In 1949, the Young Conservatives boasted 160,000 members. They were the largest political youth organisation in the free world. Their social events were iconic and thousands of marriages, it was said, had been formed after encounters at Young Conservative committee meetings or balls. But by the mid-1960s, the organisation was declining; by the 1980s, it was in freefall. So what happened to the Young Conservatives? And can the Tories, or any other party, engage young people once again as members?
In this episode, the following books are mentioned:
'Planes, Trains and Toilet Doors' by Matt Chorley
'Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democacy' by Peter Mair
You can read the latest articles on the Since Attlee & Churchill Substack, and listen to our special podcast on the 1955 general election, at www.sinceattleeandchurchill.com.
Since Attlee & Churchill is the podcast all about post-war British political history, hosted by:
Lee David Evans is an historian of the Conservative Party and the John Ramsden Fellow at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary, University of London. He is on social media @LeeDavidEvansUK.
Richard Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and among his other areas of expertise is an historian of the Labour Party. He tweets at @richardmarcj.