At the end of a hugely enjoyable few days in Birmingham I joined the long queue to watch David Cameron’s superb conference speech. What has struck me most since my return to London has been the huge disparity between what I heard in the Symphony Hall and the subsequent BBC coverage. A casual observer may have been left with the impression that the speech lacked substance and that the audience was left with little idea of what a Cameron Government would actually be like. In truth, nothing could be further from the case.

I have come to the conclusion that the inaccuracy of the BBC coverage is not just the result of bias as such but a profound ignorance of Conservatism. For the BBC, Cameron is primarily about  modernisation and modernisation is synonymous with presentation. So when Cameron talked about responsibility being at the heart of his Conservatism he was seen as simply aping Tony Blair. In fact, he was reasserting the importance of the One Nation Conservative tradition and distancing himself from those who believe that the future of the party lies in an atomistic individualistic libertarianism.

In truth, Cameron has never been someone who saw broadening the base of the party as just being about encouraging more women and ethnic minority candidates. Cameron does not equate modernisation with a liberal approach to social as well as economic policy. Neil O’Brien described Cameron’s approach as 'modernised traditionalism'. Cameron understands that the key to broadening the Conservative Party’s appeal is actually through a return to its roots. The Conservative Party became less relevant to the issues facing the country when it allowed itself to be parodied as the party of free market ideology. Conservatives, as Cameron reminded the conference, are not ideologues and the task of distancing his party from this stereotype has been made easier by the glee with which the Liberal Democrats have recently embraced liberalism.

It is often in times of crisis that politicians reveal their true colours. David Cameron may not be about to apply to join the Cornerstone Group of Conservative MP anytime soon but he has recognised that the difficulties facing our country has given him a once in a generation opportunity to change the terms of political debate.