It has been a largely successful undertaking. Today, membership of Conservative Future (CF) is about 15,000. Ben Howlett, who retired as CF chairman in March after three years in office, has done much to improve the standing of an organisation that was seen as toxic by the main party. He has increased the proportion of ethnic minority and women members (although YC events are still dominated by young men in ill-fitting suits or red corduroy trousers) and has made Conservative Future friendly towards young, gay Conservatives. When asked if CF shares its predecessor's reputation as a marriage bureau, he observes that while "John might once have joined in the hope of marrying Jane, now John joins in the hope of marrying James."

Could we ever again see a return to the electoral triumphs of the 1950s? And, properly marshalled, could Conservative Future help its party to victory in 2015? Howlett is adamant that he wouldn't want CF members turned into "leaflet fodder", but this runs counter to everything Lord Woolton achieved with his great "Operation Knocker". Woolton rightly saw that without young, industrious members "eager for action", the party would become sclerotic, aged and stagnant. Today, the average age of a Conservative Party member is 64. Many began as YCs. 

In his memoirs, Woolton wrote a touching tribute to his Young Conservatives: "They remain — and they must remain — one of the strongholds of Conservatism in this country." It is a great weakness of today's party that it lacks the support of a youth group as effective, energetic and loyal as Woolton's tennis-white YCs.