David Cameron: Britain still has Tory Prime Minister

David Cameron insisted today that Britain "still has a Conservative Prime Minister" as he sought to reassure supporters concerned about his concessions to the Liberal Democrats.

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".

In an article for the Daily Mail, he wrote: "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."

Mr Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg unveiled their full coalition deal yesterday insisting it built on the best of the Conservative and Lib Dem manifestos.

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.

The Lib Dems abandoned commitments including an "earned amnesty" for illegal immigrants, and ruling out military action against Iran.

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

In his newspaper article, Mr Cameron wrote: "I know the last couple of weeks have been unsettling. You've seen politicians negotiating, you're questioning whether you've got what you voted for, the political sands are shifting."

But he insisted that flagship Tory policies on cutting the deficit immediately, reforming schools and the welfare system and making Britain more "family-friendly" remained on the agenda.