Prime Minister David Cameron is by “instinct” in favour of Britain leaving the European Union, one of his former top aides said in an interview published yesterday.
Steve Hilton, a close friend who helped Cameron get elected in 2010 and worked with him in government, said the Conservative leader was only backing a “Remain” vote in the June 23 referendum because of his office.
“If he was a member of the public, or a backbench MP or a junior minister or even a cabinet minister, I’m certain that he would be for ‘Leave’,” Hilton told The Times newspaper in an interview.
The 46-year-old, who worked with Cameron for two decades, said the premier’s political mission used to be about leaving the EU, adding: “That’s his whole instinct. That’s who he is.
“As prime minister he sees it from a different perspective, and that’s perfectly reasonable... but I think that if he didn’t have that perspective he would be for ‘Leave’.”
Cameron has been campaigning hard for a “Remain” vote in the referendum, crisscrossing the country with warnings that leaving the EU would put Britain’s national and economic security at risk.
Hilton was chief strategist for Cameron while he was leader of the opposition and then one his top advisors in government, before moving to the US in 2012. He was also godfather to the prime minister’s son Ivan, who died aged six in 2009.
This week Hilton declared his support for a so-called Brexit while visiting Britain from California, where he has worked at Stanford University and founded a technology company, to promote his new book.
Cameron had publicly left open the possibility that he might back a “Leave” campaign pending the outcome of negotiations on reforms to Britain’s membership with other EU leaders.
He announced he would back “Remain” after securing a deal in February that he said gave Britain “special status”. But critics, including Hilton, said it fell far short of what the prime minister had originally said was needed.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron said those fighting for Britain to remain in the European Union are making good progress but getting young people to register and turn out to vote is the ‘In’ camp’s greatest concern.
Surveys show young people are far more likely to be in favour of remaining in the EU, but also far less likely to vote.
An estimated 43% of 18 to 24-year-olds took part in last year’s national election, far below the overall turnout of 66 % and consistent with previous elections, where turnout in that age bracket has been below average since at least 1964.
Cameron, the de facto head of the ‘In’ campaign, said election turnout was “definitely something that is concerning”.
“I feel we are making good progress with this argument, particularly about Britain being better off if we stay in,” he said. “Probably my greatest concern is doing everything we can in the next week in order to get people to register to vote, particularly young people because this is absolutely a vote about their future.”
The deadline to register to vote in the June 23 referendum is June 7.