The only thing the Conservatives' youth campaign has activated is utter hilarity

How arrogant must they be to think that a couple of half-baked memes and a glorified Young Conservatives club will do anything to reverse their actions in government? It’s almost like – shock horror – they don’t understand us

The current Tory cabinet are not renowned for their youth engagement skills (Reuters)

Momentum, the grassroots organisation created to harness the energy of the movement surrounding Jeremy Corbyn, was credited as a force to be reckoned with over the election campaign. So much so that senior Tories claimed that they had a “lot to learn” from the organisation, despite spending the last two years insinuating that it was a dangerous cult to be feared, instead of copied.

Their Momentum equivalent, “Activate”, is aimed at 18-25 year olds, and claims that its purpose is to whip up enthusiasm for centre-right politics. It’s safe to say that the launch has not been as successful as the Tories would have hoped. Many have said that Activate sounds like a cut-price painkiller that promises a full recovery but actually does very little – a fitting tribute to Theresa May’s time in office so far.

Not only that, but despite claiming it to be an “independent grassroots campaign”, it’s pretty evident by looking at the People section of their website that it’s merely a handful of Conservative students being told what to do by a few old-hands from local party machines. How liberating!

They do deserve a bit of credit, though. It’s already caught the attention of plenty of young people. It just so happens that the vast majority of those who are engaging with it are doing so simply to mock it. The only thing it’s activated thus far is an abundance of people letting them know what a cringe-worthy attempt at getting “down with the kids” this really is.

The thing the Conservatives seem to forget is that they can’t change their in-office record of anti-youth policies with a meme or two. If they really cared about the youth vote, they wouldn’t have persisted with such damaging policies over the last seven years.

They implemented a staggering rise in tuition fees, scrapped housing benefits for 18-21 year olds, cut the Education Maintenance Allowance and reduced funding for vital mental health services. It’s clear that they’re only beginning to perk up now because they’re on the ropes.

How arrogant must they be to think that a couple of half-baked memes and a glorified Young Conservatives club will do anything to reverse their actions in government? It’s almost like – shock horror – they don’t understand us.

It also shows a complete lack of understanding as to what Momentum actually is, or as to why Jeremy Corbyn succeeded in garnering young support when so many other politicians have failed.

Momentum’s social media strategy was sophisticated, and it was clear that during the election campaign they were breaking out of typical Labour circles and having a tangible impact on people’s timelines. In an age where more and more people are getting their news and political content on social media, their ability to create such shareable, emotive content meant that they brought a whole new layer of young (and old) supporters to the Corbyn project and harnessed their energy in the form of initiatives like Momentum Carpool.

Activate, on the other hand, sounds like another pathetic Tory talking shop in the making. Why? Because they can titillate about how bad Jeremy Corbyn is all they want, but it won’t make a shred of difference. The right-wing media have been vilifying him since he was elected Labour leader – but he still managed to defy the odds in June. If they are continuing with their traditional tactics of undermining the opposition with baseless rhetoric, then they haven’t learned much since the election.

In truth, the young want real and significant policy change, and a politician that isn’t part of the careerist establishment that has wilfully abandoned them – and that is something that the Conservatives will never be able to copy from Corbyn, no matter how badly they grovel to the youth who so ardently rejected them.