Paul Davison said his friends could not believe that he was a Conservative

The Conservative Party is to resurrect its youth wing as it tries to win back young voters before the next election.

Conservative Future was taken over by the central party in 2015 after a bullying scandal, effectively shutting it down. After the general election, however, Conservative MPs complained that the dormancy of the youth wing meant that they did not have enough activists to compete with the campaigners drawn to the Labour Party.

A document of more than 20 pages, written by Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) and circulated soon after the party’s election disaster, lays out plans to create a “well-equipped, disciplined and engaged generation of members”. The report also recommends new powers to control the youth groups.

The proposals, designed specifically to avoid “bullying