David Mitchell, comedian

Do you wish you were less posh?

"[Laughs] No. You can't change who you are. For a long time I thought my full name was 'The Old Etonian David Cameron'. I had parents who gave me a wonderful start in life, who sacrificed a lot to give me a great education. So I don't ever want to change – I don't want to drop my accent or change my vowels. I am who I am."

Piers Morgan, TV presenter

If you could relive one moment in your life, excluding births of children and marriage, what would it be?

"God, that's a really good question. Piers, why don't you ever ask really good questions like that normally? I think it would be this holiday in Italy when I met Samantha properly. It was that sort of carefree wonderful time when you get together with the person you end up spending the rest of your life with. That feeling of happiness and a wonderful holiday with your family around you and the sun is shining and the sea is beautiful and you're with someone who makes you laugh, makes you happy with that sense of excitement in the future."

Richard Dawkins, ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author

Why do you support faith schools for children who are too young to have chosen their faith, thereby implicitly labelling them with the faith of their parents, whereas you wouldn't dream of so labelling a "Keynesian child" or a "Conservative child"?

"Comparing John Maynard Keynes to Jesus Christ shows, in my view, why Richard Dawkins just doesn't really get it. I think faith schools are very often good schools. Why? Because the organisation that's backing them – the church or the mosque or the synagogue – is part of the community. And it brings a sense of community and the backing of an institution to a school. The church was providing good schools long before the state got involved, and we should respect the fact that it's not just the state that can provide education but other bodies, too."

Adrian Chiles, TV presenter

What's the most tedious thing about being PM?

"Waking up on Wednesday morning and realising it's prime minister's questions."

Diane Abbott, Labour MP

You recently met Obama. Do you regret supporting John McCain?

"No. John McCain is a friend of mine. I've always liked and admired him. He speaks his mind. He's a good friend of the United Kingdom. I've always had a very strong relationship with Barack Obama. But I still see John McCain."

Polly Toynbee, Guardian columnist

On the basis of your government's present policies, the IFS predicts child poverty will rise steeply, after nine years of falling. What emergency measures will you now take to correct this trajectory and fulfil your pledge to cut the numbers of children living below the OECD recognised poverty line?

"I note that she doesn't refer to that fact that we've had a series of budgets that have not added to child poverty and the reason is we took steps to increase child tax credits, to demonstrate that while we were making cuts, we were doing so in a way that was fair… There are many things I can do in life, but making Polly happy is not one of them, I'm afraid."

Steve Coogan, comedian

The Daily Mail's silence during the hacking affair was deafening. If, as many suspect, Paul Dacre is found to be "up to his neck in it", will you please please, please give him a "second chance" by making him your director of communications?

"[Laughs] I'd rather have Alan Partridge."

Christina Schmid, war widow

Your father and your son dying while you were holding the reigns of the country seemed only momentarily to pause your pace. How have their deaths affected you, and what was your relationship like with your father? What did he say to you before he died about your political career?

"Well, my son died while I was leader of the opposition, so I did take… probably not enough time out, but I did drop everything for a bit. I had a very strong relationship with my dad. He was an amazing man. Great optimist. Always believed the best about people and thought things would turn out OK. He was very proud of what I was doing. He was always very worried about all the responsibility I was taking on. The last time I saw him properly was when I got him to Chequers just before he went off on the holiday on which he died. I got him upstairs to this lovely room – the long gallery. We sat and had a drink together and a chat… I didn't know it was 'goodbye'. His last bit of advice to me was, 'Do the right thing.' That was always his advice."

Tinie Tempah, rapper

Did you go clubbing when you were in Ibiza?

"No. My wife did, the night before I got there. I went to some very nice restaurants, but I was tucked up in bed at a ludicrously un-Ibizan hour."

Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet

Do you ever worry that if you weren't prime minister you'd be a better father?

"Yes, I do. You'd have more time. The advantage of being prime minister is that you live above the shop, so I do get to see my children more than some dads do because I can pop up and read them a bedtime story and go back to work."

Michael Winner, film director, producer and restaurant critic

On a scale of one to 10, how happy have you been since you became prime minister?

"I haven't really had time to stop and make the calculation. I enjoy this incredibly challenging job. It is a huge honour to do it. It's not meant to make you happy, but if you believe in politics as a vocation, it is a worthwhile thing to do. I won't give a number, Michael, I'm afraid. It's not like one of your restaurant reviews."

Hilary Mantel, author

What are you ashamed of?

"A few things I've done in my past that I'm not going to tell you about."

Mike Leigh, film-maker

What is your moral justification for the state not providing free further education for everybody, and for the principle of student loans? And I do want to hear your moral reasoning: not any economic, political or historic excuses.

"I think there is a strong moral case for this, which is the evidence that going to university brings a benefit to that individual person over the course of the rest of their life. Therefore, I think it is morally right that they make a contribution to the cost of that course, which is what our fees policy does. And I think it would be morally wrong to ask the taxpayer to bear all of the burden of that cost, not least because there are many taxpayers who don't go to university who don't have that benefit."

Ian McEwan, novelist

There's still a very strong general feeling around that wage earners are picking up the tab for the excesses of the banking sector. Why not take seriously the "Robin Hood" campaign? (And don't be blackmailed by bankers' empty threats to move abroad – the proposed levy is tiny on any given transaction.)

"I'm all in favour of the idea of a financial transaction tax, but only if you can do it globally. And while of course it is a tiny tax on transactions, if the effect is that you just move the transactions to another country, you then lose the tax revenue. The EU keep talking about it, but in the end they know the problem is that even if you did it throughout the EU, the transactions would all go outside the EU."

Miranda Hart, comedian

What's the least favourite part of your job (apart from the difficulty of ordering takeaways to Number 10)?

"The thing I dread the most is news of casualties from Afghanistan, because that's the greatest responsibility. The thing that is odd and weird is having to have people open car doors for you because they weigh two tonnes and if you tried to do it yourself you'd cut your leg off."

Richard Branson, businessman

An 18-year-old girl who is dying of liver disease came to me on the street and begged me to use my influence to ask you to change urgently the law in Britain so that she can get a new liver. She believes – and all the research I've done since meeting her shows – that if organ giving could be done on the opt-out system, rather than people having to opt-in, then every single person's needs would be met and the young woman's life and thousands of others' lives would be saved. I'm someone who forgets to fill out forms for my organs to be donated and believe very strongly that the government should pass an emergency law to save this woman's, and thousands of others', lives. Will you support the opt-out policy?

"I think it's very difficult to have a policy that basically says if you haven't filled in the form, your organs can be harvested without your permission. It is a huge leap. But there are hospitals and healthcare systems we can learn from that have encouraged people to sign up to make their organs available. So there's a lot we can do without going the whole hog to opt out."

Mariella Frostrup, writer and broadcaster

What's your favourite line in literature, and why?

"Henry V's speech at Agincourt: 'Men of England who lie in bed...' You think of all that band of brothers, we few… there are more lines in that one speech that have become famous than probably any other."

Eine, graffiti artist whose work Cameron gave to Obama as an official gift in 2010

Imagine it's your stag weekend, which is being organised by Silvio Berlusconi. There are five places spare on the coach. Based solely on their ability to have a good time, which world leaders would you invite (past or present, but they have to be living)? If you don't choose Bill Clinton, why not?

"That is so difficult. I don't know that many past world leaders. I think you probably would choose Bill Clinton because he'd be fascinating to talk to. But God, that's difficult. I like Obama – I always enjoy chatting to him. My new best friend is the president of the Maldives. He's great. That's a weird mixture, isn't it? I like Sarkozy, we'd have fun. And I like John Key, the prime minister of New Zealand."

Jemima Khan, writer and campaigner

Are you aware – and is it true – that your phone was hacked by News Of The World?

"I've absolutely no idea. No one's ever told me. That's a new one on me."

Jamie Oliver, chef

Hi, Mr Cameron. In the light of rocketing obesity rates in the UK and the spiralling costs to the NHS of diet-related diseases, what importance do you personally place upon ensuring that every child in school is taught the key life skills of how to cook for themselves, where food comes from, and how it affects their bodies and their future health. And are you committed to the continued investment in improving school food, particularly in the new academies?

"Yes. Cooking with my own children is one of the things I enjoy most, and when people see the connection between diet and behaviour and obesity and all the rest of it, they see why this is not an add-on but a must-have. But in the end you've got to encourage schools to take this seriously themselves. My own children's school has just put in proper kitchens and food on-site, and my children have given up the packed lunch and gone to the school dinner, and we want to see that happen elsewhere."

Terry Wogan, broadcaster

What does the PM think the public think of him?

"All sorts of things. Of course, there are people who profoundly disagree with you – and sometimes people can get very angry with you. But I think people are basically very fair-minded and as long as they see you trying to do your best, and doing what you believe in, they will be reasonable with you."

Francis Wheen, journalist and broadcaster

What was the last novel you read? And the last nonfiction book?

"I'm reading something called Made In Britain, which is nonfiction. It's a very nice, rather old-fashioned history book about the great figures and inventions of British history. It's just rather good – I've been reading bits with my children. I'm also reading Laurence Of Arabia, by Michael Korda, which is fantastic. And weirdly, I'm also reading Max Hastings' book on Churchill's war years. I'm sort of reading three things at the same time because I don't last very long before I fall asleep. The last novel I read? Gosh, I haven't read one for quite a long time. I read this very good book by this Irish author Paul Murray called Skippy Dies. He very kindly sent me his new book, the name of which I can't for the life of me remember [it's An Evening Of Long Goodbyes], but I dipped into it the other day."

Lord Norman Lamont, former Tory chancellor of the exchequer

If there were no coalition and you were governing as a Conservative prime minister alone, what three things would you most like to have done that you have not been able to do in coalition?

"Further action on welfare reform. Perhaps the control of immigration. But I don't buy the argument that because it's a coalition it's an inactive government. It's a pretty rolled-up sleeves reforming government." [Guardian: And the third?] "I thought two was enough."

Jon Snow, broadcaster

Given Britain's historic links with Israel, is it not time the UK took a more assertive role in bringing about a two-state solution. Why did you abstain in the vote to give the Palestinian state status at Unesco?

"The reason for the abstention is that I don't believe you create a state by making declarations. I believe you create a state by bringing together the two relevant parties – Israel and Palestine, and hammering out an agreement. Britain is doing everything it can to put the pressure on. The problem is, we can't want this more than they want it, and the frustration I have is that it's so clearly in Israel's interest to reach an agreement and we need to persuade them of that."

Riven Vincent, mother who was nearly forced to put her disabled daughter (left) into care

Dave, why couldn't you do that one thing, to ensure disabled children have the nappies and incontinence products they need? You made a promise, we are still waiting.

"Some local authorities put a limit on the number of incontinence nappies for disabled children and I know from my own personal experience that there are times that that's not enough, and if you're facing financial difficulties that's a real problem. I went to Riven's house. I spent time talking to her and we went back and checked the health advice, and I think made some changes to it. I'll double-check. In the end, you can't order local authorities what to do, but I think we did change the advice they get from the department of health."

Kirsty Wark, broadcaster

What piece of art has had the most impact on you, and why?

"Picasso's Guernica is one of my favourites. It's one of those pictures you can look at for ages and still find new things in it. A picture that says so much about the nature of conflict and the nature of suffering is very, very powerful."

Jonathan Freedland, Guardian columnist

Now you know the pressures of the job, and how hard it is, do you have sympathy for Gordon Brown and think perhaps you were too harsh in your treatment of him?

"I think in prime minister's questions and in political discourse we can sometimes get very rough and tough in the House of Commons. I don't ever feel I was tougher on Gordon Brown than he was on me. But I recognise that as prime minister he tried hard to do the right thing, as he saw it. And not everything he did was wrong."

Angela Eagle, Labour MP whom Cameron told to 'Calm down, dear'

Your cuts hit women harder than any other group. What's your problem with women?

"It's absolutely true that, when you face a big budget deficit and great debts and all that Angela Eagle's party left us, you have to take some difficult decisions. But I don't accept this characterisation. Labour wants to make a series of political points about cuts and women because they see it to their political advantage."

Nicky Campbell, broadcaster

Will you consider sending your son to Eton?

"I've always said I'd like my children to go through the state system. But I'll always do the right thing for them."

Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey writer

Soon after the election last year, the coalition was memorably portrayed as the cast of Downturn Abbey on the cover of Private Eye. Supporters of both parties were accusing the other of setting the government's agenda. Do you feel you have now achieved a more comfortable balance of power with Mr Clegg, that will allow you to govern without alienating your own electorate?

"Notice Julian's brilliant ability to promote his great series, even in a question to me. I've never accepted the coalition government has acted against the interest of Conservative supporters. Most recognise going into coalition was the right thing, given we didn't win the election."

Rio Ferdinand, footballer

Will the government start providing more facilities and staff for children, such as sports clubs, youth clubs and invest more into apprenticeship schemes?

"Yes, we are investing record amounts in apprenticeship schemes, £360,000 a year. And I'm pleased to say that, because we're returning the lottery to its original good causes, including sport, there will be an extra £135m that will mean more sports facilities."

Alastair Campbell, Labour spin doctor

You fought an election with the fallout from the economic crisis still dominant, people worried about jobs and living standards, MPs expenses having done considerable damage to Labour, Time For A Change as a powerful force, Gordon Brown getting battered daily to take his ratings even lower, with your party's finances in great shape while Labour was close to being bust, a hugely supportive media promoting the image of you as a new leader of a changed or at least changing Tory Party… why on earth didn't you manage to win a majority?

"Well, there's clearly something eating Alastair Campbell. How did I upset him so much? Look, I'm responsible for the election campaign and I take full responsibility for the result. We had a massive mountain to climb. We didn't quite make it over the line. I think that at a time of economic difficulty, people were nervous of change. And we were quite frank that we'd have to make spending reductions and I think that probably held us back."

Jeremy Paxman, broadcaster

After what he said and did on student fees, can you see any reason for the voter believing a word of Nick Clegg's next manifesto?

"My job is not to promote Nick Clegg's next manifesto. As someone to work with in government, we have a good relationship, and I believe we're getting things done for the good of the country. Sorry, that's a bit boring, I'm afraid, but when you do a Jeremy Paxman interview that's the only way through it."

Jacqui Smith, former Labour home secretary

What is the most serious security threat that we currently face?

"Al-Qaida. I think they've been damaged very badly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but clearly they still have evil intent and evil people to carry out that intent. And Britain has to be on a high state of alert, not least because of the Olympics."

Tony Benn, former Labour minister

Under what circumstances, and against whom, would you be prepared to use British nuclear weapons?

"As Tony Benn well knows, the point of having nuclear weapons is to deter people and not to use them, and I'm afraid it's just one of the many subjects where he is splendid to read but splendidly wrong."

Simon Hattenstone, Guardian interviewer

How did your parents react when you were grounded at Eton for smoking cannabis?

"Good try."

Jonathan Ross, broadcaster

Will you or your cabinet be the first to see sense and do something about the expensive, time-consuming and ultimately pointless "war" on drugs. Time to legalise some and legislate others, surely?

"I don't believe in legalisation. If you legalise, you make more available; and if you make more available, you build up a larger problem."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty

The late Tom (Lord) Bingham is often described as the greatest Briton of his lifetime. He famously said of the fundamental freedoms in the Human Rights Act: "Which of these rights, I ask, would we wish to discard? Are any of them trivial, superfluous, unnecessary? Are any of them un-British?" As a critic of both "unelected judges" and the Human Rights Act, how do you answer Bingham's question?

"By saying that of course the freedoms originally written down in the European convention on human rights are things that we'd all want to support. The problem is that the Human Rights Act, in my view, [has been] incorporated into British law in such a way that it's given the courts an ability to come up with a lot of very odd and perverse judgments. What's required is to write a British bill of rights so we can have it set out in our own law, in our own way, so that we don't have strange decisions handed down by Strasbourg."

Nigel Farage, leader of the Ukip party

Why do you refuse to give the British people a referendum on the EU, despite your earlier cast-iron guarantee?

"I made a policy of having a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, and if the Lisbon treaty had been still extant at the time of government, we would have had a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. I don't believe Britain should leave the European Union, but I do believe there are powers we can retrieve from Europe to have a better balance."

Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace

Prime Minister, you famously visited the Arctic and saw for yourself the impacts of climate change. Indeed, the warming is now so rapid that the North Pole could soon be ice-free in the summer. As the ice retreats due to rising temperatures, the oil companies are moving in to drill. As someone who has associated himself with the fight to protect the Arctic, do you support or oppose deep water oil drilling in the Arctic?

"The Arctic issue is a matter for those countries directly concerned. For Britain, we have a strict and tough licensing scheme for oil drilling. I think it's important we maintain our energy independence. And that means continuing to invest in the North Sea. And that does mean looking at some quite deep water drilling, but only under this very strict regulatory regime that has so far been admired in other parts of the world." [Guardian: But he wants your answer in the Arctic.] "But we don't own any of the Arctic." [Guardian: But you can have an opinion on it.] "I think it matters much more what you actually do in your own bailiwick."

Tracey Emin, artist

Dear prime minister, I'm aware that you are a fan of my work, but where do you think I would be if I hadn't received the amazing art education I had?

"I'm a big fan of art education. My wife went to art school and read fine art at Bristol poly, and I think still reaps enormous benefit from having such a great education, so I'm all in favour of us having well-funded art colleges."

Lord Ashdown, Unicef UK president

What will your pitch be – and what do you expect Nick Clegg's to be – when you both appear before the TV cameras in the leaders debates before the next election?

"I hope it will be that we've dealt with extremely difficult economic circumstances and debts we've inherited, and we've got the country back on the road to both an economic recovery and, I hope, something of a social recovery, too." [Guardian: But how is that different from Nick Clegg's pitch?] "Well, I'm only responsible for my pitch." [Guardian: What do you expect his to be?] "I expect he'll say, 'I agree with David and think you should all support him.' [Laughs]"

Salman Rushdie, novelist

The deep and disproportionately large cuts in the teaching budgets of the arts and humanities departments of British universities have been described by many commentators as evidence of this government's philistinism. Are you not concerned that you are crippling university education in the United Kingdom?

"I completely disagree. What we're doing is making sure that universities will be property funded. What's going to happen is the success of universities and different courses will depend on the choices that students make. Once students are paying the bills, they will be keener on really good courses, really good lecturers, really good materials. So universities will have to respond to that demand and we'll see a strengthening of our university sector."

Katharine Whitehorn, journalist

Do you think the catastrophic situation at Southern Cross old people's care home company, and the abuse at Bristol's private home for young handicapped people will shake your party's rooted conviction that private and profit-driven provision of service must always be better than public provision?

"I don't believe private provision is always better. There are brilliant examples of state provision, voluntary provision and private provision. As Chairman Mao once said, what matters is not whether a cat is black or white but whether it catches mice. Or was it him? Either way, it was a great quote." [It was Deng Xiaoping.]

Alexis Petridis, Guardian music critic

You said the Jam's song Eton Rifles was important to you when you were at Eton. Paul Weller, who wrote the song, was pretty incredulous to hear this, and claimed you couldn't have understood the lyrics. What did you think that song was about at the time? Be honest.

"I went to Eton in 1979, which was the time when the Jam, the Clash, the Sex Pistols were producing some amazing music and everyone liked the song because of the title. But of course I understood what it was about. It was taking the mick out of people running around the cadet force. And he was poking a stick at us. But it was a great song with brilliant lyrics. I've always thought that if you can only like music if you agree with the political views of the person who wrote it, well, it'd be rather limiting."

Peter Kosminsky, film director

The NHS is the most dearly loved of British institutions. You made no reference to sweeping changes in its structure in your election manifesto. How, in good faith, can you now seek such changes just weeks after you came to power? Isn't this exactly the kind of dishonesty and breach of trust with the electorate that has led to dangerous levels of disillusionment with the political process in this country?

"I recognise that we had left behind too many of the public and too many of the professionals on this, which is why we had a pause in the process and listened to people. The full abolition of the primary care trust is what some people point to (that wasn't in our manifesto), but I would say that was a fairly natural evolution. If you're going to put doctors and clinicians in charge of decision-making and commissioning, then inevitably you have to ask the question, 'What are all these local bureaucracies for?'"

Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian

David, Do you think that every child in the UK should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, and have you done enough, as prime minister, to make this opportunity a reality?

"We are spending £82.5m on our new music strategy and we're going to do more to try and make sure this money gets through where it is needed. I was profoundly unmusical at school and only managed to play the drums in the school band. I got about as far as Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree. So I'd like the opportunity for my children and other children to do better."

Philip Pullman, author

Why, when other countries such as France and Germany find no difficulty in including long-term considerations (the effect on unemployment, the protection of living city centres, the preservation of the craft base) into questions of procurement, do we insist on going only for the cheapest option and damn every other consequence?

"Very good question. We are conducting a review of procurement right now. There are rules in Europe to stop people just picking the national champion and forbidding anyone else to apply, and it's very important that we apply those rules. But there is a case that we over-interpret the rules and as a result don't make them work for Britain."

Fiona Phillips, TV presenter

Isn't the Big Society just a way to get ordinary people to step in and supply services for the most vulnerable – essential services that the state should be providing, but isn't any more because of Conservative party cuts?

"No, I don't accept that for a minute. The fact is that Britain has always had a big society approach of treasuring and valuing voluntary bodies, charities, faith groups, churches – all the elements of civic society. My point is, should we try and do more of that? And the answer to that question is yes."

Toby Young, journalist and free-school founder

Do you keep a diary?

"No, I've never been a diary keeper. I'm too tired to write anything down at the end of the day."

Bill Bryson, author

A lot of people in positions of responsibility seem to want to cover your glorious countryside in pylons. Can't you do anything to constrain them?

"There is a very big cost, but there are occasions when it makes sense to bury [the cables] and, as someone who loves the countryside, if it's possible to bury more, I'm all for it."

David Blanchflower, economist

There are one million youngsters under the age of 25 currently without a job. How are you going to prevent them becoming a lost generation?

"As David knows, there is no simple answer. You've got to improve the quality of education so you don't have children falling out of school at 16 without skills, you've got to have proper apprenticeships that take people from school into work, you've got to make sure that there are training programmes to help those who can't find jobs. Youth unemployment went up in the years of economic growth as well as recession, so this is a deep underlying problem with the British economy that we have to solve."

Clare Balding, broadcaster

If you had to swap jobs with one other current world leader, who in turn would then lead our country, and why?

"That's a difficult one. Who wants to take on the deficit, the debt, the problems? I often think there are brilliant politicians in other countries, but if they tried to run each others' countries it'd all go disastrously wrong. So it doesn't really work, I'm afraid."

Charlie Brooker, Guardian columnist

According to Private Eye, earlier this year you personally intervened on behalf of Rebekah Brooks to convince Rupert Murdoch to let her keep her job. Is that true, and if it isn't, how true isn't it?

"It's not true."

Jarvis Cocker, musician

Re: abstract finance ideas such as derivatives and futures, do you actually understand how all that stuff works? And if so, can you explain what a derivative and future are?

"I do. I worked for a company where one of my jobs was actually to present and explain the company to its investors, so I do have a reasonable understanding of shares, derivatives and futures and all the rest of it. A future, very simply put, is when you are effectively buying something in the future. A derivative is something that is related to an underlying stock or share. Of course, there's speculation that this is pointless and does not create any wealth or value. We shouldn't write off all derivatives and futures, because, of course, if you're a farmer you might want to sell your next crop now at a future price, or you might want to protect yourself – hedging effectively – against wild fluctuations in the wheat price, the grain price, the sheep price. So, while the tragedy is that it's become a sort of great casino that has caused some of the problems we've had, the original purpose was to try and help give people some stability. There we are. Not as punchy as Jarvis Cocker on Michael Jackson, but it's the best I can do. I was there that night, at the Brit awards. I saw him led away. I saw his bum."

• This article was amended on 28 November 2011. The original said Riven Vincent had put her disabled daughter into care. That is not the case. She was nearly forced to do so after her local council said it could not provide more help.