In her closing speech to the Tory conference last week, Theresa May signalled a clear break from the David Cameron era – a turn to the left on the economy, and the right on social issues.

She said her government would legislate to put workers on company boards and cap energy prices, after a conference dominated by talk of a "hard" Brexit that prioritised immigration controls over staying in the single market.

A former senior adviser to ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband said "Milibandism made it to Downing Street...just not the man himself," while a UKIP MEP said home secretary Amber Rudd's plans for businesses to disclose how many foreign workers they employ were a "step too far".

May has repeatedly and categorically ruled out a snap general election, meaning she is prime minister until 2020. And young Conservative party members are anxious about what the next four years hold.



"After Theresa May's speech on Wednesday I was feeling pretty disillusioned," 20-year-old Tom Shakespeare told BuzzFeed News.



"Forcing companies to have workers on boards or putting controls on energy prices is something you'd expect to see on Labour's manifesto, not a Conservative one. I didn't support the Tories last year so they could implement Ed Miliband's manifesto."

Shakespeare, an undergraduate student who joined the party three years ago because of his "belief in a small state and free markets", isn't alone in this unease.

Jeremy Driver, who is 27 and works in public affairs, said: "I’m very concerned that her speech signalled a move towards creating a more interventionist state. This will lead to worse outcomes and make people poorer.

"Two years ago, the party labelled Ed Miliband’s energy price control policy as 'Marxist' – it is now apparently government policy. I find it appalling that I’m a member of party that apparently only believed in free markets and sound finances as a tool to bash the opposition."

May's brand of Conservatism is certainly new to the party's youngest members – anyone under the age of 25 has never been able to vote for a Tory party not led by Cameron, and anyone under 29 was still under age before he became leader in 2005.