Cameron: We'll win the next election

Insisting that he is tough enough to be the next prime minister, David Cameron has challenged Gordon Brown to call a general election.

Delivering his keynote conference speech, the Conservative leader outlined his personal appeal for support ahead of a possible poll this autumn.

Speaking to party members in Blackpool, he said that "the old politics is failing and change is required".

And at the end of his address, Cameron also detailed his personal commitment to serving the country.

"I've told you what I believe, I've told you about the changes I want to make," he said.

"But I think there is something else. It is about me.  People want to know are you really up for it? Have you got what it takes? Are you tough enough and strong enough to take those decisions?

"And I answer, unreservedly yes."

Election

Amid mounting election speculation, Cameron challenged Labour to go to the country.

He told the prime minister: "Why don't you go ahead and call that election?

"Let the people pass judgement on 10 years of broken promises. Let people decide who is really making the arguments about the future of our country.

"Let people decide who can make the changes that we need in our country.

"Call that election, we will fight, Britain will win."

Hailing the Tories' performance in recent elections, he said it was now "a force to be reckoned with in every part of our country".

And there would be no lurches either to the left or the right, he pledged, promising the "good solid leadership that this country needs".

Contrasting his address with a speech of two years ago when he was vying to become party leader, Cameron said Wednesday's speech was about "why I want to lead our country".

Change

Speaking without notes to deliver a speech billed as coming from his heart, Cameron said "it might be a bit messy, but it will be me".

"Change, real change, isn't just about winning elections. Real change is about getting ready to govern our country," he said.

"Real change is about doing what our party has always done, which is to make sure we understand, reflect and meet all the challenges of the modern world. And that is what we are doing. That is the argument I want to make today.

"We face a new world in so many different ways and the old politics is failing and change is required. New world, old politics failing, change required. That is what we have got to be about today.

"There's been quite a lot of talk of lurching and I can tell you we are not going to be lurching to the left, we are not going to be lurching to the right, we are just going to provide the good solid leadership that this country needs."

He spoke of his pride in the party and its role in ending communism in Europe, contrasting it with the "cynicism" of Labour's conference.

The government had been "treating people like fools", he said, and did not deserve to win a general election.

Responsibility

Making responsibility, aspiration and the end of "old politics" key themes, he promised more "common sense" in the rule books for public service professionals such as the police.

In education, Cameron said there were three "vital areas" to get right.

A Conservative government would open up diversity of schools, where Gordon Brown was "putting his foot on the brake" instead of helping more to be established.

But there must also be "action on standards now", he added, while an even greater priority would be classroom discipline.

"We will give headteachers complete command of their schools," the Tory leader pledged, with the final say on whether to exclude troublemaking pupils.

"I know what schools I want for my children, a school where you turn up and the headteacher knows your name, a school where there's proper discipline, schools where they use tried and trusted teaching methods, not some experimental system, schools where they understand children are different and have different needs."

Cameron also praised the direction set by shadow chancellor George Osborne with his pledges to cut taxes on inheritances and properties.

"This is the party of aspiration and opportunity and George has shown us the way," said the Tory leader.

The conference heard that climate change is "a clear and present danger to our country".

Rejecting claims that Britain is too small to make a difference, he argued that acting at home would inspire other nations to change.

Health

Turning to the NHS, Cameron said it had "gone wrong" under Labour despite the billions of pounds of extra spending.

"I think it is because the reform has been top-down, reform imposed from above," he said.

"And I think they have demoralised the staff in the NHS and questioned their professionalism and their vocation."

He added that no steps had been taken to deliver a personalised health service.

Conservatives would scrap top-down targets and replace them with measures of outcomes such as cancer survival rates.

"What we've got to do is make the doctors answerable to the patient and not to the politicians," Cameron said.

The public would be given more choice over GPs, while GPs would be allowed to choose from more hospitals for their patients to attend, he explained.

Families

Labour had failed to solve the problems of poverty and social exclusion because it had relied too much on state programmes which "treat people like statistics and not human beings".

And the best welfare system of all "is called the family", he added.

A Conservative government would not "ignore the state of family breakdown in Britain. I think we have to try and do something about it."

The benefits system could have the "crazy" effect of encouraging people to stay apart, he said.

The welfare system would be changed to reward rather than penalise couples. "And yes I believe we should recognise marriage in the tax system as well."

And businesses would be encouraged to provide more flexible hours so that workers can spend more time with their families.

Foreign policy

On foreign policy, he said the Tories would support the government when they act in the national interest.

But he warned of a range of threats to Britain's security.

"Anyone who wants to be prime minister of this country has to be ready to face those threats and meet them," he said.

"When it comes to these issues, we must never put party before country."

Praising the bravery of troops serving abroad, Cameron said they were making sacrifices but not getting support from the government in return.

Highlighting the 'military covenant', he said: "Mr Brown, I believe your government has broken it."

And he said that Afghanistan would be his "top priority" in foreign policy.

Trust

On the European Union's new treaty, Cameron said it was a "blatant" breach of trust that Labour would not hold a referendum.

"Are we really saying to people, when it comes to how your country is governed, you can't have a say?" he asked. "That is wrong."

And there was also a pledge to withdraw from the EU's 'social chapter' to prevent the imposition of red tape on business.

He promised a "revolution" in freedom and control, with more accountability to the public.

On the economy, he said that Britain was losing competitiveness and struggling with a declining skills base.

But support such as tax cuts on the private sector should be matched by responsibility in areas such as support from firms for families.

"Here's the deal - for business and for us to make sure we have sustainable low taxes we need businesses to help us cut the bills of social failure," he said.

"We need business to be responsible in the way they market to children and the way they treat their employees and the way they encourage family life.

"All of those things will help us to get tax and regulation down for the long term good of our economy."

Appeal

The Conservatives must appeal to more of the country, Cameron added.

Party members were told that "every generation of Conservatives have to make the argument all over again".

After three election defeats the party needed to change, he said, campaigning on the environment and the NHS.

But he added: "If we are really the one nation party, the party of opportunity for everybody, its not enough to just open the door and say 'please come in'."

The Conservative Party had to reach out to excluded groups, he said.

And they would talk about immigration in a "reasonable, sensible and humane" way.