Young Conservatives fighting to change their party

It’s not every day you bump into a Churchill at the Conservative Party conference.

Henry Churchill, a 17-year-old distant relative of the former prime minister Sir Winston, is a member of another rare group – young Conservative supporters.

There are plenty of them here in Birmingham, of course, but Henry thinks there should be more.

He is calling on the party to “tap into” the growing right-wing youth movements in Europe.

Compared to a rightward swing among young voters in Italy, Germany, Austria and Spain, there is an apathy for the Conservatives among his peer group.

In the UK “most people my age are either voting for Reform or Labour”, says Henry, who is Sir Winston’s fifth cousin four times removed.

He says his contemporaries believe the Tory Party is “filled with a bunch of old people trying to make themselves richer”.

But they’re wrong, Henry argues.

“The Conservatives can offer people better opportunities to get on and get out into the world – get a good job and start earning money.”

Recent European elections show a rightward trend among young voters.

Meanwhile YouGov data shows the share of the under 25s vote for the Conservatives crashed from 21% in 2019 to just 8% at the last election.

In 2024, more under 25s voted for Reform UK – they won 9% of the under 25s vote share.

Labour won 41% of the share of the vote, according to the same survey, with the Liberal Democrats on 16% and the Greens on 18%.

Aayaan Jafferi, an 18-year-old Conservative-leaning student from Dudley, argues that unlike other countries “the right in the UK can’t communicate properly with the young”.

“In other countries like the US, you have figures like [Republican vice presidential nominee] JD Vance,” according to Aayaan.

“I’m not saying they’re lovely people, but they can communicate to every age really,” Aayaan says.

Speeches by Rishi Sunak and other senior Tories are not getting young people “excited enough to get jumping off their chairs to listen to them speak,” he argues.

The urgent need to win young voters has been a theme at this year’s Conservative Party Conference.

Former Tory minister Grant Shapps told the conference, many people who voted Conservative this year won’t do so at the next election “because they will be dead”.

But the party has “their work cut out for them” according to 20-year-old Tory activist George Pattenden.

“Back in school there was a natural left-wing leaning to the youth,” George says.

On top of this the Conservatives have to accept “we’re just not that enthusiastic as a nation” which is why “youth turnout is quite low”, he argues.

“It is hard to get young people to do anything,” he says.

He says he “understands the apathy,” as politics is not mandatory in schools, leading many to avoid political debate.

“I’d say it is very unlikely that our generation turns right now,” Aayaan Jafferi says.

“Because of social media, we have been kind of trained to think Conservatives bad, Labour good,” he adds.

Unless the Conservatives “have a radical change” and start offering young people policies to get them housing and starting young families “we’re stuck in this left-wing ideology for young people”.

Milan, 17, a classmate of Jafferi’s, says “growing up under Tory rule has shifted people’s minds against Conservatives”.

“I think the same thing would have happen if it was 10 years of Labour as well,” she adds.

In Europe, countries have “had more left wing or centrist parties in power” so the anti-establishment vote is “going right”, another 17-year-old Young Conservative told me.

He argues the British are not as rebellious as people in other parts of Europe.

“Just look at our history, we’ve not had revolution for 400 years – it is ingrained in us to be more civil.”

Josh, 21, a member of the Young Conservatives, predicts “right-wing support will eventually grow” among his generation – but “not for a good reason”.

The UK is only a “few years behind Germany and Italy” in the rise of anti-establishment right-wing movements.

“Brexit relieved some of that right-wing pressure out of the UK,” Josh argues.

“When people see mainstream centrist parties not delivering and not being true to their word on things like immigration” people his age will eventually turn to more to the right.

Though rare, young voices at the conference agree the party needs to change to win back young voters.

The real question is whether the party is ready.