Younger voters will never back ‘anti-EU and populist’ Tories, ex-cabinet ministers warn

Michael Heseltine says Brexit will be ’high on the agenda’ if Liz Truss loses general election

The Tories will never win back younger voters as an anti-Europe and populist party, former cabinet ministers have warned – as they called for trade links with EU to be rebuilt.

Michael Heseltine said the mistakes from Brexit will be “high on the agenda” if Liz Truss loses the next general election, predicting “a new agenda to appeal to a younger generation”,

David Gauke predicted a bleak long-term future for the Conservatives, warning it was struggling to appeal to “people born after 1960” even before the botched mini-budget crashed its poll ratings in recent days.

He told a fringe meeting, hosted by the European Movement: “It’s got to change direction and not be a socially conservative, nationalist, populist party. It’s got to appeal to more liberal-minded voters.”

The former work and pensions secretary, who broke with the Tories over Brexit, called for “at the very least a sensible debate about membership of the customs union”, to ease the damage from Brexit.

But, although “economic logic” pointed in that direction, Mr Gauke said of the prospects for a Conservative rethink, “Is there any sign of that happening imminently? I’m not that optimistic.”

Lord Heseltine, a former deputy prime minister, said immigration and the environment were the “two great issues” for the future, adding: “There will need to be a European process in that and we need to be part of that – to lead it.”

The peer said he had no wish to “forecast the demise of the Conservative Party”, but said further U-turns from Kwasi Kwarteng would be needed to revive its fortunes quickly.

“It will require a very impressive feat of political leadership and it needs to start today. Like this afternoon,” he told the meeting in Birmingham.

Lord Heseltine urged the prime minister not to pack the cabinet with loyal supporters, but to take the “talent off the back benches, not the cronies off the back benches”.

He said there was “appalling” short-termism in politics and leaders had to tackle that by appointing “ministers who know what the heck they are doing”.

On the mini-budget fiasco, Lord Heseltine said: “What was the plan? They either had a plan – in which case, why don’t they publish it? Or perhaps there was no plan. And that is serious.”

He contrasted that approach with the way Margaret Thatcher governed, when he was a cabinet minister, and warned that there were “no short-term miracles to growth”.

Mr Gauke, also former Treasury chief secretary, predicted another government U-turn over the plan to cut benefits in real terms, as a route to get a grip on debt.

“I cannot see how they can refuse to increase in line with inflation, given the pledges that have been made and given the current situation of a very significant cost of living crisis,” he said.