David Cameron defends 'compromises' to ensure success of his coalition

Published on Friday 21 May 2010 23:15

DAVID Cameron has attempted to head off a rebellion from backbench Tory MPs by telling them that Britain "still has a Conservative Prime Minister".

Mr Cameron admitted that a number of key Tory pledges were "discarded" and "compromises" made in order to reach a deal with his coalition partners.

He also conceded it had been an "unsettling" two weeks for the 11 million Britons who backed his party and were now questioning "whether you've got what you voted for".

He added: "Yes, you have a coalition government – but you still have a Conservative Prime Minister. My Conservative beliefs will not change.

"There have been compromises as a result of this coalition – and there will be more in the years to come. Of course people will be disappointed that some policies have had to be discarded."

A number of Tory pledges were dropped or watered down, including the introduction of a Sovereignty Bill, trying to repatriate powers from the EU, scrapping the Human Rights Act and Financial Services Authority, repealing the fox-hunting ban, cutting stamp duty and imposing a levy on non-doms.

Many tough issues were deferred for reviews consideration by independent commissions. They include banking reform, where the Tories and Liberal Democrats were at loggerheads over whether retail banks should be split from investment banks.