Conservative MPs have been briefed by No 10 on seven new policy principles underpinned by a focus on the environment, after internal polling suggested the party is not seen as caring enough.

Groups of Tories were called in to Downing Street for meetings with Gavin Barwell, the prime minister’s chief of staff, this week to be told about the party’s political narrative, entitled “Building a Britain fit for the future”.

They were told polling suggests Conservatives are viewed as competent and having many of the right policies but that they were not caring enough when it comes to their values.

The party has been particularly stung in recent weeks by a social media campaign claiming Tory MPs voted against recognising animal sentience, after they rejected an amendment to write the principle into UK law tabled by Green MP Caroline Lucas.

Since then, Tory social media accounts have been pumping out video rebuttals stressing that Michael Gove, the environment secretary, is committed to recognising animal sentience in EU law. One Conservative MP, Ross Thomson, has gone so far as to record a clip featuring his dog, Poppy, in which he stresses how much the party cares for animals.

🎥 Watch: There have been concerns about last week’s #EUWithdrawalBill vote being a vote against the idea that animals are sentient. That’s #FakeNews



The Government’s policies are driven by the recognition that animals are sentient & once we leave the EU we can go even further. pic.twitter.com/O2VmcMMZRm — Ross Thomson MP (@RossThomson_MP) November 23, 2017

It comes after the Tories were also taken by surprise at the election by the strength of feeling on animal welfare issues, with a huge online backlash against Theresa May’s promise of a free vote on foxhunting and the manifesto’s omission of a promise to ban the ivory trade. The foxhunting vote has since been dropped and the party has committed to outlawing trade in ivory, however antique.

The new briefing document for MPs, seen by the Guardian, lists seven policies on issues such as housing, schools, a balanced approach to public spending and tackling injustices, while care for the environment will be a guiding principle under it all.

“Underpinning all this is our commitment to protect our environment so we leave our planet in a better state than we found it, with cleaner air, stronger protections for animal welfare and greener spaces,” it says.

The MPs were told there will be an emphasis on improving school standards, rather than extra financial sums going into the education system, and taking a “balanced approach to public spending”, which weighs bringing down debt with concern for public services like the NHS.

One of the messages on the economy will be about “better, high paying jobs” as the polling suggested the Conservatives were seen as financially capable but not the party of jobs, despite low unemployment.

Conservative strategists have prepared the document as the party tries to recover following the election result, which saw Labour gain seats due to a surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn among younger and middle-aged voters.

However, one person present said they believed the elephant in the room was unease over whether Theresa May was the woman to get this caring message across after her performance at the election.

No 10 has recently hired a new digital special adviser, Mario Creatura, to improve the party’s social media output, including May’s own Twitter feed.