Legislation giving parents the right to trigger ballots on whether to discard Kent and Medway’s grammar schools would be scrapped under a Conservative government.

Mr Cameron insisted his party’s controversial decision to end its support for the 11-plus did not mean a future Conservative government would do away with the country’s remaining grammar schools.

"Here in Kent, you are happy with what you have, you can keep it and you are not going to have [Government] bill after bill which threatens that. You have a selective system and you can keep it."

But he said the Conservatives would not push for the re-introduction of selection.

"I do not want to take up all my time going around the rest of the country arguing we should re-introduce grammar schools everywhere else.

"It is not the grammar schools that are the problem. What I am worried about is the 24,000 other schools, many of which are not doing a good job.

"Instead of fighting the battles of the past, we need to fight the modern way of kick-starting social mobility and giving kids a great start in life."

Mr Cameron made his comments at a meeting in Chatham when he was quizzed about a range of issues by members of the public.

It was the first meeting in a series being held by the Conservatives under a campaign dubbed 'Camerondirect'.

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