Question: Do you have any sympathy with the Tomlinson report's recommendation to replace GCSEs and A levels with a new diploma system?

David Cameron: I don't agree with getting rid of A Levels. I think the A Level is a good exam - it is still the gold standard and I think we should maintain and improve it.

I think it is the worse thing to do to young people to call the exam's credibility into question when they've just got their results.

Question: Beyond the moratorium on closing special needs schools which you have called for, what other changes would you like to see to the system so that those pupils achieve their full potential?

David Cameron: I've raised this issue consistently and I have set up, under Sir Bob Balchin, a special needs commission to look into the whole area.

I want children who can be included in mainstream schools to be included but I think we should maintain a choice for parents of special schools on the one hand and mainstream schools on the other.

My concern is that the law is slightly biased and pushes parents, sometimes inappropriately, into mainstream schools.

I also think the guidance the government gives to local education authorities can be rather biased and as a result I think many of the special school closures are hugely regrettable.

That is why I think there should be a moratorium while there is a proper inquiry and because the government refuses to hold one I have set up my own.

Cameron on reform

Question: Do you think your party's voucher scheme could be even more radical to encourage successful state schools to expand?

David Cameron: I think the first priority for Conservative education policy should be to ensure rigour throughout the system whether that's in exam standards, or teaching methods or the importance there is in making sure that teachers are professional. That should be the first priority.

I think that the agenda of giving parents choice is important but certainly the two keys for me in education policy at the moment are rigour on the one hand and autonomy on the other.

That should mean that good schools can expand when they want to but I think those are the priorities for the time being.

Question: The more market-based approach of the Conservatives to public service provision has prompted people like Francis Maude to identify that as giving the party an uncaring image. How do you convince people that services are safe with you whilst carrying out radical reforms?

David Cameron: I've got some sympathy with what Francis has said, which is why, in the first speech I made about education policy, I said that there had been this debate with Labour talking about more money on the one hand and Conservatives talking structure on the other.

I think it is very important that Conservatives now focus on the bit in the middle, which is what actually happens in our schools and that we should be talking about rigour in standards and special educational needs, discipline in schools and proper vocational qualifications at 14 and those are the things I want the Conservative Party to focus on.

Cameron on the leadership

Question: You come from a privileged educational background, do you think that is a handicap if you run for the leadership of the party and then for Downing Street?

David Cameron: No I don't. What should matter in this country is where you are going to and what you can contribute rather than where you've come from.

I'm very proud of the fact that I had a fantastic education and I would like everyone to have as good an education as I had.

I think what matters is what lies ahead rather than what lies behind.

Question: Others say that you are too young to be leader, how do you respond to that?

David Cameron: This is the time for putting forward ideas and approaches and working out where the Conservative Party has gone wrong and where it has gone right and that's what I've been doing in a series of speeches.

The issue of who should become the leader of the party is going to be decided a bit later on.

Question: Do you think this leadership election process is too drawn out, detracting from the Opposition's ability to attack the government and creating the potential for more division in the party?

David Cameron: I think it was important that we didn't dive straight into a leadership election. We did that straight after the last election and I think that was a mistake.

You need a bit of time just to think about where we went wrong and what we do next and I think the debate we've been having has been quite productive.

I think a lot of people would agree that we need to be in the mainstream of political debate on social issues as well as economic ones, that we need to broaden the Conservative appeal and discuss issues like public space and the environment, pensions as well as talking about the economy and crime and other things.

I don't think it's been too elongated but it is important that we get on with it quite shortly.

Question: Would a younger leader help attract young people to the party?

David Cameron: It may be strange for me to say this but I think we've got to get away from this idea that you design a perfect leader by age or experience or background - the important thing is the message.

The new leader of the Conservative Party has got to have a message that is modern, compassionate Conservatism.

Modern because we always do best as a party when we are arguing for the changes we need to make this country great.

Compassionate because Conservatism to me is as much about those who get left behind as it is about a ladder up which all can climb.

And Conservative because if we apply the timeless principles of the Conservative Party that personal responsibility is a good thing, that we do better when we govern ourselves from this country rather than hand over everything to Brussels and that you have to bake the economic cake before you carve it up - these are important Conservative insights.

A modern, compassionate Conservatism is what we need, and what we need in a leader is the best person to articulate that.

The Conservative Party has got to be for everyone whether you are black or white, straight or gay, urban or rural, men or women.

It has to be for everybody and that's why we need modern, compassionate Conservatism that is going to apply Conservative principles that are right and popular to the problems that we have and that is going to be positive and exciting.

Question: Is it ever going to be possible to sell that to the likes of Edward Leigh who says he represents a significant body of Tory opinion which wants a more right-wing family values led approach?

David Cameron: I hope it can be sold to everybody.

Cameron on Labour

Question: How would you suggest the next leader tackles Tony Blair, who has so far escaped any serious trouble from Tory leaders?

David Cameron: I think that what we need to do is to be very clear about what the government has got right and what it has got wrong.

There is a lot they've got wrong. Take my own area of education - we've got 20 per cent of children leaving primary school unable to read properly, they talk about school autonomy but then they've bossed and interfered more in schools, they've talked about sacking bad teachers and never done anything about it, they've talked about taking over failing schools but precious little has happened, they've talked about letting good schools expand but it has only happened in a handful of cases.

Never has so much been promised and so little delivered.

So there is a huge opportunity to point out that people have paid a lot more in taxes but public services haven't been reformed and there are all sorts of weaknesses that we need to point out.

But at the same time as doing that we need to be honest when the government does something we agree with.

We need to be consistently Conservative and consistent in pointing out the government's weaknesses.

Question: Presumably that approach would not change when the leader of the Labour Party changes?

David Cameron: I think that is right. The thing about the last election is that the government was quite unpopular but we failed to capitalise on that.

So there are some things we definitely need to get right about our own party.

It's obvious that after you have lost election that you have to think about why you didn't have a broader appeal.

Cameron on the Lib Dems

Question: Why do you think it was that the Lib Dems were able to pick up more of the government's lost seats than your party was able to?

David Cameron: That's actually not right. We took seats from the Liberal Democrats and we pushed the Liberals into a very poor third place. But it is worth asking after eight years of a Labour government that is not that popular, why are the Liberal Democrats still getting 25 per cent of the vote?

We need to address that and I think that a modern, compassionate Conservatism will help to do that.

If we show that we can apply those principles to the problem in a tolerant, reasonable and moderate way we will find there is huge support for that kind of Conservatism.

Question: If it wasn't you, who would be the best person to take that agenda forward?

David Cameron: There are lots of people that I'm sure would do the job magnificently.

Cameron on the conference

Question: Are you concerned that the forthcoming party conference will be little more than a beauty contest for potential leadership candidates?

David Cameron: I think we've had a helpful debate in the party and the conference will be a continuation of that.

Different people will be able to put forward their ideas both in their own policy area and more generally.

We shouldn't be frightened of that as long as we do that in a reasonable and friendly way, that's what I've been doing.

I don't see why that would do us any harm, in fact it might do us some good.