The problem with the Tories in the recent past is that they have forgotten the need to be loyal not only to the Party, but to their elected leader. No one person can succeed as leader without the support of a strong team behind them. Let us hope that this young man can command the respect that he will need to bring his party back as a strong opposition. Bernard Parke, Guildford
I believe that the next three months will be the crucial testing phase for Cameron's leadership. It will strongly indicate the success or failure of the 2010 general election for three simple reasons: 1. Labour will try to tarnish the image of a new leader as they did with the previous Tory leadership. 2. Cameron is not the only young leader. Don't forget, William Hague was also young and much better at debate than Cameron but couldn't deliver. 3. The real test for Cameron will be reinventing the Tory party for today's Britain and re-thinking the pragmatic policies which will be focused towards the needs of electorate. Let's wait and see. Imran Khan, London
There is one good thing about the election of David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party at this time; he has at least five, probably ten, years to learn how to shave and blow his nose before there is any chance that the British public - no doubt in a fit of despair after so many years of New Labour - consider him as a Prime Minister. Thank God for that! Tom Edwards, Bromley
So, the Tories are now to be led by a Guardian columnist with a sexist "positive discrimination" agenda. Not that the "libertarian" David Davis would have been any different in practice to the self-confessed "liberal" Cameron. The Tories have now joined New Labour and the Lib Dems in rendering themselves largely irrelevant to the concerns of the democratic majority in Britain. Terry Daly, London
Finally! The Tories have balls. They are no longer banking on Labour messing up to get into power (this would have been necessary if Davis were leading the party), and have injected the Conservatives with the youthful forward-looking vitality it needed. No Punch and Judy politics would be wonderful, David, a wise lesson from the he-said she-said debacle of the last election. Meaningful non-reactionary and feasible policies are what the party needs. This is the time for the Conservatives to change their tune dramatically, and capitalise on the current infighting of the Labour Party, and Blair's gross failure to represent the British as head of the EU. Good luck Mr Cameron. Richard Sarsfield, London
It seems that both the media and sadly the Tory party are enamoured with the notion of some sort of political Mary Poppins who is "practically perfect in every way". Fair enough, Cameron may possibly have had a spoonful or two of the wrong kind of sugar, but that does not change the fact that he is the right man to lead the Tory party to victory at the next election. If Tony Blair has never given a straight answer to the drugs question, then nor should Cameron be expected to. Although Cameron himself has said on national television "lawmakers shouldn’t be lawbreakers", it is pure idiocy to therefore suggest that only those who have never broken any law of any sort should be politicians. Politicians are humans too, so to demand perfection is to demand the impossible. Let’s stop wasting our time, and get on with looking at the policies and visions involved in this leadership race. Mark Brennan, London
Ken Clarke was the only candidate capable of bringing the Tories electoral fortune soon. The Tories' previous leaders were also capable of bringing victory, but just as they were winning popular support they either jumped or were pushed in football manager fashion. The contest which eliminated Ken Clarke stinks of unfairness and that is enough to deter voters such as myself. Democracy? All in all, it could be a great Christmas for Gordon Brown as he weighs his future prospects. Karl H. Bridge, Dulverton
Cameron is far too clever at playing the media - not surprising as he was chief PR for Carlton. He knows about lighting, make up, cameras, positioning, good sides, bad sides, smiles and sound bites. It is something to bear in mind. He cares a lot about how he appears. Please let us hope that this vanity, although now important in modern politics, is not going to overtake real hardcore policy and work. I fear that it might. Name withheld, Totnes
Mr Cameron claims to be a strong eurosceptic but just how far is he prepared to go? Unless he is prepared to threaten EU withdrawal and, if his bluff was called, do it, he will be just as big a failure as Mr Blair in producing any real EU reform and defending British interests. Without reform, there is no economic or political case for continued British membership. Christopher Gillibrand, Brussels, Belgium
From afar, I followed the leadership race very closely. Although they represent parties from different ends of the spectrum, Bill Clinton and David Cameron have a lot in common - the focus on image, the move of the party to the centre, and the search for consensus across ideologies. Clinton had trouble with that third element; he was the object of such political venom and hatred he could rarely reach across the aisle for support. Cameron may find the same, even worse. He should not lose his goal but his objectives may have to change. My suggestion: keep David Davis up front in that team. He showed a lot of character, knowledge, and toughness, things that Cameron will need himself. Congratulations to the UK on the leadership race - it was a lot more "real" than what passes for politics here. Gary Cinnamon, San Clemente, California
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