With the Tories suffering from a serious lack of support among the under-40s, MPs are urging action from Rishi Sunak. Here are the policy areas the prime minister could use to try to reach them:
Economic stability
In some ways, younger voters share the same fundamental concerns as everyone else. That is particularly true for economic stability and how it affects their employment and income. It is why both major parties are paying close attention to winning the trust of voters on running the economy. It also explains why there was a big fall in support for the Conservatives among younger voters in the wake of Liz Truss’s mini-budget in September last year. The instability it created caused mortgage bills to rocket. Growing job insecurity could also have an effect. According to one recent study, more than 300,000 potential voters aged between 20 and 34 had experienced unemployment at least once before 2020 – and Covid may well have increased that number.
View image in fullscreenPressure to build more housing stock … Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Housing and rent
Opening the path to home ownership has long been the calling card for Conservatives, but the party has found itself in the midst of an internal battle over development. Its pledge to build 300,000 homes a year will be missed yet again – with some analyses suggesting housebuilding could fall below 120,000 homes annually over the coming years. It has created a battle between Tories wanting to risk upsetting older voters by building more, and those fiercely resisting any building on the green belt. Meanwhile, delays to handing renters better protection also risk alienating the young. According to the latest census results, 37% of those in their 20s and 31% of those in their 30s are in private rented accommodation.
View image in fullscreenGraduates are under pressure to repay loans. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA
Tuition fees and training
There are also challenges in appealing both to those going to university and those in other forms of training. According to the Student Loans Company, the average amount owed by graduates stands at just under £45,000. But changes to the loans system mean lower and middle-earning graduates will have to repay more. As for training, cuts to adult education will be partially reversed by £900m in extra spending in 2024-25. However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said total spending on adult education and apprenticeships will still be 25% lower in 2024-25 compared with 2010-11.
Childcare
The Tories have already identified childcare as a key part of their offer to young families. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has announced an eye-catching plan to extend the government’s existing offer of 30 hours of “free childcare” to children aged between nine months and two years by 2025. However, there are already warnings that the plans are vague and “undeliverable”, with providers saying they simply can’t afford extra places and have staff shortages. Recent analysis shows that some young parents face spending as much as 80% of their take-home pay on childcare, while others struggle to find a provider.
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View image in fullscreenYoung climate campaigners take part in a UK Student Climate Network in London in 2021. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP
Green policies
Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, has pointed to green policies as the way to attract younger voters. Many on the party’s liberal wing have identified the shift to a net-zero economy as a way to attract new voters because they believe it will not only help the environment but also create skilled jobs. However, they are battling to keep No 10 on track on the issue. Sunak has cooled on the green agenda since the Tories unexpectedly won a byelection in Uxbridge after campaigning against the Labour mayor of London’s plans to extend the ultra-low emissions zone.
