David Cameron as Prime Minister

It was just 9 years ago, on May 11th, 2010, that David Cameron accepted Queen Elizabeth's invitation to form a government and became Prime Minister. In doing so, he became, at age 43, the youngest one since Lord Liverpool in 1812. His Conservative Party had not won a majority, but it emerged from the election as the largest party, and was able to negotiate a coalition, Britain's first since 1945, with the Liberal Democrats. Their leader, Nick Clegg, became Deputy Prime Minister.

In assessing his record, future historians might reach a more favourable verdict on his tenure than contemporary commentators. He will probably be praised for his leadership in legalizing same sex marriages, putting it through with the support of Labour and Lib Dem MPs, even though a majority of Conservative MPs voted against it.

He might well be praised for steering the UK through the turbulence that followed in the wake of the Financial Crisis, reducing both deficit and debt as a proportion of GDP, and restoring stability.

His referenda will undoubtedly feature in any assessment. He agreed to hold one in 2014 on Scottish independence, giving voters a straight "yes or no" choice, without a third option for enhanced devolution. He backed the Better Together campaign, but kept a low profile, wisely reckoning that an English public-school-educated figure would not resonate well with Scottish voters. The convincing rejection of Scottish independence vindicated his stance.

He had agreed to a referendum on changing the voting system as a condition of the coalition agreement, but campaigned personally against changing to an Alternative Vote system. Again, the result favoured the status quo by a comfortable margin.

Another referendum, called in 2013, asked the Falkland Islanders if they wished to remain an Overseas Territory of the UK. This was to counter Argentina's assertions of sovereignty. On a turnout of 91.94%, 99.8% opted for the status quo, with only 3 people voting for change.

His final referendum, the 2016 one on EU membership, went against him. Some commentators suggested he had only agreed to it to ward off a UKIP challenge, expecting to lead another coalition government that would prevent it happening. When his party won an overall majority in 2015, he had to follow through with his commitment and hold it.

In retrospect, he might be remembered for the one thing he did not want to happen, the UK's withdrawal from the EU, and the biggest constitutional change in half a century. If the UK prospers on the world stage after regaining its sovereignty, he might be remembered more kindly as the Prime Minister who made that possible.