David Cameron Country Quotations

The EU must be able to act with the speed and flexibility of a network, not the cumbersome rigidity of a bloc. We must not be weighed down by an insistence on a one size fits all approach which implies that all countries want the same level of integration. The fact is that they don't and we shouldn't assert that they do.

The political system is broken, the economy is broken and so is society. That is why people are so depressed about the state of our country.

When you’re taking the country through difficult times and difficult decisions you’ve got to take the country with you. That means permanently trying to make the argument that what you’re doing is fair and seen to be fair.

Countries are different. They make different choices. We cannot harmonise everything.

But we will say something else. That for far too long in this country, people who can work, people who are able to work, and people who choose not to work: you cannot go on claiming welfare like you are now.

I want us to give to this country a modern, compassionate Conservatism that is right for our times.

Britain is characterised not just by its independence but, above all, by its openness. We have always been a country that reaches out. That turns its face to the world...

An EU without Britain, without 1 of Europe's strongest powers, a country which in many ways invented the single market, and which brings real heft to Europe's influence on the world stage which plays by the rules and which is a force for liberal economic reform would be a very different kind of European Union.

Britain could make her own way in the world, outside the EU, if we chose to do so. So could any other Member State. But the question we will have to ask ourselves is this: is that the very best future for our country? We will have to weigh carefully where our true national interest lies.

2012 has been an extraordinary year for our country. We cheered our Queen to the rafters with the Jubilee, showed the world what we're made of by staging the most spectacular Olympic and Paralympic Games ever and - let's not forget - punched way above our weight in the medals table.

All those countries who keep their aid promises should be proud of what they've done

...if we all turned down the thermostat in our house by just one degree, we would save over £650 million worth of energy and nearly nine million tonnes of carbon emissions every year. That would be the equivalent of taking three million cars off our roads...we can bring about a Green Consumer Revolution in this country to improve our lives, enrich our economy and protect our environment.

Strong views exist on both sides but I believe MPs voting for gay people being able to marry too, is a step forward for our country.

We cannot go on as we are with 2.6 million people on incapacity benefit, 500,000 of them are under 35. Are we really saying there are half a million people in this country under 35 who are simply too ill to work? I don’t think that’s right.

We will reflect the country we aspire to govern, and the sound of modern Britain is a complex harmony, not a male voice choir.

The prime minister says he has a vision for change, well put that to the people of the country.

There are some people who seem to think that the way you reduce the cost of living in this country is for the state to spend more and more taxpayers' money. It is as if somehow you measure the compassion of the government by the amount of other people's money it can spend.

The legacy of Mandela is to have brought the country together... South Africa can be one of the success stories of the 21st century.

NCS - National Citizen Service is a fantastic programme. I want it to be available for every young person in the country.

We have put our country on solid ground, but let me tell you: The next five years are much, much more important. The next five years are about turning the good news in our economy into a good life for you and your family.

We are a great country, and whatever choice we make we will still be great. But I believe the choice is between being an even greater Britain inside a reformed EU or a great leap into the unknown.

People are crying out for a Conservative Party that is decent, reasonable, common sense and in it for the long term of this country.

I want to be the voice of change and hope. I want to confront the big challenges this country faces.

It [European Union] has kept the peace in Europe. Countries used to fight and now they talk. We should be attached to that.

I believe man-made climate change is one of the most serious threats that this country and this world face.

It's not just other countries in Europe having a say over what we do. It's unelected bureaucrats in Brussels on sort of six-figure, huge salaries telling us how we run our country despite having never stood for an election themselves.

It would be wrong to suggest that Scotland could not be another such successful, independent country.

We cannot go on as we are with 2.6 million people on incapacity benefit, 500,000 of them are under 35. Are we really saying there are half a million people in this country under 35 who are simply too ill to work? I don't think that's right.