I argued that if the Conservative Party ever hoped to engage the next generation of conservatives and win voters under the age of 40, a greater emphasis in speaking the language of younger people, on the channels that they used, was essential.
One consequence of this interest and my ConHome article, was that I ended up working for a variety of UK and international politicians to improve their online communications. Some of whom, namely James Cleverly and David Cameron, built a decent reputation for engaging and effective digital comms.
Both James and David understood that fully committing and buying into authentic digital communications can help you to cut through. For James, it meant highlighting his heritage and affable personality by getting him to review the Diplomat and compare different kinds of Jollof rice from West Africa. For David, it meant leveraging his fluency, clarity and pre-established statesmanlike demeanour by simply explaining an issue whilst walking.
At the 2019 election, digital campaigning was put front and centre of the party’s electoral machine. Today it is universally recognised that being able to reach and influence people online is vital to winning an election.
But if interest in digital communications has increased, why did our vote share amongst young people fall to its lowest level since 2015?
And more importantly, how should Kemi Badenoch use digital to change this and renew the party’s fortunes?
We lost the online battle in 2024 election not because the party lacked the creative edge to cut through, but because digital was treated as an extension of a failed traditional communications strategy. When your message to the country is the same as your message to the Telegraph, you shouldn’t be surprised that people stop listening.
The truth of how to fix it is a simple one. The problems that have plagued the party more generally have also seeped into how the party communicates online. At its core, this is seen most clearly through a desire to preach to the converted rather than offering mass appeal for the rest of the country.
In digital terms, the party is still only interested in speaking to and shoring up the Conservative base and the already engaged Westminster Twitterati. In the bowels of CCHQ recently the majority of the senior leadership quietly sees digital as an extension of speaking to the press and the traditional media. The consequences of this are that an interview with a lobby hack will always be prioritised over providing the resources and time to speak to the country directly online.
Politicians and CCHQ staff understand the importance of effective online communication – even publicly evangelising how impactful it can be for swinging an election. But the truth is that in practice using social media, online advertising and digital communications always came second to the same old traditional methods of talking to voters.
Institutionally, the Party hasn’t changed since 2016.
This issue was compounded by a leadership contest which heavily incentivises speaking only to members and MPs, with candidates ruthlessly focussed exclusively on messages and online content that will chime with this tiny, notoriously offline group. This approach makes sense in that MPs and members were the only electorate, the approach and focus that wins you a leadership contest is not sufficient for winning the rest of the country.
Instead of speaking to the whole country, the party will stick to what it knows. This is true of both policy and publicity, as the party seems poised to continue shoring up a narrow group of journalists in Westminster and individuals over the age of 60.
So what should Kemi do to change this.
1. Make the party truly, ‘digital first.’
For every announcement or action that the Conservative Party takes, make the primary method of communication digital. Why prioritise a notoriously fickle group of lobby hacks (with no guarantee on what they will write) over a medium of communication where you have total control over your own message?
The structure of Kamala Harris’ digital team for TikTok consists of a 22 year old making the content and a single 24 year old clearing it. When you effectively delegate the medium to people who have no concept of a world without it, you’re more likely to achieve the reach and impact you’re looking for. The next leader should take note of the benefits of empowering your digital team and putting them in the driver’s seat of your strategy.
For the party to come to grips with the digital age, it must transition to placing its most effective method of communication as the primary lever for influencing people. Today, this method is digital, not an op-ed in the newspapers
Take one lesson from Boris Johnson, who understood the power of being his own publisher. During the 2019 campaign, he leveraged direct communication to bypass traditional media gatekeepers. Broadcast appearances were seen as an opportunity for online content generation, rather than thinking that anyone tuning in will change their vote. When you prioritise digital, you don’t have to rely on the morning round to get your message out.
2. Reach the people where they actually are, not where they’re already listening.
Politicians in this country only look at and care about X/Twitter. No one is changing their mind on this platform as users are completely unreceptive to any form of challenge or minor difference of opinion. On a platform where you are constantly bombarded with lukewarm takes, now populated with occasional Musk fuelled conspiracy theories, the Party will not win back the swathes of voters who turned against the Conservatives.
The next leader should put time, money and attention behind the channels which “normal” non-political individuals actually use. Commentators and journalists who have never run a campaign and don’t know their CTR from their CPM will whinge and whine that the digital strategy isn’t working because it isn’t focussed on them. Ignore these individuals and stay ruthlessly focussed on the feedback loop of how real people, not contrived media personalities, are reacting to your message.
3. Talk about things people actually care about, not what you think they care about.
A large percentage of voters obviously care about immigration, but don’t see the link between the ECHR and stopping the boats. A large percentage of voters obviously care about their personal finances and the cost of living, but don’t see how changes to CGT or National Insurance impact their lives.
To effectively shift people online, the party needs to be ruthlessly focussed on communicating policies and perspectives that people actually understand – not think tank wonkery. How many people in this country genuinely care about the difference between a migration cap of 100,000 vs 200,000, or believe it addresses their concerns regarding legal migration? How many people will be swayed by promising to create a taskforce or government unit to address a particular issue?
The best way to communicate online is to engage with issues that people actually understand. Simple, clear policies communicated through an engaging narrative are the best way to land this message.
Beside these three changes and a variety of more technical fixes required (more money, restructuring and actually engaging creative to name a few), any new party leader has to know what they stand for and want to say. Social media and digital communications are a way to deliver a message, not the message itself. You might have the most interesting creative, the most effective ads and the most optimised strategy, but if there isn’t a strong message to communicate then the voice of the Party will not be heard.
Kemi’s greatest asset is the strength of her principles.
Social media doesn’t do nuance, so to have a leader who unashamedly knows what she stands for is an ideal online contrast to Starmer’s lack of conviction. She should lean into using digital as the primary medium for highlighting this distinction.
My message to Kemi is clear.
Prioritise digital over traditional media, but when it comes to message don’t place style over substance.
