Charlotte Salomon is the Conservative PPC for Norwich North.
Unpopular opinion it may be, but we have for too long looked backwards with fated nostalgia – yearning for the day when a leader cut from the fabric of Thatcher or Churchill march into Number 10 and put the world to rights.
You can almost hear the Conservative Party membership exhale in exhausted relief. We found them. Our Blue saviour: a leader who will comfortably steer the government for another two terms. It’s a good story. But it’s for the birds.
Clinging to our past hasn’t delivered meaningful change. We’ve witnessed how it’s produced unhelpful rivalry, suspicion, and cliques in and around SW1. The Conservatives are chasing a ghost, and in so doing, have become detached from the true modernisation of politics.
A Tik-Tok video doesn’t make you a progressive or a ‘hip’ Conservative; it doesn’t translate into votes. A modern Tory leader can only become successful on their substance of mind, life experience, and an understanding of this fast-paced world. It’s not about the cadence of their message, or the timbre of their tone; it’s their recognition of modern Britain’s challenges, and proposals for mitigating risks and driving progress through policy.
The next extraordinary leader of the Conservative Party will not look, speak, or lead like Margaret Thatcher. They won’t adopt the form of Winston Churchill. They will instead be cast from a new mould – and they’ll probably be a Millennial.
As I watch my generation begin to fill leadership positions in today’s world, I remember how older generations called us irresponsible, entitled, lazy, and financially illiterate. We were largely written off, and the obstacles of owning a home, finding a job, and starting a family were met with sneering cynicism.
Nonetheless, Millennials forged their own path and built their own success, setting up 49 per cent of new businesses in the country since July 2020. The anti-Millennial sentiment was always wrong, but being underestimated, a rising generation found their grit.
Millennials are the first generation to grow up with a foot on each side of the digital age, and it handed them a unique advantage in navigating the digital landscape.
From coding in their bedrooms to creating disruptive tech solutions, Millennials are the embodiment of tech-savvy entrepreneurs. They learnt to leverage the faculty of technology to establish, disrupt, and redefine industries, comfortable in the face of uncertainty. Millennials thrive in fast-paced environments where adaptability is key.
However, beneath their valiant exteriors, many are also humble, and growing increasingly resilient with age.
A hallmark of Millennial leadership is its emphasis on collaboration and inclusivity. Growing up in a rapidly-diversifying world, Millennials have developed a keen appreciation for the benefits of different perspectives and experiences.
Unlike previous generations, Millennials are more likely to actively solicit input, ideas, and feedback from their teams on their leadership approaches, fostering a culture of open communication and collective decision-making. This willingness to listen and adapt sets them apart as leaders who will prioritise the collective success over individual egos. This is going to contrast the some (not all) of our highly regarded leaders of our past.
Last year, James Blagden, Sebastian Payne, and Bim Afolami MP published an Onward report on why Millennials weren’t finding a political home in the Conservative Party. Above all, it comes back to the fact that Millennials prioritise housing, jobs, and family – all the things we wanted and struggled for – whilst being patronised by the generations before us.
The report highlights veins of small-c conservatism. Millennials favour a low-tax outlook, a soft-capitalist society, and they’ve given little consideration to ‘wokeness’ (they never had time for inventing extra problems).
Millennials were significantly impacted by the New Labour era under Tony Blair, which flogged a narrative that securing a future relied on attending university. However, after the graduate job market became increasingly saturated, Labour left office, leaving behind rising unemployment and a crippling burden of tuition debt on a new generation.
Lastly, I can’t imagine Thatcher herself would want a party looking backwards. We’re about to see the freshest intake of Conservative contenders since 1997, and I have watched several of them enter the arena.
I know why they’re doing this. The millennial candidates were never into ringfencing their ideals; they’re not interested in nailing their colours to the mast of one or another of the five families. They’ve entered politics because they’re equipped to steer the country through a new turbulent era.
They’re Conservatives, not because they inherited the political view of their parents, but through lived experience, shared passions for progress, and a persistent drive for advancement.
We will prioritise building homes to ensure our children can live close to their families and communities; fortify the education system, recognising that further education must be calibrated to meet the needs of the economy and deliver long-term employment; and nail down food and energy security, recognising that we’re in the Goldilocks zone on environmental policy.
We will have frank and open discussions about our overstretched public services, and replace political buzzwords like ‘reform’ with actual commitments to renovation, innovation, efficiency, and modernisation. We won’t foot the bill forpensioners, and we will normalise advancement without compromising on identity.
Millennials believed in themselves when no one else did, and they (still) believe in Britain.
I remain calmly optimistic. While there will never be another Thatcher or Churchill, there will be a new type of leader in the Conservative Party. I know because I’ve seen it, in the wings. And you know what? It’s worth sticking around for.
Charlotte Salomon is the Conservative PPC for Norwich North.
Unpopular opinion it may be, but we have for too long looked backwards with fated nostalgia – yearning for the day when a leader cut from the fabric of Thatcher or Churchill march into Number 10 and put the world to rights.
You can almost hear the Conservative Party membership exhale in exhausted relief. We found them. Our Blue saviour: a leader who will comfortably steer the government for another two terms. It’s a good story. But it’s for the birds.
Clinging to our past hasn’t delivered meaningful change. We’ve witnessed how it’s produced unhelpful rivalry, suspicion, and cliques in and around SW1. The Conservatives are chasing a ghost, and in so doing, have become detached from the true modernisation of politics.
A Tik-Tok video doesn’t make you a progressive or a ‘hip’ Conservative; it doesn’t translate into votes. A modern Tory leader can only become successful on their substance of mind, life experience, and an understanding of this fast-paced world. It’s not about the cadence of their message, or the timbre of their tone; it’s their recognition of modern Britain’s challenges, and proposals for mitigating risks and driving progress through policy.
The next extraordinary leader of the Conservative Party will not look, speak, or lead like Margaret Thatcher. They won’t adopt the form of Winston Churchill. They will instead be cast from a new mould – and they’ll probably be a Millennial.
As I watch my generation begin to fill leadership positions in today’s world, I remember how older generations called us irresponsible, entitled, lazy, and financially illiterate. We were largely written off, and the obstacles of owning a home, finding a job, and starting a family were met with sneering cynicism.
Nonetheless, Millennials forged their own path and built their own success, setting up 49 per cent of new businesses in the country since July 2020. The anti-Millennial sentiment was always wrong, but being underestimated, a rising generation found their grit.
Millennials are the first generation to grow up with a foot on each side of the digital age, and it handed them a unique advantage in navigating the digital landscape.
From coding in their bedrooms to creating disruptive tech solutions, Millennials are the embodiment of tech-savvy entrepreneurs. They learnt to leverage the faculty of technology to establish, disrupt, and redefine industries, comfortable in the face of uncertainty. Millennials thrive in fast-paced environments where adaptability is key.
However, beneath their valiant exteriors, many are also humble, and growing increasingly resilient with age.
A hallmark of Millennial leadership is its emphasis on collaboration and inclusivity. Growing up in a rapidly-diversifying world, Millennials have developed a keen appreciation for the benefits of different perspectives and experiences.
Unlike previous generations, Millennials are more likely to actively solicit input, ideas, and feedback from their teams on their leadership approaches, fostering a culture of open communication and collective decision-making. This willingness to listen and adapt sets them apart as leaders who will prioritise the collective success over individual egos. This is going to contrast the some (not all) of our highly regarded leaders of our past.
Last year, James Blagden, Sebastian Payne, and Bim Afolami MP published an Onward report on why Millennials weren’t finding a political home in the Conservative Party. Above all, it comes back to the fact that Millennials prioritise housing, jobs, and family – all the things we wanted and struggled for – whilst being patronised by the generations before us.
The report highlights veins of small-c conservatism. Millennials favour a low-tax outlook, a soft-capitalist society, and they’ve given little consideration to ‘wokeness’ (they never had time for inventing extra problems).
Millennials were significantly impacted by the New Labour era under Tony Blair, which flogged a narrative that securing a future relied on attending university. However, after the graduate job market became increasingly saturated, Labour left office, leaving behind rising unemployment and a crippling burden of tuition debt on a new generation.
Lastly, I can’t imagine Thatcher herself would want a party looking backwards. We’re about to see the freshest intake of Conservative contenders since 1997, and I have watched several of them enter the arena.
I know why they’re doing this. The millennial candidates were never into ringfencing their ideals; they’re not interested in nailing their colours to the mast of one or another of the five families. They’ve entered politics because they’re equipped to steer the country through a new turbulent era.
They’re Conservatives, not because they inherited the political view of their parents, but through lived experience, shared passions for progress, and a persistent drive for advancement.
We will prioritise building homes to ensure our children can live close to their families and communities; fortify the education system, recognising that further education must be calibrated to meet the needs of the economy and deliver long-term employment; and nail down food and energy security, recognising that we’re in the Goldilocks zone on environmental policy.
We will have frank and open discussions about our overstretched public services, and replace political buzzwords like ‘reform’ with actual commitments to renovation, innovation, efficiency, and modernisation. We won’t foot the bill forpensioners, and we will normalise advancement without compromising on identity.
Millennials believed in themselves when no one else did, and they (still) believe in Britain.
I remain calmly optimistic. While there will never be another Thatcher or Churchill, there will be a new type of leader in the Conservative Party. I know because I’ve seen it, in the wings. And you know what? It’s worth sticking around for.