Don’t forget your core voters, Mr Hammond

TERRIFIED by Jeremy Corbyn’s success at luring young people into the Labour fold with his false promises, the Tories are desperately exploring ways of winning them over. The dangers of doing so at the expense of their core vote can hardly be overstated.

The pro-Labour surge is seen as proof of growing resentment among the young that they don’t have the advantages enjoyed by older generations – free higher education, affordable homes, generous pensions.

So in a bid to redress the intergenerational balance, Chancellor Philip Hammond is said to be planning a raid on older taxpayers in next month’s budget, to fund tax breaks for young workers.

This may take the form of yet another attack on pension relief – reducing the amount people can save tax-free each year, or cutting the lifetime allowance. But Mr Hammond should beware. There are two huge pitfalls in this approach.

Firstly, the pension system has been so mercilessly fleeced by successive chancellors since 1997 that it’s already in crisis. Another hit could fatally undermine trust in saving for retirement.

Secondly – and more crucial politically – older people tend to be Tory supporters (61 per cent of over-50s voted Conservative in the election). So an attack on pension relief is an attack on the Tory grassroots. Has the Chancellor any concept of how dangerous it is to take these people for granted?

Just look back to the general election. Manifesto proposals for a ‘dementia tax’, means-testing the old people’s heating allowance and breaking the pensions triple-lock incensed traditional supporters so deeply that many deserted the party. After seemingly cruising to a landslide, the Conservatives lost their majority. Mr Hammond should also remember what a disaster his first budget was, after he tried to increase national insurance contributions for another huge group of traditional Tories – the self-employed.

When told this would be a breach of manifesto commitments, he was forced into a humiliating U-turn.

Another shambolic performance this time will surely cost him his job.

The Mail has this message for him: Young people want affordable houses, well-paid jobs and manageable student loans. They won’t be bought off with token tax breaks.

So don’t alienate your bedrock supporters in a fruitless quest for the youth vote. It would be an act of senseless self-harm – and won’t achieve its objective anyway.