The Conservative Party is hiring an army of paid tweeters to take on Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters on social media, the Telegraph can disclose.

Brandon Lewis, the new Tory chairman, is recruiting hundreds of staff across the country in a bid to dramatically increase the party’s online presence and marshal groups of volunteers “on the ground” in every constituency.

The attempt to “professionalise” the Tories’ campaign operation comes amid fears among senior Tories that the party faces disastrous results in May’s local authority elections.

Officials are concerned that hundreds of thousands of Ukip voters could switch to Labour as the Eurosceptic party’s vote-share collapses after Britain’s Leave vote in the Brexit referendum – allowing Labour to increase its grip on councils across the country.

The shake-up comes after several senior MPs privately warned that significant losses in May could prompt a flurry of formal letters triggering a leadership contest to replace the Prime Minister.