'˜We need to bring young back to the Tories'

THE CONSERVATIVES need a political message that will appeal to voters in major cities, First Secretary Damian Green will say today.
Damian GreenDamian Green
Damian Green

Mr Green, effectively Theresa May’s deputy, will make the case for “City Conservativism” at a conference organised by the Bright Blue group.

He will tell the event that the party needs “a distinctive Conservative message is in our cities”.

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He will say: “We have already achieved a huge amount ,with the creation of genuine local power centres through the Mayors, and the growing number of City Deals which put large sums of money under the control of local institutions to regenerate and develop the cities.

‘We clearly are getting no electoral credit for this, partly because we have not developed and clear message about why we are doing this.

“The message is a combination of two essential Conservative principles. First, that decisions should be taken as locally as is practical. Secondly, that it is only through individual flair and ideas and freedoms that the dynamism of a great city comes to pass.

“All the central planning in the world does not create a London or Manchester or Glasgow—creative places where millions of disparate individuals find their own niche, and create new communities.

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“Building on this to create a new City Conservatism is one of our challenges.”

Mr Green will argue the Conservative Party will need to “think hard, work hard, and change hard” as it looks to win the next general election.

He will tell the conferencerthat it is “clear” that the party failed to win a majority last month’s general election because of Labour’s success in appealing to voters aged 18 to 35.

“If we are to bring young, educated, working Britain back to the Conservative Party, we need to make a reality of the promise to build a country that works for everyone,” Mr Green will say.

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