>>> THOSE IN THE UK ARE GROWING WEARY OF THE BREXIT BATTLE AND
IT MAY BE SHIFTING THE POLITICAL
LANDSCAPE IN FAVOR OF PRIME
MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON.
THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL"
REPORTS THERE ARE NEARLY 160
LABOUR HELD DISTRICTS THAT VOTED
TO LEAVE THE EU AND AT LEAST 40
TO 50 OF THEM ARE VULNERABLE TO
SWING TO CONSERVATIVES.
ACCORDING TOO RECENT
ACCORDING TO RECENT POLLS,
JOHNSON’S APPROVAL RATING HAS
INCREASED SINCE HIS NOMINATION
AS LEADER INCREASING THE CHANCES
OF A RESPONSIBLE FLIGHT.
JOINING US NOW FORMER PRIME
MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
DAVID CAMERON, HE IS AUTHOR OF
THE NEW BOOK "FOR THE RECORD."
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING ON
THIS MORNING.
THIS MORNING. >> MR. PRIME MINISTER, THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US.
AND DESPITE THOSE POLL NUMBERS,
BORIS JOHNSON, A MAN YOU KNEW
AT:00 FORWARD, MAY BE FACING A
NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE IN
PARLIAMENT.
PARLIAMENT. WILL HE SURVIVE THAT, SHOULD HE
SURVIVE THAT?
SURVIVE THAT? >> I THINK WHAT OUGHT TO HAPPEN
NEXT IS PRIME MINISTER BORERY
JOHNSON SHOULD GO TO BRUSSELS
AND TRY TO NEGOTIATE A
WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT WITH THE
EUROPEAN UNION.
EUROPEAN UNION. THAT IS WHAT HE IS PLANNING TO
DO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCTOBER
AND HE SHOULD BRING THAT BACK TO
THE UK PARLIAMENT AND I HOPE
THAT DEAL WILL PASSION.
AND WHILE I CONTINUE TO BELIEVE
THAT WE’VE TAKEN THE WRONG STEP
WITH BREXIT, I LED THE CAMPAIGN
TO STAY IN, THE REFERENDUM
RESULT WAS CLEAR AND IT SHOULD
BE DELIVERED AND THE BEST WAY TO
DELIVER IT IS WITH A DEAL AND I
HOPE THAT IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
>> SO WHAT ODDS DO YOU GIVE NO
DEAL BREXIT OF ACTUALLY TAKING
PLACE, SOMETHING THAT PRIME
MINISTER JOHNSON HAS BEEN
PUSHING FOR SINCE HE ASCENDED TO
HIS POSITION ABOUT.
>> THE CENTRAL FACT IS THAT THE
GOVERNMENT DOESN’T HAVE A
MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT ANDGISLAT
TO PUT A NO DIEHL BREXIT OUT OF
BOUNDS.
BOUNDS. SO THE REAL CHOICE IS TO GET A
DEAL AS I HOPE BORIS JOHNSON
WILL OR TO FIND ANOTHER WAY OF
UNBLOCKING THE BLOCKAGE.
IT IS VERY PAINFUL TO WATCH AND
I FEEL SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE SITUATION WE’RE IN.
WE’VE HAD THREE YEARS WHERE WE
HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO EITHER
IMPLEMENT THE OUTCOME OF THE
TRUM OR
TRUM OR REFERENDUM OR MOVE ON.
SO FIRST STEP IS TO TRY TO GET
THE DEAL.
THE DEAL. IF WE CAN’T, I WOULDN’T ADVISE
NO-DEAL.
NO-DEAL. I THINK IT WOULD BE ECONOMICALLY
DAMAGING AND WE’LL HAVE TO LOOK
AT OTHER WAYS OF UNBLOCKING THE
BLOCKAGE, POSSIBLY A GENERAL
ELECTION OR THERE IS THE 07GS OF
A SECOND REFERENDUM WHICH I
DON’T THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE
NECESSARILY WANT.
NECESSARILY WANT. BUT WE CAN’T INTO HE ONE O GO ON
GOING FORWARDS NOR BACK WARDS.
>> SO WE WANT TO GET TO YOUR
BOOK.
BOOK. AND WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT BREXIT
AND WHAT LED TO IF.
BUT BEFORE WE DID THAT, MAYBE
YOU CAN HELP US OUT.
BECAUSE FOR THREE YEARS NOW AS
YOU SAID, THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS
BEEN PARALYZED BY BREXIT.
ANYTIME WE GO OVER THERE AND
START ROLLING OUR EYES ABOUT OUR
GOVERNMENT, WE’LL HAVE PEOPLE
SAYING THAT IS JUST ONE MAN.
YOU WILL VOTE HIM OUT IN TIME.
BUT IT IS OUR SYSTEM THAT SEEMS
TO BE INCAPABLE OF BEING FIXED.
EXPLAIN TO THE AMERICAN AUDIENCE
J IS IT THAT AFTER THREE HE
YEARS PARLIAMENT CAN’T MOVE
FORWARD, MAKE A DECISION, AND
STICK TO IT.
>> QUELL,
>> QUELL, >> WELL, I THINK PART OF THE
PROBLEM IS THIS 2015 I HAD A
MAJORITY AND WAS ABLE TO PASS
THE REFERENDUM BILL THROUGH AND
ACTUALLY 9 OUT OF 10 VOTED FOR
THAT BILL.
THAT BILL. BUT IN 2071, THERE WAS AN
ELECTION WHERE EFFECTIVELY THE
GOVERNMENT LOST ITS MAJORITY AND
ONE OF THE REASONS THAT IT HAS
BEEN DIFFICULT TO GO FORWARD, WE
HAVE A PARLIAMENT WITHOUT A
CLEAR MAJORITY.
CLEAR MAJORITY. AND YOU HAVE -- WHEN YOU ARE IN
THAT SITUATION, YOU HAVE TO
REACH ACROSS THE AISLES AS YOU’D
SAY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES
AND FIND SUPPORT FOR YOUR
PROPOSITION FROM OTHER MEMBERS
OF PARLIAMENT AND THAT HASN’T
REALLY HAPPENED.
REALLY HAPPENED. AND SO MY SUCKCESSOR THERESA MAY
DID A GREAT JOB IN GETTING THE
DEAL FROM THE EU IN TERMS OF US
LEAVING WITH AN AGREEMENT BUT
COULDN’T GET THAT THROUGH
PARLIAMENT BECAUSE MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT FROM OTHER PARTIES
WOULDN’T VOTE FOR IT.
SO THAT IS WHY WE’RE STRUCK.
IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING.
AND I TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY ON
AMERICAN TELEVISION TO SAY THE
BRITISH ECONOMY IS STILL STRONG,
OUR UNEMPLOYMENT IS THE LOWEST
SINCE THE 1970s BRITAIN STILL
HAS A LOT OF ADVANTAGES.
AND WHILE I DISAGREE WITH
BREXIT, IT IS A PERFECTLY
LEGITIMATE CHOICE FOR THE SIXTH
LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD TO
SAY TO THE EUROPEAN UNION WE
WANT TO BE YOUR FRIENDS AND
NEIGHBORS, BUT WE WON’T BE
MEMBERS ANYMORE.
MEMBERS ANYMORE. IT IS NOT THE PATH THAT I WOULD
HAVE CHOSEN, BUT IT IS A
LEGITIMATE PATH AND ONE THAT WE
CAN MAKE WORK.
>> THIS IS DAVID IGNATIUS.
I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION
THAT OBVIOUSLY IS ON OUR MINDS
THESE DAY AS WE DEAL WITH
AMERICAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS.
DO YOU THINK THERE IS ANY
POSSIBILITY THAT RUSSIAN
INTERFERENCE, RUSSIAN
INTERFERENCE, RUSSIAN MANIPULATION, WAS A FACTOR IN
THIS KIND OF TRAIN WRECK OF
BRITISH POLITICS THREE YEARS AGO
THAT YOU ARE STILL STRUG ARE
LINK TO DEAL WITH?
HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO THAT, DO
YOU HAVE A FEELING ABOUT WHETHER
THE ARE RUSSIANS MAY HAVE
AMPLIFIED THE "LEAVE" SENTIMENT
AND TRIED TO PLAY ON THIS
POPULIST MOMENT?
POPULIST MOMENT? >> IT WAS LOOKED INTO BY A
SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF
COMMONS AND FROM MEMORY WHAT
THEY FOUND IS THERE WAS SOME
ACTIVITY BUT I DON’T THINK THAT
ANYONE WOULD SAY THAT IT WAS IN
ANY WAY DECISIVE.
OBVIOUSLY I REGRET HUGELY THE
OUTCOME OF THE REFERENDUM
CAMPAIGN, BUT AS PRIME MINISTER,
I SPENT PUBLIC TAXPAYERS MONEY
WRITING TO EVERY SINGLE
HOUSEHOLD IN THE COUNTRY WITH A
LEAFLET EVERY WORD OF WHICH YOU
I PORE THE OVER CAREFULLY TO PUT
THE ARGUMENT WHY WE SHOULD STAY.
I’VE COMPLAINED ABOUT INDIVIDUAL
BITS OF THE CAMPAIGN, BUT
GENERALLY SPEAKING IT WAS, YOU
KNOW, RAMBUNCTIOUS IN A BRITAIN
CAMPAIGN BUT I DON’T CLAIM THAT
IT WAS SOMEHOW UNFAIR.
>> MR. PRIME MINISTER, THERE IS
A STRIKING LINE IN THIS BOOK
WHICH I’M NOT SAYING YOU DID
THIS FOR CRISIS MANAGEMENT, BUT
I WOULD RECOMMEND TO POLITICIANS
TO BE AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS YOU
WERE IN THIS ONE LINE.
OF COURSE OUR AMERICAN PRESIDENT
WILL NEVER TAKE THIS TACT.
BUT YOU SAY ON THE BREXIT
FALLOUT, YOU SAY I ACCEPT THAT
MY APPROACH FAILED.
THE DECISIONS I TOOK CONTRIBUTED
TO THAT FAILURE.
I FAILED.
I FAILED. VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD, VERY
STRIKING LANGUAGE.
STRIKING LANGUAGE. BUT YOU GO ON TO TALK ABOUT
DOING IT DESPITE THE FACT THERE
DIDN’T SEEM TO BE A CLAMORING
FOR THIS VOTE, BUT YOU SAID
STILL YOU BELIEVED THAT IT WAS,
QUOTE, INEVITABLE.
QUOTE, INEVITABLE. WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS
STROET SOONER
STROET SOONER VOTE WAS INEVITABLE ABOUT.
>> WE HAD JOINED THE EU BACK IN
THE 1970s, BUT WE HAD HAD TREATY
AFTER TREATY, POWER AFTER POWER,
PASS FROM THE UK TO THE EUROPEAN
UNION, REFERENDUMS KEPT BEING
PROMISED BUT THEY WERE NEVER
BEING DELIVERED.
BEING DELIVERED. AND ADDED TO THAT YOU HAD THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE EURO AS
CURRENCY OF SOME OF THE MEMBERS
OF THE EU BUT ABOUT NOT THE UK
AND THAT WAS CHANGING THE
ORGANIZATION BEFORE OUR VERY
EYES.
EYES. SO QUESTION HAD TO FIX IT.
BUT THE PASSAGE YOU READ IS MY
AIM IN FIXING IT WAS TO USE A
REFERENDUM TO TRIGGER A
RENEGOTIATION, TO FIX SOME OF
THE GENUINE PROBLEMS I SAW.
AND THEN SECURE OUR PLACE AS A
SEPARATE DIFFERENT SORT OF
BRITISH PLACE IN THE EUROPEAN
UNION AND IN THAT ENDEAVOR
OBVIOUSLY I FAILED AND I’M FULL
OF REGRET FOR THAT BECAUSE I
THINK THE RIGHT ANSWER WAS TO
STAY IN AND FIGHT FOR A BRITISH
POSITION IN EUROPE.
BUT I ACCEPT THE OUTCOME OF THE
REFERENDUM.
REFERENDUM. THERE WAS A CLAMOR FOR IT BACK
IN 2012, TWO-THIRDS OF VOTERS
SUPPORTED IT, 9D OUT OF 10 PMs
VOTED FOR IT.
EVERY POLITICAL PARTY IN BRITAIN
WENT INTO ELECTION PROMISING A
REFERENDUM.
REFERENDUM. SO THERE WAS A BIG PUBLIC DEMAND
FOR IT.
FOR IT. BUT OBVIOUSLY I REGRET THE
OUTCOME.
OUTCOME. BUT I THINK THAT WE CAN MAKE THE
ANSWER WORK, BUT WE NEED TO GET
OUT OF THIS DEADLOCK THAT WE’RE
IN AT THE MOMENT.
>> YOU’RE RIGHT ABOUT BORIS
JOHNSON.
JOHNSON. AGAIN, SOMEONE YOU’VE KNOWN
SINCE YOUR DAYS AT EATON.
AND YOU SUGGEST THAT -- MAKE A
SUGGESTION THAT MANY ARE
SUGGESTING WITH THE AMERICAN
PRESIDENT, THAT BORIS JOHNSON
WHEN IT COMES TO BREXIT CARES
MORE ABOUT HIS OWN POLITICAL
FUTURE THAN THE FUTURE OF THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. MANY OTHERS HAVE ALSO SUGGESTED
THAT HE CYNICALLY EMPLOYED
BREXIT TO HELP FUEL HIS
POLITICAL RISE.
POLITICAL RISE. EXPLAIN THE BORIS JOHNSON THAT
YOU’VE KNOWN FOR DECADES AND THE
BORIS JOHNSON THAT HAS EMERGED
OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
>> THE POINT I MAKE IN THE BOOK
IS THAT HE HADN’T PREVIOUSLY
ARGUED FOR LEAVING THE EU.
I EXPLAIN THAT HE WAS A
EUROSCEPTIC, THERE WAS A LOT
ABOUT BRUSSELS HE DIDN’T LIKE, A
LOT ABOUT THE SYSTEM THAT HE
DIDN’T LIKE, BUT HE NEVER ARGUED
FOR LEAVING.
FOR LEAVING. SO I WAS PASSIONATELY TRYING TO
DEFENSE HIM TO ARGUE FOR STAYING
ON THE BASIS THAT STAYING AND
FIGHTING FOR BRITISH INTERESTS
WAS THE BEST ANSWER.
BUT LOOK, I WANT BORIS TO
SUCCEED AS PRIME MINISTER.
HE HAS A VITAL JOB TO DO GETTING
THAT NEGOTIATION IN BRUSSELS.
I WORKED WITH HIM VERY CLOSELY
WHEN HE WAS MAYOR OF LONDON.
HE WAS A VERY EFFECTIVE MAYOR.
HE CAN BE AT HIS BEST AN
EFFECTIVE POLITICIAN AND I WANT
HIM TO SUCCEED IN SORTING OUT
THIS ISSUE TO BRITAIN AND ALSO
THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE NEED TO
DO.
DO. KEEP THE ECONOMY GROWING,
CREATING JOB, IMPROVE PUBLIC
SERVICES, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT
WHERE SO VITAL.
>> I WANT TO END ON A PERSONAL
NOTE.
NOTE. YOU TALK ABOUT THE LOSS OF YOUR
SON IVAN, HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD IN
2009.
2009. AND I ASK THIS QUESTION BECAUSE
WE ALL KNOW PARENTS THAT HAVE TO
ENDURE TERRIBLE LOSS, TERRIBLE
HARDSHIP.
HARDSHIP. IT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE YOU
WERE IN THE PUBLIC EYE.
YOU TALK ABOUT IT IN THE BOOK.
HOW DID YOU MOVE FORWARD THROUGH
THAT TRAGEDY?
THAT TRAGEDY? >> IT WAS OBVIOUSLY EXTREMELY
DIFFICULT BECAUSE THESE THINGS
WHEN THEY HIT YOU, THEY HIT YOU
LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN AT 100
MILES PER HOUR.
AND FIRST HAVING A CHILD WITH
SEVERE DISABILITIES IS NOT
SOMETHING YOU EXPECT AND NOT
SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO
COPE WITH.
COPE WITH. AND SO THAT IS HUGELY IMPACTFUL.
AND THEN LOSING HIM SO YOUNG WAS
HEARTBREAKING.
HEARTBREAKING. I WROTE THE CHAP HE TER IN THE
BOOK BECAUSE I WANTED TO TALK
ABOUT IT PARTLY FOR MYSELF AND
PARTLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY
PARENTS WITH DISABLED CHILDREN
WHO STRUGGLE AS WE STRUGGLED AND
I THINK THAT THEY WILL IDENTIFY
WITH SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES
THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
GOING BACK TO WORK AFTERWARDS
WAS VERY DIFFICULT AND I THINK I
SAY IN THE BOOK I MAYBE WENT
BACK TO WORK A BIT TOO QUICKLY
RATHER THAN SPENDING MORE TIME
THINKING IT THROUGH.
BUT HE WAS A DIVINE WONDERFUL
BOY AND WE LOVED HIM.
>> SO AS WE READ THROUGH FOR THE
RECORD, I’M CURIOUS, WHAT
TAKEAWAY WOULD YOU WANT AMERICAN
AUDIENCES TO HAVE AS THEY READ
"FOR THE RECORD" IN.
>> I HOPE WHAT THEY WILL SEE IS
AN EXPLANATION FOR WHERE BREXIT
CAME FROM, BUT ALSO A
GOVERNMENT, A GENUINE
CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT THAT I
WOULD CALL IT THAT CUT THE
BUDGET DEFICIT BY TWO-THIRDS,
GOT THE COUNTRY BACK TO WORK,
CREATED MILLIONS OF JOBS AND NEW
BUSINESSES AND I HOPE THAT THEY
CAN SEE THAT IN SPITE OF OUR
CURRENT DIFFICULTIES, THERE IS A
HUGE AMOUNT OF STRENGTHS IN
BRITAIN THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE YOU
OF NOT LEAST THE ACTION THAT THE
GOVERNMENT I LED TOOK.
AND THE AIM IS TO BE PRETTY
FRANK ABOUT THINGS I GOT WRONG
AS WELL AS THINGS I GOT RIGHT.
I’M ALL FOR AS PRESIDENT BUSH
ONCE ADVISED MY, YOU FINISH
BEING PRIME MINISTER, YOU WANT
TO LEAVE THE STAGE, BUT I THINK
AT SOME STAGE YOU HAVE TO WRITE
DOWN WHAT YOU WERE THINKING,
WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO, WHAT
YOU THINK NOW.
IT IS A BOOK THAT YOU CAN WRITE,
HISTORIANS WILL PORE OVER EVERY
DETAIL AND WILL COME TO THE
CONCLUSIONS THAT THEY COME TO.
BUT I THINK LEADERS SHOULD TRY
TO WRITE DOWN WHAT THEY WERE UP
TO AND WHY.
>> AND WHAT A CRITICAL TIME FOR
THIS BOOK TO BE RELEASED.
>> THE BOOK IS "FOR THE RECORD."
DAVID CAMERON, THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR JOINING US ON "MORNING
JOE."
JOE." >> WE GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
>>> STILL AHEAD, WHILE DEMOCRATS
GO FULL FORCE ON TRUMP’S
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY, AMERICANS
ARE STILL HOLDING OUT ONE
POTENTIAL -- HOLDING ON ONE
POTENTIAL GLIMMER OF
BIPARTISANSHIP.
BIPARTISANSHIP. BACKGROUND CHECKS.
BACKGROUND CHECKS. UP NEXT, WE’LL TALK TO SENATOR
CHRIS MURPHY ABOUT THE GUN
LEGISLATION TALKS SITTING ON THE
PRESIDENT’S BACK BUNNER.