David Cameron takes final bow as British PM

Outgoing PM David Cameron, his wife Samantha and their children Nancy, Florence and Elwen, (from left) leave 10 Downing Street, London. (Photo: AP)

David Cameron’s last appearance in Parliament as British Prime Minister ended in a standing ovation after a bravura 36-minute performance that taunted his rivals, reflected on his legacy and confessed his love for the office cat, Larry.

After six years as leader, Mr Cameron will formally hand in his resignation to Queen Elizabeth later on Wednesday, passing control of the country to fellow Conservative Theresa May, who will be in charge of negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU.

He is leaving office under the shadow of Britain’s impending exit from the European Union — a career ending dramatically with his failure to keep Britain in the bloc.

The convivial atmosphere in Parliament contrasted sharply with the divisions in the country exposed by the referendum on which he had staked his reputation.

“Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. After all, as I once said, I was the future, once,” he said.

Conservative backbenchers stood to cheer and applaud him as he left the chamber, turning to wave to his wife Samantha and children watching from the gallery.

Colleagues slapped him on the back and hugged him as he left, shaking hands with Speaker John Bercow as he went.

The response from Opposition MPs was polite, but not warm.

“The Prime Minister’s legacy will undoubtedly be that he has taken us to the brink of being taken out of the European Union, so we will not be applauding his premiership on these benches,” said Scots Nationalist MP Angus Robertson.

He recounted how, when he was the Opposition leader, he met mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York. “No one had a clue who I was until eventually someone said, ‘Hey! Cameron! Prime minister’s questions! We love your show!,” Mr Cameron said, attempting a US accent.

With lawmakers, media, aides and spectators jammed into every corner of the ornate debating chamber, Mr Cameron answered questions with the air of a man looking forward to an afternoon off. “This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others,” he said.

“Other than one meeting this afternoon with her majesty the Queen, the diary for the rest of my day is remarkably light,” he said to laughter, as his wife Samantha and their children looked on from the public gallery.

“We’ve both been having these leadership elections. We (Conservatives) got on with it: we’ve had resignation, nomination, competition and coronation. They haven’t even decided what the rules are yet,” he said, drawing roars of support from his side of the chamber.

“If they ever got into power it would take them about a year to work out who would sit where.”

Mr Cameron will later pack up his final possessions and move out of the Number 10 Downing Street office leaving behind one key ally: Larry the cat.

“Sadly I can’t take Larry with me, he belongs to the house and the staff love him very much, as do I,” he said, addressing mischievous social media gossip that the cat and Mr Cameron did not get on.

Jokes apart, Mr Cameron sought to shore up his legacy as a reforming Prime Minister, highlighting his government’s efforts to stabilise the post-financial crisis economy and the passing of gay marriage laws.

“I’ll never forget the day actually at Number 10 when one of the people who works very close to the front door said to me ‘I’m not that interested in politics Mr Cameron, but because of something your lot have done I’m able to marry the person I’ve loved all my life this weekend,’” he said.

“There are many amazing moments in this job but that was one of my favourites.”

“Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it,” he said before his party and many rival lawmakers stood to applaud him from the chamber. Even the Speaker joined in, casting aside the strict “no clapping” parliamentary rule.