, we wonder.
Daniel Korski, Venture Capital CEO
Korski was a close member of the Cameron team, working as deputy to Camilla Cavendish in the policy unit. Like Ed Llewellyn, Korski was previously involved in foreign affairs, working in Washington D.C., Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia – where he worked for Llewellyn. After No 10 he founded both PUBLIC and the GovTech Summit, which brings together leading politicians and the tech industry. Korski is a vice chairman of the Jewish Leadership council.
Sir Craig Oliver, Global Adviser
Oliver was a broadcast journalist – editor of the BBC’s Six and Ten O’Clock News and controller of English at BBC Global News – before he was snapped up to be Cameron’s director of communications in 2011. His defining moment was his influential role in the unsuccessful Remain campaign, perhaps not the legacy he planned. Still, he got a book out of it, Unleashing Demons. He continues to speak out on Brexit=related issues at the CEO advisory firm Teneo.
Camilla Cavendish, Journalist and Charity Chair
Camilla Cavendish was Cameron’s star appointment following the viction of the Lib Dems from Downing Street. An old university mate of the former PM, she was a journalist at The Times before heading up the PM’s policy unit for what was a somewhat shorter-than-planned stint. She was one of several to receive the commiseration prize of a peerage. She is now contributing editor to the Financial Times and chair of the social work charity Frontline.
Laurence Mann, Chief of Staff, Office of David Cameron
Mann became a political adviser straight after leaving university working for Sir Simon Burns, then shadow health minister. In 2006, he became private secretary to leader of the opposition David Cameron, and joined him in government as political private secretary. Mann now heads the office of David Cameron, acting as a spokesperson for the former PM and overseeing his affairs. He even acted as a witness to the Camerons’ signatures on their mortgage in 2016.
