Nearly three years ago I launched Next Gen Tories (NGT), a pressure group to focus the Conservative Party on winning back voters under the age of 45. For too long, the Conservatives had ignored the growing problem that younger generations weren’t achieving the key milestones that might make someone feel like they have a greater stake in society – savings, a good wage, a home and a family.
Throughout this period we’ve achieved some notable successes – including a signed letter by the new intake of Conservative parliamentarians subscribing to NGT’s worldview. For me, the new deal for young people announced by Kemi Badenoch earlier this year felt like a breakthrough, with its focus on apprenticeships, student loans and stamp duty.
But the revolution, as they say, is not over. The collapse of Labour in power has curdled the public mood. Increasingly, polling suggests voters are considering parties that make a virtue of wanting to overhaul the state. If the system isn’t working, then why not roll the dice on a risky option?
Our new report ‘Conservative Revival’, launched today, sets out how the Conservative Party can articulate the scale of the national challenge and present a credible plan equal to it. This requires radical candour which, if delivered thoughtfully, makes the political choice on the centre-right clear: serious change with Conservatives versus chaotic change with Reform UK.
The report diagnoses what has gone wrong through the lens of seven ‘deadly sins’ that have crept into modern politics and three clear tenets of what Conservatism should now stand for – wealth creation, aspiration and community. We must be clear about the scale of the economic challenge Britain faces, and about the institutional and political changes required to address it. Without that honesty, we will continue to shift between managing decline and chasing short-term fixes.
Wealth creation: half-measures on growth will not suffice
Economic growth is the defining political question of our time. For more than a decade, Britain has struggled to expand its productive capacity, and the consequences are now visible everywhere: stagnant living standards, strained public services and a politics increasingly defined by distribution rather than creation.
Conservatives cannot afford to have only half an answer on growth. Tax reductions and pro-business policies are necessary, but they are not sufficient. We must also confront the structural barriers that have made it extraordinarily difficult to build in Britain. That means accelerating infrastructure delivery, building more homes where demand is highest and shifting public spending away from welfare and towards investment in the productive economy. Without this, debates about fiscal policy become arguments about the pace of decline.
Aspiration: rewarding effort in a high-tax economy
The link between effort and reward has weakened, particularly for those in their thirties and forties who find themselves working hard, paying high taxes and struggling to accumulate wealth.
There is a clear political space here. Millions of people now fall into higher-rate tax brackets while feeling far from affluent – especially HENRYs: high earners, not rich yet. They are the professionals, entrepreneurs and skilled workers on whom Britain’s future prosperity depends. Yet marginal tax rates, the layering of National Insurance and the cost of housing and childcare leave many questioning whether the system still rewards ambition.
Community: a shared sense of national identity
As well as lowering immigration, we must also recover a sense of civic cohesion, and strongly push for greater integration. A renewed Conservatism must articulate a vision of civic nationalism rooted in shared values, equal citizenship and common responsibility.
Communities must be strengthened not only culturally but economically. Local renewal, civic pride and social trust are essential complements to national prosperity. We must foster the spaces that build our communities: our high streets, pubs and other third spaces that serve as vital building blocks. Only radical pro-growth policies on areas such as energy and building, tempered by considerations for local areas, can be the solution for that.
Rewiring the state to deliver change
If Conservatives are to persuade voters that they are serious about fixing Britain, they must also demonstrate seriousness about fixing the government machine. Too often, governments have imploded on contact with a system not designed for delivery.
This requires a fundamental rewiring of the machinery of government to take back powers. This includes a significant review of quangos and reasserting democratic authority over the upper tiers of the civil service by making them hireable and fireable by ministers.
Moving the Prime Minister’s office out of No10 and setting up a much larger delivery unit is key to this, as well as expanding the number of politically appointed special advisers who can drive reform.
The party itself must change
Institutional reform must be matched by renewal within the party. Kemi Badenoch now has the authority to ensure that the Conservatives present themselves as a team ready for government. That means promoting emerging talent capable of articulating a clear agenda and demonstrating that the party has learned from recent experience.
Candidate selection must also evolve. Constituency representation remains vital, but the next generation of MPs must be chosen not only for local activism but for their capacity to think strategically about national challenges.
I am proud that this report has been supported by figures who get it, including Shadow Secretaries of State Claire Coutinho and Andrew Griffith and rising MPs elected in 2024, Katie Lam, Blake Stephenson and Jack Rankin (The last two were both Next Gen Tories members before the election!). Their support reflects a wider recognition that renewal must be both intellectual and generational.
Winning in 2029
The Conservatives can win again in 2029 but only if the party demonstrates that it is serious about the scale of Britain’s challenges and willing to confront them honestly. That requires the courage to tell hard truths about the economy, to reform institutions that impede delivery and to promote new leaders committed to long-term renewal. If we do so, we can rebuild trust, restore growth and renew the country. The task now is clear. The Conservative Party must rediscover its seriousness – and prove it.
