People in their twenties and thirties are being urged to phone their grandparents to persuade them to vote to stay in the European Union.
An appeal will be made to the so-called “easyJet generation” of younger, pro-EU voters to call their parents, aunts, uncles and elderly relatives to warn them about the supposed risks that Brexit poses.
Sam Gyimah, the education minister who turns 40 this year, is to front the early effort to woo younger voters who he says “have got more of their life ahead of them”. It will focus on the benefits of remaining in the EU, including the ease with which people can travel, communicate and live anywhere in Europe.
The “grab a granny” strategy, which will be introduced nationwide in the final weeks of the referendum, is based on the success of the campaign in favour of gay marriage in the Irish referendum where young people lobbying relatives is credited by some with helping to secure a 62 per cent vote in favour.
A source from the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign said: “We want to get people to ring their parents and grandparents and say, ‘I’m going to vote to stay in and I think you should too’.”
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It risks accusations of patronising older voters by suggesting that they will do whatever their children and grandchildren suggest.
Mr Gyimah told The Times that he wanted to focus on mobilising young people, who polls show are more pro-European but less likely to vote. “The way for this campaign to really come alive is to have grandparents talking to their children and grandchildren about the future of this country,” he said.
In the latest YouGov poll, 75 per cent of under-25s said they would vote to remain while almost 70 per cent of over-65s wanted to leave the EU.
Differences in turnout, however, mean that for every two voters under-25, three pensioners will vote.
Mr Gyimah said: “This is a generation that has lived its entire life while the UK has been in the European Union. This is the generation that takes for granted the fact that on a weekend they can weigh up a flight going to Manchester or Madrid.
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“They carry everything on their smartphone. Through Facebook they communicate with three times the population of Europe. Boundaries mean something different to them. They can watch a movie on their phone and when they travel to Spain, Italy, Portugal or wherever, they can take their world with them.”
He said many young adults in Britain would also be pro-EU because “some have got parents who have got holiday homes” elsewhere in Europe.
Downing Street hopes that the under-40s will “electrify” the campaign, as they did in the Scottish independence referendum, but this time in favour of the status quo.
Britain Stronger in Europe is building its base in universities, with campaigns already up and running and Megan Dunne, the NUS president, on the campaign board.
A senior figure in the Vote Leave campaign said their priority for wooing younger voters was “keeping Nigel Farage away from them — he is toxic”.
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The Remain camp said direct attacks on the Ukip leader were less effective than online videos mocking him and more positive messages about travel, climate change and living costs.
Mr Gyimah said: “The referendum matters for this generation in particular because they have got more of their life ahead of them. So the consequences of our choice here in terms of jobs and economic opportunity are absolutely real for them.”
He said Britain’s dominance in the service sector would benefit from the opening up of the single market, which will create jobs for law firms, accountancy firms and insurance companies.
He added: “The EU can be incredibly annoying and frustrating from a national government perspective but after thinking about it quite hard I came to the view that it’s a bit like being in a relationship. If all you ever looked at was what you gave and the sacrifices you are making, but not the give-and-take element, most of us would end up as singletons.
“I’m very concerned about the risk for this easyJet generation because when companies are uncertain they stop investing. The people who lose out first in their jobs are the young and the inexperienced.
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“I don’t want us to be gambling their future with this referendum. If you are 30 today or 40 years as I am, the next 10 to 20 years are probably your most productive years in life.”
