Full text of Cameron's speech

Only a truly confident politician could risk so long a speech, with so little new in it and – for the most part - delivered in such a deliberately downbeat manner.

This was David Cameron, the finished article, comfortable enough to be traditional, even a little dull, as he presented himself as a future Conservative prime minister.

At sixty-four minutes it was over-long and were it not for the financial crisis it would have been even longer. An attack on Labour philosophy was junked at the last moment.

There was none of the showmanship of early Cameron; no pacing the floor, no celebration of gay marriage, few jokes. Instead the speech and its framing (a full on-stage politburo) was intended to project an impression of the leader of a unified team, sober of purpose and determined to make real change.

Although again and again voters watching were invited to make a favourable comparison with the incumbent, Mr Cameron hardly mentioned Gordon Brown by name.

The Prime Minister had only four name-checks – just two more than those accorded to David Miliband and Alan Johnson as Mr Cameron for the most part avoided directly partisan attacks.

The Tory leader offered up for vilification other, well-chosen, enemies in a pitch to middle-Britain that contained the speech’s best passages. Trendy teaching, heartless buck-passing NHS bureaucrats even feather-bedding politicians - all were warned their days were numbered.

There was due reverence for Margaret Thatcher and her sound money philosophy and notably little on the environment.

Such populism lightened an earnest attempt by Mr Cameron to educate, once again, his party on the nature of his Conservatism. There was only polite applause when he explained that extending responsibility was his one, overriding principle.

Some of the representatives may still be bemused about the radicalism Mr Cameron says he offers but he is confident enough to no longer clothe his message, promising “war” on the educational establishment for example.

All too aware he has yet to convert protest votes against the Government to active support, this speech marked the unveiling of the version of David Cameron that will fight the next election.

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