“There are a lot of young people who don’t subscribe to this woke agenda. We need to be reaching out to them and saying that if you believe in honesty, if you believe in truth, democracy, the right to freedom of speech, then the Conservative Party is your home.”
Kane Blackwell is a prospective Conservative Parliamentary candidate who is calling for more democracy within the Tory party in order to ensure better representation for the membership.
A former Member of Youth Parliament, Parliamentary staffer and Estate Agent, Kane is looking to stand in the next general election because he wants to “make change”.
But the staunch Brexiteer says the Tory leadership needs to reconcile with the grassroots over the ousting of Boris Johnson and bring more democracy for the membership.
As Young Chairman of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), Kane is advocating for party members to have more of a say over their leader and key policies in order to make it more representative of the different groups that fall within the umbrella of the Tories’ broach church.
Seemingly, there is discontent within the grassroots over the way in which Boris Johnson was forced out of No. 10, and trust is breaking down between the leadership and the members.
Ahead of the local elections, members have told Conservative Post that they will instead vote for Reform UK or even not vote at all in order to put across to the Parliamentary party how angry they are about the direction it has taken over the last year.
But the 23-year-old urges members to stick with the Tories this May to avoid splitting the vote and allowing for Labour, the Lib Dem’s and Independents to win council seats across the country.
Instead, he argues that the members need to pull together in order to strengthen the position of the party and get behind Sunak for the sake of party unity and the country.
“The party needs to reach out and remember who their members are. This is about the soul of the Conservative party”, he said.
“If we don’t have members who feel that they are listened to… people are going to start to say ‘what’s the point’?
“[Members] don’t get to choose their leader, they don’t actually get a say in policy, they don’t get any representation on the national stage – particularly younger members.”
He added that the Tory leadership needs to show acknowledgement for the grassroots by assuring them they are being listened to, and is calling for the “structure” of the party to change.
“An elected party chairman would be a great way of that starting…
“I think it’s important that people share their views and that their views are heard. That’s all we’re saying here at CDO.”
The Conservatives have typically always found it challenging to attract younger voters given that the majority of young people tend to be left leaning. But it is not an insurmountable barrier to securing votes from young people, Kane says.
Whilst Kane explains cancel culture is proving difficult to overcome, he argues that “there are a lot of young people who don’t subscribe to this woke agenda,” adding: “We need to be reaching out to them and saying that if you believe in honesty, if you believe in truth, democracy, the right to freedom of speech, then the Conservative Party is your home.
By William Hallowell.
Photo credits: Kane Blackwell.
