Theresa May's Tories must expand their appeal or 'forfeit political relevance', think tank warns

Theresa May’s Conservatives must find new ways to broaden their appeal or risk forfeiting the party’s political relevance, a new think tank set up by a former aide to the prime minister has warned.

The plea for a change in direction comes ahead of the launch of Onward, a centre-right think tank, on Monday, with the environment secretary, Michael Gove, and the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson both expected to make appearances.

It has been set up by Will Tanner, formerly deputy head of Ms May’s policy unit in Downing Street, and the Conservative MP Neil O’Brien, who both suggest the party could “be finished for at least a generation” unless it finds fresh ways to respond to ordinary voters’ concerns.

Mr Tanner left his position in Downing Street in June last year following the prime minister’s failed election gamble, with younger voters flocking to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

On Monday, the founders of the think tank will point to a recent YouGov poll that found that nearly half of 18 to 24-year-olds would never vote for the Tories and just 9 per cent of those between 25 and 39 will definitely vote for the party at the next general election.

They will add that fewer than one in five minority ethnic voters cast their ballot for the Tories at the snap general election in June 2017 while the proportion of BAME voters is expected to double in the coming decades.

“The Conservative Party will not win from its ideological fringes,” Mr Tanner said. “It can only regain a serious majority by putting forward a positive agenda in the mainstream of public opinion and appealing to as broad a range of people as possible.

“We need to be the party of both traditional working class who are disillusioned with Corbyn’s Labour and the party of younger, metropolitan voters at ease with the modern world. If we don’t we will forfeit our political relevance and be finished for at least a generation.”

Mr O’Brien added: “We are the only party committed to delivering Brexit. We must also be the party which brings prosperity to parts of the country that feel left behind, ensures a strong NHS, and takes action to reduce the cost of living.”

Ms Davidson also made similar remarks at the weekend as she urged her party to embrace a more liberal outlook in order to attract younger voters who currently view the party as “anathema”.

She claimed that voting for the Conservatives has “become countercultural for many people in Britain” and that the “crash generation simply don’t trust the motivation of the right”.