The Young Conservatives have elected a new chairman but his role is utterly meaningless unless the party adopts policies that will actually help young people, like ditching the triple lock, says Oliver Dean
If I asked the dutiful readers of City AM to name the most consequential election in history, their minds would likely leap to a select few. Perhaps Thatcher’s triumph in 1979 springs to mind, or maybe Trump’s victory in 2016 would be the next guess. The truth is, however, that none would name the Young Conservative Chairmanship election of 2026.
The result was announced on Monday night, with a chap called Kevin Ghateh clinching victory from the jaws of defeat, having faced down flutters of internal panic. But whilst many won’t bat an eye at the result – who is Kevin Ghateh? – the race itself is symbolic of a shifting mindset within the Conservative Party more widely.
Long the party of those with grey and wispy hair, the Tories have, in recent times, sought to reinvent themselves. To show themselves not as the party of frail, P&O Cruise-loving pensioners, but of the buoyant, acne-ridden youth who have never had a girlfriend. Many watched on at Tory Party Conference, noting that the once easily ridiculed youth wing of the party had, rather reluctantly, moved to the centre stage.
Optics can only take a party so far, however. It doesn’t matter how many disco nights one hosts, nor how many young people are present at the leader’s big speech – if the policies aren’t there, then it is all meaningless. A fugazi, or sorts. And, unfortunately for the Tories, impactful policies for the young continue to elude them.
There have been some attempts to change tack. Kemi’s announcement to cut interest rates on student loans, whilst welcome, has been criticised by Britain’s famed ‘money saving expert’ as not being bold enough. Similarly, the party’s announcement to abolish stamp duty, whilst a step in the right direction in helping young people purchase their own home, has been seen as not providing any immediate sense of relief for the young. In fact, while the Tories boast of their ‘New Deal for Young People’, many have been left wondering where the bloody hell it is.
Every young person hates the triple lock
This is especially true given the party’s reluctance to adapt in other policy areas. Take, for instance, the triple lock. A policy that almost every young person regards as unfair and unjust, the Tories have insisted on its maintenance. “We created the triple lock and we stand by it”, Badenoch remarked last year. Stand by what, one asks? An expensive, unsustainable ratchet? A policy which sees young people fork out ever-more dosh for a rapidly ageing population? It’s a policy that actively works against young people.
Or what of the Tories’ announcement to abolish inheritance tax (IHT) on the family home? A policy which, at present, affects less than five per cent of British households, and which disproportionately impacts estates in London and the South East. How exactly will this benefit tomorrow’s workforce? Spoiler alert: it won’t.
The reality is that the election of the Young Conservatives chair is but a guise. Mr Ghateh will likely swan around SW1, boasting of his victory and how he intends to do more to champion young people. But unless the Tories’ announce policies which actually benefit the youth, then this election will have all been for nothing.
Badenoch is insistent that this is a changed Conservative Party, and that, under her stewardship, the party has been rejuvenated. If she’s serious about such remarks, then it’s high time that she announces some policies that actually help out young people.
Oliver Dean is assistant editor at Conservativehome