Tories now have fewer than 10,000 young members as party faces generation gap The Conservatives have fewer than 10,000 members aged under 30 and seem like a “fringe group” to millions of younger […]

The Conservatives have fewer than 10,000 members aged under 30 and seem like a “fringe group” to millions of younger voters, one of their newest MPs has warned.

Andrew Bowie acknowledged the party faces a “serious problem” following years of heavy dependence on the loyalty of older voters and called for a drive to promote new Tory faces, respond to young adults’ concerns and improve its social media skills.

“For far too long we were reliant far too much on the older vote” The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Tory MP Andrew Bowie

In an interview with i , he said the party had the twin challenge of boosting numbers of members aged under 30 and of renewing its appeal to younger groups to ensure the Tories do not face “terminal decline”.

Asked how many young members they have, he replied: “It’s not great – we are talking about four figures, not five.”

Reaching a lost generation

Mr Bowie, a 29-year-old former naval officer, is part of a group of young MPs working with Downing Street and Conservative Campaign Headquarters to reach out to a lost generation of voters.

He said: “For far too long we were reliant far too much on the older vote. We took for granted that when people become slightly older, owned property, had a job and a family, they would naturally pivot towards Conservatives.

“We needed to have some base in the 18 to 40 group and we are now at an historic low in that age range voting for us.”

He argued that people were not “going to go on that journey towards Conservatism” if they did not know anyone in their age group supporting the party.

‘Terrible’ social media campaign

Mr Bowie, who captured West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine from the SNP, said the Conservative leadership was “taking great strides and investing a lot of time and energy and effort” to attract a younger demographic, but conceded it would take time.

Admitting last year’s social media campaign was “terrible”, he said the party needed to emulate Labour’s success in galvanising young supporters.

He also pointed to the success of Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader in Scotland, in engaging with people who had never considered voting Conservative.

“It’s about making people feel they are part of the conversation,” he said.

Mr Bowie said announcements on housing, student debt and the environment were evidence of the Tory leadership responding to younger voters’ concerns.

“We’ve ceded ground to Labour on all of these issues, and more, that people under the age of 40 care about.”

He also urged the party to strike a more positive note about Brexit.