To what extent was David Cameron traditionally conservative?

To some extent, it could be argued that David Cameron was a traditional conservative. He played heavily on the notion of 'one-nation' conservatism with his concept of the 'the big society'. This concept had similarities to Disraeli's brand of one nation conservatism. Cameron's introduction of gay marriage could also be considered as a triangulation of conservative value. Through expanding the franchise of marriage, a deeply traditional institution, Cameron was able to adapt marriage to a modern society.On the contrary, Cameron's government also held deeply Neo-liberal economic principles. Whilst being Prime Minister, Cameron oversaw austerity, the cutting of public services as well as the privatisation of the post office. Conservatism has often been sceptical of the free market and Cameron's maintained faith with laissez-faire economics can be considered at odds with conservative principles.