The Cameron diaries
The leader of the Conservative party is well known to regular readers of Guardian Unlimited. From early 2001, when he was just a hopeful parliamentary candidate, to spring 2004, by which time he was deputy chairman of his party, David Cameron wrote us a series of fortnightly diaries charting his vertiginous political ascent. His entries are engaging, funny and - unusually for a politician - occasionally frank. The Tory leader will be far more cautious from now on. To read the real David Cameron, in his own words, check out the Guardian Unlimited diaries below.2004: Hutton, Blunkett and the joy of tax
Second time lucky
April 22, 2004: As I predicted, Tony Blair has granted us an EU referendum. Now the clever money is on a second vote to get the result he wants, writes David Cameron.Blunkett denials
April 1 2004: The Hughes affair leaves the home secretary badly exposed as a fool or a fake, writes David Cameron. The joy of tax
March 25 2004: Local government finance may seem a nightmare job, writes David Cameron. But it's really quite simple: it's all the government's fault. Bye bye Blair
March 2 2004: The prime minister could leave No 10 before autumn - and here are nine reasons why, writes David Cameron. Hutton's takeaway
February 3 2004: This was a Chinese meal of an inquiry: half an hour later and everyone wanted another one, writes David Cameron MP. Cameron's Law
January 19 2004: More disabled children are surviving birth and living longer. With my disabled child trust fund, they will get the resources they need earlier, writes David Cameron. Hutton in five easy steps
January 8 2004: Confused by Dingemans and Gompertz, Hoon and Tebbitt? It's all much more straightforward than it seems, writes the Tories' Hutton expert, David Cameron. 2003: Iraq, the EU and the shadow frontbench
The mother of all parliaments
November 27 2003: With a Tory leader who can box clever, this parliamentary session is shaping up to be a battle worth watching, writes David Cameron.Onwards, Tory comrades!
November 17 2003: With the capitalist running dogs of New Labour firmly in his sights, David Cameron is ready for his new job as Conservative deputy chairman. The great Tory love-in
November 3 2003: From brutal infighting to boundless optimism, David Cameron reports on a very strange week in Conservative politics. My first time
July 11 2003: David Cameron MP on losing his political virginity and joining the shadow frontbench. Writing wrongs
June 23 2003: Never mind the EU constitution, says David Cameron MP. We should first reform - and write down - the British one. Boredom with a purpose
June 10 2003: For such a dull speech, the euro assessment was fascinating. The reason? A question of interest, writes David Cameron MP. Reasons to be cheerful
May 15 2003: For the first time since 1997, the future seems to look rosy for the Conservatives. David Cameron MP revels in the moment. A safe bet
May 28 2003: Even a Euro-maniac like Blair will have to give the British people an EU referendum, writes David Cameron MP. Heroes and zeros
April 1 2003: War can make or break politicians. David Cameron MP gives his roll call of Westminster's winners and losers. Time to be counted
March 17 2003: Why I will grudgingly support the government on Iraq and pray that war is short. The job from hell
March 5 2003: All backbenchers are jealous of all ministers - except, that is, for asylum and immigration, writes David Cameron MP. Watch out, Tony
February 18 2003: The prime minister could be in for a nasty surprise: the Tories, too, are unlikely to give solid support over Iraq, writes David Cameron MP. Risk analysis
February 4 2003: Blair is bold on foreign policy, but utterly timid at home. But then he knows Iraqis can't vote, writes David Cameron MP. 2002: PMQs, the euro and the jubilee
Star quality
July 18 2002: Tory MP David Cameron looks back at the best performers of the parliamentary session.Cash in hand
July 8 2002: Using euros for the first time did nothing to convert Black Wednesday veteran David Cameron MP to the cause of the single currency. Return of the caveman
June 20 2002: No wonder David Blunkett wants to be a hermit - his time as home secretary has been a disaster, writes Tory MP David Cameron. Fever pitch
June 5 2002: The monarchy puts on a far better gig than New Labour, says ardent royalist David Cameron MP. Taxing times
April 4 2002: Gordon Brown's latest Budget shows how terrible he is as a tax reformer, writes Tory MP David Cameron. Shaping the debate
May 17 2002: Tory MP David Cameron explains why sitting on a select committee has been the most rewarding part of his first year as an MP. Taking on No 10
May 2 2002: Tory MP David Cameron ponders battle tactics for his maiden intervention at prime minister's questions. On the ropes
March 8 2002: Surprisingly, it's not just Stephen Byers who is losing the key battles in Whitehall, writes Tory MP David Cameron. Back to school
February 22 2002: Tory MP David Cameron spends an evening at the Oxford Union defending his party's role as the official opposition. Keep up the bad work
January 11 2002: With the trains in chaos, an unpopular Lords reform looming and the health crisis deepening, it's a great time to be in opposition, writes Tory MP David Cameron. 2001: Leadership battle, IDS and the 9/11 attacks
Return to the trenches
December 19 2001: Consensus may be good for national unity, but it makes for tedious political discourse, writes David Cameron MP.Sunset for democracy
November 22 2001: Last night's vote on the anti-terror bill left Tory MP David Cameron with very little faith in the Commons. Behind enemy lines
November 9 2001: Tory MP David Cameron finds himself, for once, agreeing with Labour over the war. Spinning around
October 25 2001: Tory MP David Cameron finds himself dizzy after a week of constant spin. Tory party blues
October 11 2001: David Cameron spends 12 hours in the car park otherwise known as the M6 to hear Iain Duncan Smith's closing speech and to receive a gift from Ann Summers. All together now
September 17 2001: At Friday's recalled parliament the Commons was, for once, a place not of divisiveness, but of unity, writes Tory MP David Cameron. Tory race plods along
September 9 2001: In the latest of his diaries for Guardian Unlimited Politics, Tory MP David Cameron looks at the long slog that is the Conservative leadership contest. School is out for summer
August 8 2001: Term has ended and, in the immortal words of Alice Cooper, 'school is out for summer'. Forgive me for not being elated, but hell, we only just got here. The Spanish armada goes down
July 18 2001: In his exclusive diary, newly-elected Conservative MP and Portillo supporter David Cameron reports from inside the Tory leadership battle. Courted by candidates
July 5 2001: Most of David Cameron's week is taken up by overtures from the leadership candidates, but he does find time to make his maiden speech. Only to be told by his mum he looks like Peter Mandelson. Fighting Witney at the 2001 election
The battle of the balloons
June 5 2001: In his last diary of the election, the Conservative candidate for Witney, David Cameron, apologises to his Labour opponent, loses the Morris dancing vote and wins the gypsy vote. Four steps to disaster
May 29 2001: Conservative candidate in Witney David Cameron reveals his key strategy for surviving the election campaign: avoiding meltdown despite the best efforts of rival candidates, friends and the national press. Electoral rapport
May 22 2001: As he enters his second week of campaigning in Witney, Conservative candidate David Cameron finds a cause into which to channel his energies while trying to shift local discussion off Shaun Woodward. Lasting the election
May 15 2001: The election has finally been called and David Cameron, the Conservative candidate in Witney, has flown out of the starting blocks. But, he muses, a lot can happen in the next 23 days
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