Jacob Rees-Mogg has said Tory party bosses are running a “Kim Jong-un-style” conference, as he compared the atmosphere to the North Korean regime.

The outspoken backbencher, who has been touted as a possible replacement for Theresa May, said the party treated its members “appallingly” and joked that delegates were forced to turn up and clap like citizens in the authoritarian state.

His comments came amid soul searching within the party over the disastrous election result, which saw the Conservative majority wiped out and young voters flocking to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.

Mr Rees-Mogg said he “loathes” the idea of offering “baubles” to young people, after senior Tories scrambled to come up with policies to woo the youth vote.

Speaking at a packed fringe event on the third day of conference, he said: “It (conference) has now become like an American presidential convention where we just expect people to turn up and cheer the great and the good.

“Perhaps not even American but Kim Jong-un style – if you don’t clap for long enough you’ll get in real trouble.”

Labour has grabbed the momentum “in all senses” and the Tories need to show the public what they believe in, he told the Policy Exchange event.

Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The question on how we treat our members – we treat them appallingly.

“We expect them to do all the work, deliver all the leaflets, knock on the doors, go out in the rain, then the Conservative Policy Forum (CPF) sends in its report and they get ignored.”

Asked about how to win over young people, the North East Somerset MP joked that he had “not been very good” at being young when he was young himself.

He added: “In the last General Election we didn’t say anything at all to young people, we pretended they didn’t exist because we thought they wouldn’t, vote and we were wrong.”

Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Show all 23 1 /23 Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Comedian Simon Brodkin hands Theresa May a p45 during her conference speech @simonbrodkin/Twitter screengrab Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May struggles with her water after she suffered a coughing fit whilst addressing the Conservative Party conference in Manchester Reuters Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson delivers his speech on the third day of the Conservative Party annual conference Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Bear Grylls at the Conservative party conference at the Manchester Central Convention Complex PA Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Britain's International Development Secretary Priti Patel gestures after delivering her speech on the third day of the Conservative Party conference Paul Ellis/AFP Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond visit a home in Manchester during the Conservative Party conference in the city Phil Noble/PA Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson returns from a morning run on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester Reuters/Phil Noble Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Delegates view a display board showing the history of the Conservative Party as they arrive for the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Delegates carry pro-Brexit bags as they arrive for the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Delegates listen to Justine Greening's speech on the first day of conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip applaud a speaker on the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson speaks at the Conservative Party Conference at the Manchester Central Convention Complex PA Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening, speaks on the first day of the conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Chairman of the Conservative Party, Patrick McLoughlin, speaks at the opening of the first day of the Tory party conference Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, arrives for the first day of Tory party conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon, arrives at conference Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Home Secretary, Amber Rudd (C), attends the first day of the Conservative Party conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, attends the first day of the Conservative Party conference Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Former Conservative minister, Edwina Currie, at the first day of conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, arrives at conference Carl Court/Getty Tory conference 2017 – in pictures Britain's Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, arrives at the conference hotel for the Conservative Party Conference Reuters/Darren Staples Tory conference 2017 – in pictures The anti-Tory march makes its way to the Conservative party conference in Manchester Peter Byrne/PA Tory conference 2017 – in pictures A demonstrator walks a dog wearing a European Union flag during a protest on the opening day of the Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester Reuters/Darren Staples

The arch-Brexiteer also said the Tories had been hampered by “deep sense of complacency”, failing to engage members and excite people about the EU divorce.

Mr Rees-Mogg has proved a major draw at an otherwise subdued Tory conference in Manchester, with lengthy queues for some of his events.