Conservative youth wing relaunched in bid to win back millennials from Labour

The Conservative Party’s youth wing is set to return three years after it was rocked by bullying allegations, with organisers implementing a series of reforms to prevent a future scandal from arising.

Relaunching the “Young Conservatives” at the party’s Spring Forum yesterday, Conservative Chairman Brandon Lewis said the organisation would be crucial in helping win back young voters from Labour.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Lewis said that despite previous setbacks, it was vital that the party gave a voice to the “thousands of young people who keep being told they must be Corbynistas, but aren’t.”

The organisation will be coordinated by Conservative vice chairs Ben Bradley and James Morris, while a new director of training has been brought in to train young activists on how to orchestrate a ground campaign.

It forms part of Mr Lewis’s efforts to “professionalise” the Tory campaign operation and take the fight to Labour, having already begun hiring hundreds of new staff in to bolster the party’s presence both online and on the ground.

It comes three years after the organisation’s precursor, Conservative Future, was disbanded when Elliott Johnson, a young activist, killed himself amid allegations he was bullied by Mark Clarke, a party organiser known as “Tatler Tory”.

The scandal, which unfolded after the 2015 General election, saw the entire national executive suspended and Mr Clarke’s battle bus operation, known as ‘Road Trip, shut down. Mr Clarke has always denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, attempts to found a youth movement known as “Activate”  fell flat when several of its members were exposed for joking about “gassing chavs” and “shooting peasants”.

“Nobody wants to see a repeat of that kind of thing,” Mr Lewis said last night. “One of the things that needs to be clear is that can never happen again.

“But actually the reason we’ve put such a strong team in place is because we care about our young members, and we want to make sure that they take something out of it and it delivers something for the party.”

Officials at CCHQ are understood to have drawn inspiration from Young Labour and Momentum, the pro-Corbyn campaign groups credited for the Labour leader’s success during last year’s election.

However, unlike Labour’s youth wing, the Young Conservatives will not elect a national executive and will be run from Conservative headquarters.

Sources last night told The Daily Telegraph that CCHQ would be heavily involved in the movement in order to ensure that past mistakes were not repeated.

The group will now begin to establish branches across the country, and will integrate with local associations in order to offer a range of events for young Tories.

“The intention is that the organisation will form a key part of the Conservative Party,” Mr Lewis continued.

“Already we’ve had a morning session and some of the young activists have been out delivering leaflets.

“We want to appeal to all demographics and age groups, to show why young people should be attracted to our policies. But also there are already lots of people who want to join the party...who want to be active.

“We want to give young people a formal outlet to get involved, to make sure that we have a structure in which they can get involved in campaigning, and in a way they can enjoy.”