Last week’s Conservative Party Conference in Manchester revolved around one question: how do we (the Tories) attract young voters?
For much of the 20th century, British politics was dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties, much like America’s Democrats and Republicans. But that duopoly has broken. In the 2024 general election, the Tories’ seat total dropped to historic lows, while young voters flocked to third party options.
As former minister Tom Tugendhat put it: “[young voters] are flocking to Your Party, the Greens and Reform because they are arguing that we need to tear it down, because it is not working.” We, young people, crave something new, something that will change what isn’t working.
To put it simply, the problem is not that young people have turned away from the Conservatives, but that the Conservatives have turned away from young people.
For years, Tory strategy has revolved around one core voter: the homeowner pensioner. Every policy, from housing to tax, is designed to protect wealth rather than create opportunity. Meanwhile, younger generations face soaring housing prices, insecure work, and a post-Brexit economy that feels stacked against us. It’s no surprise that we feel that the Conservatives don’t understand our needs and wants.
The reality is that the majority of youth get their news from sources like TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. In fact, 80 per cent of 16-24 year olds use social media as their main source of news.
At their Manchester conference. Tories admitted their near-total absence from social media, promising to fix their “digital gap” in attempts to attract youth. But a viral presence isn’t a political strategy or solution. A TikTok account won’t make up for a decade of inaction on issues that shape our lives: the cost of living, housing prices, mental health, the environment, etc.
The few young people who still vote conservative are those with something to protect, a trust fund, estate, inheritance, you get my gist. For those not with a 10,000 sq ft house to inherit, the party’s promises ring hollow.
Even inside the party, discontent is evident. 37 per cent of the party membership think that Kemi Badenoch is doing a bad job. A third would rather have Nigel Farage as their leader, and nearly half support a merger party with Reform UK. That isn’t reinvention and renewal, it’s desperation. According to the 2024 election data, only 14 per cent of 18-24 year-olds, and 10 per cent of 25-34 year-olds voted conservative. The numbers speak for themselves. So contrary to belief within the party, eliminating the millennial pause in a viral TikTok won’t be enough to secure a vote. The question isn’t how the party can ‘reach’ young people, it’s whether it still offers them anything worth reaching for.
“Official portrait of Kemi Badenoch MP, 2024” by Roger Harris is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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The Tories are a Tired Party with Little to Offer Young People
Last week’s Conservative Party Conference in Manchester revolved around one question: how do we (the Tories) attract young voters?
For much of the 20th century, British politics was dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties, much like America’s Democrats and Republicans. But that duopoly has broken. In the 2024 general election, the Tories’ seat total dropped to historic lows, while young voters flocked to third party options.
As former minister Tom Tugendhat put it: “[young voters] are flocking to Your Party, the Greens and Reform because they are arguing that we need to tear it down, because it is not working.” We, young people, crave something new, something that will change what isn’t working.
To put it simply, the problem is not that young people have turned away from the Conservatives, but that the Conservatives have turned away from young people.
For years, Tory strategy has revolved around one core voter: the homeowner pensioner. Every policy, from housing to tax, is designed to protect wealth rather than create opportunity. Meanwhile, younger generations face soaring housing prices, insecure work, and a post-Brexit economy that feels stacked against us. It’s no surprise that we feel that the Conservatives don’t understand our needs and wants.
The reality is that the majority of youth get their news from sources like TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. In fact, 80 per cent of 16-24 year olds use social media as their main source of news.
At their Manchester conference. Tories admitted their near-total absence from social media, promising to fix their “digital gap” in attempts to attract youth. But a viral presence isn’t a political strategy or solution. A TikTok account won’t make up for a decade of inaction on issues that shape our lives: the cost of living, housing prices, mental health, the environment, etc.
The few young people who still vote conservative are those with something to protect, a trust fund, estate, inheritance, you get my gist. For those not with a 10,000 sq ft house to inherit, the party’s promises ring hollow.
Even inside the party, discontent is evident. 37 per cent of the party membership think that Kemi Badenoch is doing a bad job. A third would rather have Nigel Farage as their leader, and nearly half support a merger party with Reform UK. That isn’t reinvention and renewal, it’s desperation. According to the 2024 election data, only 14 per cent of 18-24 year-olds, and 10 per cent of 25-34 year-olds voted conservative. The numbers speak for themselves. So contrary to belief within the party, eliminating the millennial pause in a viral TikTok won’t be enough to secure a vote. The question isn’t how the party can ‘reach’ young people, it’s whether it still offers them anything worth reaching for.
“Official portrait of Kemi Badenoch MP, 2024” by Roger Harris is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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