Only 10 per cent of voters under the age of 50 would vote Conservative in the next general election, according to a poll.
The YouGov survey of more than 2,000 adults found only 20 per cent said they would vote for Rishi Sunak’s party, while fewer than half (49 per cent) of those who backed the Tories in 2019 intend to support them, again.
The poll lays bare just how unpopular the party is with young people, with just 4 per cent of those aged between 18 and 25 saying they intend to vote Conservative, and only 12 per cent of 25 and 49-year-olds. It also shows support for the Conservatives is at its lowest level since Liz Truss’ final days as prime minister.
It comes after a testing week for the prime minister, who staved off a major rebellion over his flagship Rwanda policy.
The Rwanda bill passed its third reading on Wednesday night after days of Tory infighting, as 60 Conservatives backed rebel amendments to the government bill.
Only 11 Conservative MPs voted against the government, but the highly-publicised conflict has exposed deep divisions in the party over the legislation and Mr Sunak’s leadership.
Mr Sunak also faced further criticism on Monday when the Telegraph published a YouGov survey, commissioned by several Tory donors led by Lord Frost, which showed the Conservatives were on track for a 1997-style electoral wipeout, set to retain as few as 169 seats.
Lord Frost, who called for a new Conservative leader back in December, told the Telegraph that the only way to reverse the trend was to be “as tough as it takes” on immigration, reverse tax increases and do a U-turn on renewable energy measures.
The latest survey has also revealed that right-wing party Reform UK has hit its highest-ever level of support at 12 per cent, and that one in four (25 per cent) of 2019 Conservative voters now say they plan to vote for the challenger party.
Labour is also set to make gains, giving them a lead of 27 points – the largest since Mr Sunak became prime minister.
On Thursday, Mr Sunak gave a press conference to assuage fears around the progress of the immigration bill and disunity in his party.
He said: “The House of Commons has spoken. The Conservative Party has come together. The Rwanda bill has passed. It’s now for the Lords to pass this bill too. This is an urgent national priority.”
Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said that instead of tackling economic issues “Rishi Sunak’s government is too busy fighting over an unworkable and expensive policy that is destined to fail”.
“It just confirms how desperately out of touch and out of ideas this Conservative government is. We urgently need a general election so we can finally put an end to this cycle of Conservative chaos and get on with tackling the huge challenges facing us all,” he added.
