Boris Johnson to reunite with veteran Australian political strategist to save job

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will turn to his longtime ally, Australian political strategist Lynton Crosby, to help save his leadership after vowing to get a grip on his government following a damning report into lockdown parties at Downing Street.

Johnson is facing a police investigation over at least four lockdown parties he was directly involved in as Scotland Yard detectives examine more than 300 photographs connected to the events. His future as the Conservative Party leader remains in limbo after an inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray accused Downing Street of serious failures of “leadership and judgment” over some events, at which “excessive quantities” of alcohol were drunk.

Australian political strategist Sir Lynton Crosby will be called upon to help save Boris Johnson’s leadership. Credit: Magnus Agren/AP

Gray’s report said staff in No 10 had not met the “high standards expected of the entire British population” as she disclosed she had investigated 16 alleged parties, 12 of which are being looked at by the police. Four of them involve the prime minister directly.

Johnson promised a meeting of Tory MPs “I get it and I will fix it”, several outlets reported, and was cheered when he told them Sir Lynton, long dubbed “the Wizard of Oz” by the British press, would give him regular strategic advice as part of a Downing Street shakeup.

Described as a “master of the dark political arts”, the veteran elections guru was widely credited with helping David Cameron’s Conservative Party win the 2015 general election after five years of coalition government. Cameron was widely expected to lose that election following a post-GFC austerity drive and Crosby was in turn, knighted for his contribution.

He has previously worked with Johnson to secure two consecutive victories as mayor of London in 2008 and 2012. The pair have remained close since and he has had the ear of the PM since he replaced Theresa May in 2019.

The son of a cereal farmer, Sir Lynton grew up in rural South Australia, becoming involved in politics and eventually being appointed Liberal Party federal director in 1997. He was part of the party’s successful campaigns at the 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2004 federal elections. In 2002, he left his formal position in the party to establish a consulting firm, the Crosby Textor Group, with pollster Mark Textor.

The pair played key roles in the early success of then-prime minister John Howard, targeting white working-class voters who felt forgotten by the progressive side of politics, known then as “Howard’s Battlers,” in key marginal seats.

Sir Lynton was first recruited to Britain by then-Conservative opposition leader Michael Howard for his 2005 campaign against Tony Blair. The party gained some seats in that election, but it was still a comfortable win for the Labour government.

Some of the British press made much of the idea that Michael Howard’s so-called “dog-whistle politics” had been imported from Australia only to be widely rejected by the constituency. Sir Lynton has since also served as an adviser for centre-right parties in Canada, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. At the 2009 European Parliament elections, he acted as a consultant for Libertas, a pan-European party.

Many Tory MPs want Johnson to refocus on core issues raised by their constituents and believe the constant scandal, dubbed “partygate” by Fleet Street, remains a huge distraction that has severely damaged their standing in opinion polls.

Former PM Theresa May, now a backbencher, condemned her successor on the floor of the House of Commons.

“Either [the prime minister and his staff] had not read the rules or did not understand what they meant, or they didn’t think they applied to No 10,” she said. “Which was it?”

In a speech to Policy Exchange in London in 2019, Sir Lynton warned the decline in trust towards Western institutions in recent years could be a major problem for political leaders.

“The powers people relied on – religious institutions, financial institutions, political institutions, the media and more – were once the bedrock of trust and the foundation for progress. Now they are increasingly challenged by the community,” he said.

“It is hard to build a national consensus amid so much polarisation, anger and declining trust.

“We need to make sure that politicians are connecting with the people they represent in our democracy and anchoring what they do to the values that people hold dear.”

But for Johnson, his reputation in tatters and facing resignation from within his party room, those words of wisdom might be too late.