A focused and accountable drive to build the grassroots is required. It can be done, but it requires difficult questions and honest answers.
As he battled the agri-barons, and Thatcher battled the union barons, so we must champion the underdog against the corporatist barons of today.
As Cameron once reached new voters by focusing on the environment, so the leader after May should take up the fight for gender equality.
The Conservative Party, and its crop of new think-tanks, is full of zeal for new ideas. But they could be asking the wrong question.
They’re right to ask the question. If the answer comes back that May’s plan is harming the Tory campaign machine and electoral prospects, what will they do?
The tension can be seen in the way the Prime Minister’s sensible effort at Chequers clashes with the deeply-seated values of many in the Party’s grassroots.
There are early signs of a common profile of the seats chosen as targets.
The issue lies in the Party’s image and how it communicates with voters, not the actual message.
It would be easy, but mistaken, to take the path of least resistance and simply re-enact the dated Cameron ‘modernising’ agenda.
Understanding what makes these voters tick could be key to the outcome of the next election. No party can afford to ignore them.
They might think him crass, or judge him to be over-reaching – but they haven’t come up with any equivalent ideas themselves. It’s time to announce some popular stuff.
Underpinned by a guarantee of a real-terms increase at minimum, this would help to draw the poison from the issue – particular for Conservatives.
The Conservatives need a strategy to dominate VR, a presence in voice-controlled tech and – yes – a ‘Maybot’ chatbot.
The idea that those now entering old age somehow had it easy is completely wrong. And so is the myth that they are intolerant and narrow-minded.
Someone has to take control of the Government grid and plot a series of activities designed to reinforce each other and to build a positive narrative.