Political positions of David Cameron

[4] There have been claims that he described himself to journalists at a dinner during the leadership contest as the "Heir to Blair",[5] and Cameron stated in 2005 that he did not intend to oppose the Labour government as a matter of course, and will offer his support in areas of agreement.

[11] The idea of the Big Society, championed by Cameron under the 2010 coalition government, proposes "integrating the free market with a theory of social solidarity based on hierarchy and voluntarism" drawing upon "a mix of conservative communitarianism and libertarian paternalism" in principle.

[29] Labour – on the other hand – implied that Cameron was being hypocritical, because even though he was proposing reducing renewable investment, he had said previously in the 2010 election campaign, '...vote blue to go green...' (in other words, that the Conservatives would be eco-friendly).

"[32] In a 2013 speech at London Gateway, Cameron rejected the "unthinking embrace of globalisation, exemplified by New Labour, or the timid alternative of go-it-alone Little Englandism", according to Patrick Wintour of The Guardian.

[33] Following the 2010 General Election, the new Conservative-led Coalition continued Labour's policies on rail transport largely unaltered after a pause to review the finances, keeping the privatised system in place.

Indeed, by using the word "Islamist" to describe the threat, we actually help do the terrorist ideologues' work for them, confirming to many impressionable young Muslim men that to be a "good Muslim", you have to support their evil campaign.In July 2014, emergency laws were brought in to force phone and internet companies to hold records of customers' calls, texts and visits to websites, purportedly to defend national security against the terrorist threat from Iraq and Syria in light of the civil war in that part of the world.

[51] The legislation brought to domestic shores the Five Eyes program revealed in 2012 by former Booz-Allen contractor Edward Snowden, and were a response to a ruling by the European Court of Justice which struck down mere regulations that forced communications companies to retain metadata for police use for 12 months.

[citation needed] A home ban on the ISIL flag was promised by David Cameron on 16 August 2014, in the wake of the "onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement";[52] he went so far as to address the issue with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe:[53] The position is clear.

[59] More terrorists could be kicked out of the country if it were not for the Liberal Democrats led by Nick Clegg with whom the Conservatives were allied in coalition government between 2010 and 2015, suggested Cameron on 20 May 2014.

[60] Cameron had expressed previously his joy at the hate preacher's extradition, and said in October 2012 that the Government must consider ways of stopping similar cases reoccurring:[61] I'm absolutely delighted that Abu Hamza is now out of this country.

[75] The idea of a "Big Society" became the flagship policy of the 2010 Conservative Party general election manifesto and formed part of the subsequent legislative programme of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement.

[81][82] In the midst of the bombing campaign of ISIS in Iraq and the raft of murders by fundamentalist Islamic terrorists in the past decade both at home and abroad, Cameron outlined in a speech in July 2015 a plan based on what he termed "liberal values" to counter what he labelled as "extremism".

[83] It has been suggested by David Anderson QC (on behalf of a governmental anti-extremism watchdog) that: If the wrong decisions are taken, the new [counter-extremism] law risks provoking a backlash in affected communities, hardening perceptions of an illiberal or Islamophobic approach, alienating those whose integration into British society is already fragile, and playing into the hands of those who, by peddling a grievance agenda, seek to drive people further towards extremism and terrorism.

[86] The Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies, encouraged the vote, calling it "an historic day for the future of modern medicine" and remarked that the UK would "become the first country in the world to allow mitochondrial donation techniques to be used in IVF treatment.

"[88] Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, was very troubled by the technique, and instead urged members to support the negative motion of Fiona Bruce, because "No other country has legalised this procedure for ethical reasons.

[92] In June 2012, Cameron promised that forced marriage was to become a criminal offence, and that a package of measures would be put in place to ensure criminalisation does not drive the problem underground.

In 2000, Cameron accused Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair of being against family values and of "moving heaven and earth to allow the promotion of homosexuality in our schools".

[110] In 2014, Cameron called for global action to tackle the growing spread of antibiotic resistance, wanting the UK to utilise its pharmaceutical industry to lead the way and bring new drugs to the market.

Cameron has spoken out against mandatory identity cards on a number of occasions, saying that they did not reduce crime and illegal immigration, were a waste of money and a violation of human rights.

[122][123] Cameron is in favour of overturning the 2004 ban on fox hunting and has stated in 2010 and 2015 that a Conservative government under his leadership would give Parliament time for a free vote on the issue.

"[132] Also in February 2011, the UK Border Agency was upbraided by an independent Government inspector because immigration staff were failing to take action against hundreds of migrant workers who have no right to stay in Britain.

Chief Inspector John Vine reported that the visas of migrants whose jobs had ended were not being cancelled, and found that insufficient checks were being carried out on companies which sponsor overseas workers.

The bedroom tax is an austerity measure that has attracted particular criticism, with activists arguing that two thirds of council houses affected by the policy are occupied with a person with a disability.

[144] The cuts to tax credits have been criticised for unfairly disadvantaging the working poor, and a clause in the bill allows the benefits cap of £20,000 (£23,000 in London) to be reduced further, without any consultation with Parliament, thus making those from larger families even worse off.

[157] For example, Jamie McCormack, who is deaf and physically disabled,[158] wrote in The Independent that removing specialist advisers from job centres and ending of funding for tailored support reduced his work opportunities.

[168] At the 2012 G20 Los Cabos summit in Mexico, the two had a verbal exchange in which Cameron refused to accept the brown envelope containing a letter from Fernández de Kirchner.

Cameron gained credit for The Golden Era of relations between the UK and China because of his repeated emphasis on mutual benefits in trade, investment and cultural exchanges between the two.

[217] President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power on 21 February by the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov, the screenwriter and economist, and the Yatsenyuk Government was endorsed by the Rada.

[228][229] Cameron declared on 26 May 2009 that his party does not support the AV+ system, or any other form of proportional representation, as it would end up choosing a government "on the basis of secret backroom deals".

[234] Cameron has also criticised ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown (Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time) for being "an analogue politician in a digital age" and repeatedly refers to him as "the roadblock to reform".