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The Conservative election strategy of targeting pensioners has raised concerns among its own party members that it is alienating younger voters and could prove disastrous for the party in the future.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has introduced a series of policies aimed at improving the interests of the over-65s, including a new “quadruple lock” pension and compulsory national service for all 18-year-olds.
But while the proposal has attracted attention, Conservative lawmakers and political strategists have warned that the approach risks losing support among younger voters and is unlikely to lead to victory in the July 4 election.
Conservative sources say the measure was also proposed to fend off threats from reformers to alienate voters from the Conservative party.
Asked whether the initial policy offensive had helped win over reformists, one Conservative MP said “I think it has helped a little bit”, adding: “I’m really worried that we’re pitting old people against young people, but that’s a philosophical issue, not a tactical one.”
Lee Cain, co-founder of political strategist CharlesBee, who served as Boris Johnson’s communications director in Downing Street and helped the Conservative Party win the 2019 general election, described Rishi Sunak’s campaign as having a “pragmatic” strategy.
“This is a core voting strategy to retain voters who might be tempted to move to reform and to encourage those who might be tempted to stay home to vote,” he said, adding: “Given the position they’re in, I think this is probably the right strategy. It’s probably more practical than anything else.”
According to the Torrey Bible audiencePollsters have already described Mr Sunak’s approach to the election as a “Dunkirk strategy” – accepting defeat but trying to limit his losses.
One former cabinet minister told the magazine: “Rishi has been told by strategists that he can’t win this, but he can lose to 200 MPs rather than 100 with a love attack on pensioners, even if it goes against his policies.”
A YouGov poll on Wednesday showed that among voters under 50, the Conservatives have just 8% support, tied with the Reform Party, while Labour has 59% support.
The only group where the Conservatives lead Labour in terms of voting intentions is the over-65 demographic.
This is why CCHQ has a relentless focus on older voters in its policies.
“This is really a core voter strategy to try to win over the traditional Conservative base, which is older people, for the election. There are many more older people in this country than younger people, so this is not unreasonable,” said Bartek Staniszewski, a senior fellow at the centre-right think tank Bright Blue.
But he warned that such an election strategy would be less effective in retaining voter support in the future.
“That’s not a sign of longevity, is it? My impression is that unless the Conservatives offer something to young people, it will be a disaster for the party in the long term.”