Most Young Conservatives Believe That Current Conservative Party Policy Doesn’t Have Young People in Mind
Polling conducted by young conservative think tank Blue Beyond, reveals that nearly 80% of young conservatives feel that current Conservative Party policy doesn’t have young people in mind.
Grassroots think tank for young conservatives, Blue Beyond polled their members on the Current State of the Conservative Party in September and October. The group, which helps amplify the voices of young conservatives who feel disconnected from Westminster and policy making, polled their members on a range of topics.
Polling revealed that 77% believed that current policy from the Conservative Party did not have young people in mind. When asked why, members cited that lack of housing building, immigration, taxes being too high, and the Conservative Party being too reliant on the ‘grey vote’ as reasons for their answer.
Young Conservatives rated Rishi Sunak MP’s tenure as Prime Minister with an average rating of 4.5, with a third saying they would like Penny Mordaunt MP to be the next Leader of the Conservative Party. Members also cited Former Prime Ministers Theresa May MP and Boris Johnson who came in second and third, former Prime Minister Liz Truss MP ranked fourth, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP taking fourth place. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman came fifth, with Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badencoh MP and Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker MP taking joint sixth place.
Just over half of Young Conservatives said they were willing to campaign in elections, and just under 75% of Young Conservatives felt the Conservative Party needed to be more fiscally conservative. Just over 40% of Young Conservatives said they felt the Conservative Party needed to be more socially conservative, and just over 40% said they felt the Party needed to be less socially conservative.
The top five policies that Young Conservatives wanted the Conservative Party to adopt were: NHS reform, investment into nuclear power, creating low tax zones in former industrial cities, scrapping the BBC licence fee, and increasing house building.
Liv Lever, Director of Blue Beyond said:
“This set of polling paints a bleak picture, and shows how big the gap is between Conservative Party policy and the needs of young people. Young Conservatives are becoming increasingly disgruntled and disenfranchised from politics due to unsavoury policies, in turn losing talent and voters in the long run.
“Before the next general election we urge the Conservative Party and MPs to convene with Young Conservatives to ensure policies do not penalise young people.”
ENDS.
Notes to Editors:
Blue Beyond is a grass-roots think-tank created to engage Young Conservatives from across the United Kingdom. We aim to promote greater engagement within the youth wing of the Conservative Party. To make all in our party feel like they have a voice, no matter where they live. We want to engage our youth in policy discussions to understand the biggest issues that face the young people in our party and country. We work to ensure those who face various barriers are able to access politics and reach their potential. To ensure the Conservative Party is sustainable, it must appeal to younger generations.
Blue Beyond is for Young Conservatives aged 16 - 30, and is the only and longest serving think tank for young conservatives.
The full polling pack can be found on our website.
Qualitative answers to Q4 can be found on our website.
Urgent press enquiries should be made to our twitter account, and non-urgent media enquiries can be made via our website.
Blue Beyond’s twitter handle is @blue_beyond_
Liv Lever is the Director and her twitter handle is @Liv_Lever
This was initially reported in PoliticsHome