UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, Spills On Family Life

In an interview on Good Morning Britain, UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, was quizzed about about his family.

The Prime Minister told host, Susanna Reid that he did not go to as many parents’ evenings as he would like and acknowledged that his children had been ‘teased’ over his job.

He added that his wife Samantha would make a good prime minister, saying: ‘She’s very good at giving a “big picture” view.’

Asked by the host whether he felt ‘working parent’s guilt’, Mr Cameron said: ‘Sometimes. I take them to school maybe once a fortnight, sometimes that slips and I feel sad. That sort of time, taking them into school, chatting with the teacher, finding out how they are getting on, I love all that.’

Mr Cameron added, ‘When you have got three children, spending time with them individually, I really like doing that because that’s when they open up more. Of course there are things you miss. I think school parent evenings – not as many as I should; homework – not as much as I should.’

Discussing family life inside Number 10 he said the domestic part of the building was ‘much more like a family home’ than the official rooms.

‘It’s got a kitchen at the heart of it, it’s where the children do their homework, where we have breakfast. Sam has done a brilliant job making it as different as possible to the rest of the building,’ he said.

‘Florence, because she was born when I was Prime Minister, used to wander round the place like it was all her own and she knew at which desk she would get a Polo mint and who would offer her an apple. The others, they know where my office is and they know their way around the building but they live a relatively normal life.’

He added: ‘Nancy is now 11 and Elwen is nine, they are beginning to understand what being prime minister is all about. I hope they are proud, their daddy does an important job. They are now very keen that the blue team win – they know daddy is in a tough fight, so they are getting behind me which is good to know.’

Mr Cameron, who has a live-in nanny, said childcare was the most important issue to many working families.

‘For lots of families it is not one issue amongst many, it is the issue,’ he said. ‘You are sitting around the table and you are talking about, “I would like to work more hours or more days and I can’t because the childcare is too expensive.”‘

He added: ‘We are very lucky, we have a live-in nanny who helps with the children and we pay her. That is the biggest element of the cost and that’s very expensive, we are only able to do that because Samantha and me, we are both working.’

Asked if he thought he was ‘in touch’ with struggling parents, he said: ‘I do because when I go and meet people in their workplaces it is often the issue that people are most passionate about because it is the difference between the life they are living and the life they would like to live.’

Source: DailyMail