Conservative leadership contender Jeremy Hunt is promising to deliver 1.5 million additional homes for “generation rent” over the next 10 years, as part of a radical five-point plan to win young voters over to the Tories and close the divide between young and old.

The foreign secretary, who is vying with Michael Gove for a slot alongside favourite Boris Johnson on the final ballot paper in the race for No 10, warned that the party could not win a majority if it gave up on young people.

His five “youth pledges” also promise mental health support teams in every school, legislation to deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050, reduced interest on student debt and more support for young entrepreneurs.

The initiative amounts to an implicit acknowledgement that the interests of younger voters have taken a back seat during nine years of Conservative-led governments, which have often focused on maintaining the living standards of pensioners.

Announcing the package days after Tories slumped into third place in the Peterborough by-election, Mr Hunt said: “The lesson from Peterborough is that once we’ve delivered Brexit we have to broaden our appeal.

UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 UK Housing Crisis: in pictures UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Members of ‘generation rent’, as the younger generation is often known, are finding it far more difficult to get on the housing market than previous generations PA UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Then chancellor George Osborne visits a Help to Buy housing development in Lewisham in 2014. Osborne had announced the Help to Buy scheme in the 2013 budget as a means of helping first-time buyers on to the housing market PA Archive/PA Images UK Housing Crisis: in pictures In February 2017, then communities and local government secretary Sajid Javid issued a government white paper on housing. Introducing it in the Commons, he stated ‘our housing market is broken’ and that ‘the idea of owning or renting a safe, secure place of your own is, for many, a distant dream’ PA UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Residents of Fitzroy Road in Primrose Hill have demonstrated how urban areas might be built up without using extra land. 12 homeowners along the street all agreed to extend their house upwards by 1 floor. The government recently held a consultation on the revised National Planning Policy Framework, which, if approved, will support building above homes, shops and offices Google Earth UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Social Bite, a charity in Scotland, is creating a small housing community for the homeless. Up to 20 people will be housed for 12-18 months, with the charity’s focus being on transitioning the residents into permanent housing and employment AFP/Getty UK Housing Crisis: in pictures A homeless man was found dead yards from Parliament in February. His death was taken by many, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, to be symbolic of the government’s poor record on housing. PA UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Emergency homeless shelters in London had to be opened numerous times throughout the past winter to house those unable to find a room in an ordinary shelter or hostel Getty UK Housing Crisis: in pictures Carillion, the UK’s second largest construction company, entered liquidation early this year. It held numerous government construction and maintenance contracts, for many of which the future is still uncertain AFP/Getty

“There is no majority in relying just on those who voted for us in 2017 and the party now faces a choice about whether we want write off our chances with young people.

“I believe we have to unite the country, especially the divide between young and old. As prime minister I would deliver my pledge to young people to show that – when it comes to housing, climate change, mental health and education – we are on your side.”

The government aims to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, but many of these will be family houses and expensive apartments beyond the means of most young people. Aides said that further details of how Mr Hunt would deliver 1.5 million properties for young people would be unveiled during the course of the Tory leadership contest, which officially begins on Monday.

The former health secretary would fund mental health support teams based in schools and colleges from the £2.3 billion a year in additional spending on mental health services already planned by 2023-24. Some of that funding would be used to fund treatments for mental health issues such as exam stress, behavioural difficulties or friendship issues.

Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Andrea Leadsom and Boris Johnson are among the Conservative leadership contenders (AFP/Getty)

A new Clean Air Act would raise standards on UK air quality to World Health Organisation levels, provide new powers for local authorities and consolidate existing legislation.

And Mr Hunt would fit 2.5 million new electric charging points in homes, by the roadside and in rural towns to ensure a national charging network for greener electric-powered vehicles.

Interest rates on student debt could be reduced from RPI inflation plus 3 per cent for current students to bring it in line with the RPI inflation rate.