Johnson advised by guru credited with ‘miracle’ Australian poll victory
BORIS JOHNSON is being advised by Sir Lynton Crosby on his leadership bid after the Tory election guru was said to have been responsible for Scott Morrison’s “miracle” election victory.
The political strategist is understood to have advised the Australian prime minister behind the scenes for weeks in the run-up to his surprise win. The result has added to speculation that Mr Johnson regards him as an essential part of his campaign.
Mr Johnson speaks to Sir Lynton, who ran the last Tory general election campaign, “every day”, but has made no decision yet on whether to ask him to join his team in a formal capacity.
Meanwhile, Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, has become the latest Cabinet minister to entertain the idea of a leadership bid. Mr Barclay refused to rule himself out of the forthcoming leadership race when asked four times if he planned to run.
He also made an apparent dig at his leadership rivals. “The good thing about my job is I have so much to do I don’t need to be posing in kitchens,” he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
Mr Barclay said preparations for a nodeal Brexit would have to be stepped up if Theresa May’s deal was defeated next month. “If Parliament won’t back a deal … I do think we need to bring forward our preparations to mitigate no deal,” he said. His comments were at odds with Rory Stewart, his Cabinet colleague, who told the BBC’S Andrew Marr Show that if he got the keys to No 10, he would “legislate” to take both no deal and another referendum “off the table”.
Today, Sajid Javid, another leadership contender, gives a speech setting out the UK’S role in countering terrorism and sets out recently introduced powers allowing the Home Secretary to ban Britons from travelling to or remaining in specific designated areas.
Would-be Tory leaders have been warned the race to replace Mrs May is “not a reality TV contest”, however.
Tobias Ellwood, the defence minister, said: “We seem to be clambering over each other – in many cases to heighten profiles. Some of the photo shoots we are seeing have raised eyebrows and are making us look very selfindulgent. This is the highest office in the land. We must respect it.
“The party’s competence has taken a hit. We’re being judged. We will have a proper leadership contest, the Prime Minister has ensured that. We should be crafting exciting policies to inspire and attract more people to the party.”
Tomorrow, Philip Hammond will warn leadership candidates against populism and the ideology of “easy answers”. In a speech to businesses at the CBI’S annual dinner, the Chancellor is expected to say candidates must have an “optimistic vision but one grounded in reality”, and should not try to “outradicalise” Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Hammond will remind MPS about the “ideas that anchored the party”, including prudent economic policy, saying: “The Conservative party can’t just be about Brexit.”
He will also caution against a “spending spree” – a warning to candidates, including Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab, who have promised increases in spending and income tax cuts.
Mr Ellwood, who supported Remain, told Sky TV: “Some colleagues are changing their views in order to woo our membership and to raise their profile. This is getting things in the wrong order.” He said later: “We need to be the party that delivers Brexit, not the Brexit party.”