The Tories have “nothing” to offer young people and risk being thrown into a “death spiral”, a leading party figure has admitted.
Paul Goodman, editor of Conservative Home, warned the government faces a reckoning from voters unable to get on the housing ladder.
The former MP accused ministers of failing to build enough houses as backbenchers resist changes to the planning system.
Mr Goodman said those thwarting housebuilding have “nothing convincing” to say to those who do not own their own home.
In an article on Conservative Home. he wrote: “Young people aren’t stupid. Whatever Conservative MPs may say, they can hear the music: that there’s nothing on offer for them.
“Why should they vote Tory if the Party shuts them out from ownership and capital?”
Mr Goodman warned the Conservatives cannot ‘win elections on the votes of the retired alone”. “The party risks being dragged down by a death spiral - literally,” he added.
The Conservative Home editor said the “explosion” of anger on the Tory backbenchers over proposed changes to the planning system “goes on, rolling on like a fireball to engulf all in its wake”.
His remarks come after Rishi Sunak pulled a vote on housebuilding legislation to avoid a humiliating revolt by his own MPs.
The PM faced his first major rebellion as dozens of Tories demanded an end to mandatory targets on how many homes should be built in different areas.
MPs were due to vote on Monday on an amendment to the flagship Levelling Up bill that would ban councils from taking targets into account when deciding on planning applications.
But the government on Tuesday announced it had pulled the vote after 47 Conservatives signed the amendment, put forward by former environment secretary Theresa Villiers.
A senior Tory MP yesterday warned the party’s backbenchers are getting more jittery about issues such as planning as they fear losing their seats at the next election.
"Anyone with a 6,000 majority is gone - it could be higher, it could be 8,000 or it could be 10,000," they told the Mirror.
"It will be worse in the North East than in the Midlands. These are the Red Wall voters who trusted us and we f***ed up, essentially."
