Young Tories have issued their party a stark verdict that they face a crisis worse than their last catastrophic defeat in 1997.
"Politics Home" reported on an incriminating statement released by Bernard Jenkin, a member of the Conservative Party's powerful 1922 Committee, that the party has a heavy reliance on large donors and failed soundbite operations. The Member of Parliament for Harwich and North Essex condemned the Conservatives' failure to attract sufficient numbers of young voters to deliver a majority victory during this year's general election.
'We will be out of power for a significant amount of time'
Many members of Conservative Future (CF), the Tories' youth wing, agree with Mr. Jenkin's opinions. Active CF member Hani Mustafa, 16, said: 'I think it is highly plausible that we will be out of power for a significant amount of time. We are already at a point in the electoral cycle where people will choose to vote Labour given that the Conservatives have been in power for too long now.'
However, other CF activists are much less optimistic about the Conservatives' chances of winning the 2022 General Election. Adam Lawless, 13, said: 'We are going to lose the next general election. This is evident from most of the polls and in general.
I think it will be worse than the crisis of 1997, but this time with someone from the extreme left in power.'
The Independent reported that pro-Corbyn campaign group, Momentum, created an app called My Nearest Marginal, which allowed volunteers to locate their near marginal seat by typing in their post code. Other tactics they used included Carpool Momentum, which arranged rides for canvassers, and the web app Calling for Corbyn, which enabled activists to phone bank from the comfort of their own home.
'The manifesto was vile'
Harmeet Singh Brar, 26, who is a Tory councillor for Wellow, Hampshire, said Labour's success in June was based on their ability to mobilise young voters. He blames Conservative Central Headquarters (CCHQ) for holding back opportunities in local Conservative associations to grow a sufficient grassroots movement.
Another CF volunteer, Jonathan Stokes, agrees with this assessment. He said CCHQ is too career-focused to be independent of the party. He added: 'We lost due to lack of youth focus and good policies. The manifesto was vile, and Theresa May is not a leader for a campaign.'
Active Worcester CF member Cameron Winstanley, 21, said the Conservatives should broaden their appeal to avoid a repeat of the 1997 General Election. He has called on the party to focus more on social media, ensure local associations are pulling their weight to increase membership by using social media tactics and force them to have their website, as many associations do not have one.
'One to watch out for is Ruth Davidson'
One solution that has been proposed to improve the Conservatives' appeal is to replace Mrs. May as the leader.
City AM reported that Oddschecker had slashed the odds of Jacob Rees-Mogg becoming the leader from 50/1 to 16/1. 'Moggmentum' is growing in support on social media as the prospect of him becoming Prime Minister is increasing.
Mr. Winstanley said Mrs. May should remain as leader until the Government has delivered Brexit. He added: 'I think the next leader will have to be someone fresher. Jacob Rees-Mogg seems to be on a role at the moment. One to watch out for over the coming years is Ruth Davidson.'
But CF activist Leon Nicholls said the party had learned nothing from this year's general election. His solution is for the Conservatives to merge with UKIP to prevent a split in the vote in the 2022 election.
Mr. Singh Brar has called on CCHQ to select real candidates to lead the party after 2019. He is optimistic that Mr. Corbyn will not lead Labour into a landslide victory but has warned that if the Conservatives do not improve their electoral strategy before 2022, the Labour leader will gain a foothold into Number 10.
Oddschecker has also placed Boris Johnson, Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd and David Davis as favourites to succeed Theresa May.
