Press reports suggest that the second choice for the post was David Cameron, who also rejected the job, preferring to take on a major public service portfolio (he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Education).
新闻报道表明霍华德的第二选择实际上是戴维·卡梅伦，卡梅伦也拒绝了这份工作，因为他更愿意担任主要的公共服务职务（他被任命影子教育大臣）。