Cameron pledges Thatcher-sized social revolution

David Cameron has said his aim in government would be to bring about a social revolution equivalent to the economic revolution under Margaret Thatcher.

The Conservative leader's comments came in a book of interviews with GQ editor Dylan Jones, published on Monday.

Cameron said he wanted to heal Britain's "broken society".

"I'm going to be as radical a social reformer as Mrs Thatcher was an economic reformer, and radical social reform is what this country needs right now," he said.

"In many ways that's more difficult and complicated to do, but it's no less an ambition, it's no less a task, and at its heart it's dealing with the issues of family breakdown, welfare dependency, failing schools, crime and the problems that we see in too many of our communities."

He also talked about the importance of effective decision-making in government, saying: "To make decisions in the long-term interests of the country you have to take quite tough decisions quite early on so that you can get things done within the life of a Parliament."

He went on: "You appoint good people, and trust their decisions, but you have to know when to step in.

"William Hague has really helped me, because he made all the mistakes the first time round."

And he suggested he would be tougher than former prime minister Tony Blair in handling ministers.

"He was not tough enough with his team. They kept saying, 'I am sorry, I'm not going to accept this, I don't want to go.' Well, I'm sorry... when I want someone to go, I simply tell them and then that's that."