Tories target youth vote with new think tank

Conservative big hitters Michael Gove and Ruth Davidson have joined forces to back a new think tank, as the party shores up efforts to avoid descending into political irrelevance.

The environment secretary and Scottish Conservative leader will be the keynote speakers at the launch of modernisation project Onward, led by former Number 10 staffer Will Tanner, warning that without new thinking the Tories will “be finished for at least a generation”.

Speaking on Westminster Hour last night, Tanner said the pair had been chosen to spearhead the launch because they represent both Leave and Remain and are "some of the most inspiring leaders in the Conservative party". A recent YouGov poll found nearly half of 18- to-24 year-olds said they would never vote Tory.

Writing in the Guardian ahead of today's launch Davidson said winning young people over would require a fundamental shift in the way policies were generated.

“The younger generation, and society at large, is not yearning for a five-year plan of centrally delivered tractor quotas. Instead, we are a society that prizes individual autonomy and freedom of expression, and expects government to help us to achieve our goals, not set them," she wrote.

“Conservatives should seek to embrace this open, liberal outlook as a positive – and not a threat. But talk is one thing: we must also focus on finding practical solutions that meet the needs of people – because it is only through deeds that trust can be restored.”

Gove said: “The Conservative party is at its best when it appeals beyond its core vote and puts forward a reforming, forward-looking agenda that responds to the concerns of the entire nation.”

[contf] [contfnew]

CityAM

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]