Dave Cameron quits his London club

David Cameron’s attempts to shed his toffish past continue apace: he has resigned his membership of White’s, the exclusive - and aristocratic - London gentlemen’s club. When it was first revealed that he was a member, the Tory leader tried to brush it aside, saying he only joined so he could have lunch there with his father, Ian, who is also a member.

A spokesman for Cameron confirms that he has left, but appears keen to play it down. "It’s not that he has resigned it. It’s just the membership came up for renewal and he saw he wasn’t going very much so decided not to pay to keep going."

Tory traditionalists will be disappointed. When Cameron’s fellow Old Etonian Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister, half his cabinet were members of White’s. However, Cameron’s resignation doesn’t mean he won’t be seen in the place. His father-in-law Sir Reginald Sheffield, baronet, and his wife’s step-father, Lord Astor, are both stalwarts of the St James’s Street establishment.