As we approach the Conservative Party Conference, when anybody attending under 50 can be considered young, it is worth contemplating the complete alienation of this age group of voters from the Conservatives. A recent YouGov poll shows that only voters aged over 50 support the Conservatives over Labour, with younger age groups preferring Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party by a huge margin; 18-24 year olds, 65% versus 19% and 25-49 year olds, 55% versus 27%.
The reasons are almost too numerous to list; Brexit, tuition fees, 10 years of austerity seemingly bearing little fruit, a housing crisis, economic policies overall favouring the old over the young, to name but a few. Other polling suggests real pessimism about standards of living continuing to improve for the next generation, something once taken for granted.
Then there is the image of the Conservative Party…Whilst it is actually populated with some impressive young people (but clearly not enough), and of course good people of all ages, it is perceived to be influenced by a nostalgic longing for the 1950s combined with flashes of cavalier arrogance which grate on many sections of the electorate. To add insult to injury you now have Jacob Rees-Mogg touted as a future leader either based on delusion or a deliberate plan by opponents to sabotage the Conservative Party for a generation. It is not hard to see why the ‘affable, idealistic’ Corbyn (even with his many hard-line activists) is charging ahead.
So what is to be done? First, there should be no pale imitation of Labour’s policies in appealing to younger voters. A government paralysed by Brexit can still be radical. On tuition fees, there should be an immediate cut in the penal rate of interest of up to 6.1%, preferably close to the base rate, combined with a full scale review of the funding of higher education. This is particularly needed after the unedifying rush to charge the maximum £9k tuition fees regardless of the need or quality of teaching. The possibility of two year courses should also be examined as well as charging overseas students more and domestic students less. On Brexit, the language and priorities need to change and new, younger ministers should lead some of the reporting on the progress of negotiations. On housing, pro-actively working with banks to cut the deposit required for purchase, which many younger people say is currently prohibitive to getting on the housing ladder, would bring real benefits. Last but not least, on the economy, reducing the higher rate tax relief on pension contributions and means testing some benefits to older voters (an original manifesto promise…) would help make the case for austerity but with a little more re-distribution. Now this is the stuff of dreams but worth a thought anyway…
The challenges for younger voters should be seen as our challenges too. Only in this way will the Conservative Party broaden its base of support and prevent the awful prospect of Corbyn as Prime Minister.
Inside Right Politics 