By Sophie Corcoran.
Young people currently don’t feel recognised by the Conservatives.
We often feel that there is nothing for us. Both externally, with the policies offered towards young people and our parties desire to win them over. Then also internally, within our own party, opportunities are lacking and there is little chance to get involved, learn and develop.
The only leadership contender that truly recognises this, and what’s to change it, is Priti Patel.
It’s widely known to all of us that have been involved for a while that Priti Patel is the best person to have at a fundraiser, not because she makes the most rousing of speeches, but because she actually wants to be there.
Priti loves the members, she values them, she tries to understand them. She doesn’t just turn up and put on a fake smile because she has too.
Priti loves the members, she values them, she tries to understand them. She doesn’t just turn up and put on a fake smile because she has too.
She understands what young people want from our government, houses, opportunities, low taxes and to reconnect with the old British philosophy that if you work hard, you will succeed.
She understands what young people want internally from our party. We want to be listened to, we want opportunities, we want guidance, we want to get involved and be part of something.
We want to be listened to, we want opportunities, we want guidance, we want to get involved and be part of something.
She understands the need for the Conservatives to appeal to young people both nationally as our electoral future depends on it, but also internally, as the future of our party depends on giving young people a chance.
As Conservatives, we value three things, democracy, opportunity and the idea that if you work hard you can succeed. That is what we want for Britain, yet we currently practice none of that internally within our own party. That’s where we are going wrong.
Priti will fix that.
This leadership contest needs to be more than just national policy, but about how they plan to change our party for the better. I’ve been a little apprehensive about backing a leader too early. But in my view Priti Patel is the best option for young people, not only in terms of encouraging young people to vote Conservative, what also valuing them as future leaders.
The future of our party both electorally and internally depends on young people and Priti is the only one who gets that.
Sophie Corcoran is a broadcaster, journalist, political candidate and reality TV personality.
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I agree that Patel is the “best” – of the available choices, of whom at least 4 others are One Nation wets.
It’s not only about what’s best for young people opr any one group of people, but what is best or the country – and all teh probems young people list are problems for every generation. partly, this is because older people want their kids to succeed and because, for a coountry to be successful, its young people need o be its future.
The problems with Patel are:
1. The parliamentary party consists of 80-90% wets. She cannot lead those people when they fundamentally diagree with her beliefs.
2. She won’t win. The polling shows this. However, she my not want to win now, but perhaps closer to an election.
Note that the fundamental issue here is that the conservative associations no longer choose their candidate, it is often imposed by CCHQ. That llows the wets to proliferate. until the CPP is flushed and a new wave of association-selected MPs replaces it, this will be an insurmountable problem.
NOTE: when the assocs choose MPs, the MPs can decide the leader for themselves, no need for a member vote, since they will only be able to choose from sensible candidates. This worked in the past and would work again. The “broad church” thing is now far too braod, the part has been infiltrated in a way that was not possible while the associations weeded out any infiltrators – they would normally know their candidate for years before they became a candidate, since they’d be olocal people, part of their community.
Lower interest rates and lower immigration- Rushi Sunak should have waited longer to call the general election ( see article in independent)
Perhaps – the word is that he thought Reform UK would mobilise and chew into Conservative support.
But in any analysis, it was a daft decision.