--- description: British Prime Minister David Cameron has been criticized for being “arrogant” for ruling out a third term before he has even won a second term title: British Prime Minister Cameron Rules Out Third Term image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b270029953289d1/698784eb0b72e35d436de50e/rtr4u6z6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [U.K.](/tag/u-k/) ## U.K. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.K. PM Cameron Dubbed 'Arrogant' for Ruling Out Third Term Before End of First by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 24, 2015 5:39 AM CUT  Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron addresses a news conference during a European Union leaders summit in Brussels March 20, 2015 Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron addresses a news conference during a European Union leaders summit in Brussels March 20, 2015Francois Lenoir—Reuters by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 24, 2015 5:39 AM CUT British Prime Minister David Cameron has been [criticized](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32022484 "undefined") for ruling out a third term in office before he has even won a second. “There definitely comes a time when a fresh pair of eyes or fresh leadership would be good,” he told the BBC. Cameron later named London Mayor Boris Johnson, finance minister George Osborne and interior minister Theresa May as likely successors in 2020. “The Conservative Party has got some great people coming up,” added the 48-year-old. “There’s plenty of talent there.” The comments, which come just weeks before the U.K. General Election, led Cameron to be called “incredibly presumptuous” by his coalition partners the Liberal Democrats, while the opposition Labour Party dubbed him “arrogant.” Cameron’s Conservative Party is currently on pars in polls with the centre-left Labour Party. Cameron said he wanted to finish reforming Britain’s economy over the next five years. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32022484 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3755658/u-k-great-britain-david-cameron-general-election-arrogant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3755658/u-k-great-britain-david-cameron-general-election-arrogant/"},"headline":"U.K. PM Cameron Dubbed 'Arrogant' for Ruling Out Third Term Before End of First","datePublished":"2015-03-24T05:39:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:23:11.636Z","description":"Critics deem the Conservative Party leader's comments “presumptuous”","url":"https://time.com/3755658/u-k-great-britain-david-cameron-general-election-arrogant/","keywords":["U.K.","David Cameron","Great Britain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b270029953289d1/698784eb0b72e35d436de50e/rtr4u6z6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b270029953289d1/698784eb0b72e35d436de50e/rtr4u6z6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Britain's PM Cameron addresses a news conference during a EU leaders summit in Brussels","caption":"Britain's PM Cameron addresses a news conference during a EU leaders summit in Brussels","creditText":"Francois Lenoir—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/u-k/","name":"U.K."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3755658/u-k-great-britain-david-cameron-general-election-arrogant/","name":"U.K. PM Cameron Dubbed 'Arrogant' for Ruling Out Third Term Before End of First"}}]}] ```