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The Conservative Party will open a new campaign headquarters in Leeds in an attempt to fill the areas of the old “red wall” that helped Boris Johnson rise to power in the last election.
Amanda Milling, the party’s co-chair, was to open the Conservative party’s online conference on Saturday with the announcement that staff would move to Leeds to focus attention on the region.
“We are determined to show our commitment to blue wall seating,” Milling was expected to say. “That is why I am pleased to announce that CCHQ [Conservative Campaign HQ] will open a headquarters in Leeds.
“This new headquarters will provide the party with a base in the heart of the blue wall because we are there for the long term. We are determined to make the blue wall part of the fabric of our party and our country ”.
A large number of seats in the North of England, the Midlands and parts of Wales voted for Conservative candidates, some of them for the first time in their history, in the 2019 general election, giving Johnson a landslide victory.
“The best way we can deliver to people is to be there,” Milling was expected to say.
The party’s current base is on Matthew Parker Street, near Westminster in London. Their goal is to open the headquarters in Leeds next year.
“Leeds is a key part of our plan to better rebuild for the people of this country and building a campaign presence there reinforces our commitment to that task,” Milling said.
Boris Johnson has said he wants to create a “generation buy”, where young people are helped to buy homes with mortgages that require low deposits.
The prime minister will deliver his speech at the conference on Tuesday and, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, signaled his intention to refocus efforts on his manifest commitment to “level up” across the UK.
The Conservative leader told the newspaper that he believed a large number of people felt excluded from home ownership. He said his government would “fix” the problem by helping people climb the property ladder with mortgages that require as little as a 5% deposit.
“I think a huge number of people feel totally excluded from capitalism, from the idea of home ownership, which is so vital to our society,” he told the Telegraph. “Let’s fix that – ‘generation buy’ is what we’re looking for.”
He said low-deposit mortgages could be “absolutely revolutionary” for young people.
The Telegraph reported that Johnson had asked ministers to work on plans that encourage long-term fixed-rate mortgages with 5% deposits.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was due to deliver his speech at the virtual conference on Saturday afternoon, with other cabinet ministers participating in interviews and panel events throughout the four days of the event.
