Boris brings in election guru Lynton Crosby for ‘strategic advice’

Boris Johnson is bringing in election guru Sir Lynton Crosby in a desperate bid to steady his premiership after a snap poll found two thirds of Britons do not accept the PM’s Partygate apology. 

The premier told Tory MPs last night that he will be taking regular ‘strategic advice’ from Sir Lynton who ran election campaigns under David Cameron and helped Mr Johnson become Mayor of London.

The Times reported that Mr Johnson had recently urged the Australian to join Number 10 full-time as his new chief of staff but the offer was declined. 

However, Mr Johnson will be hoping that the promise of regular discussions with Sir Lynton will help to win back the support of many Tory MPs who have demanded a Number 10 shake-up. 

The move came as a Savanta ComRes survey found 65 per cent of people did not accept Mr Johnson’s apology yesterday following the publication of Sue Gray’s Partygate update.

The poll also found that almost seven in 10 people believe Mr Johnson should resign.      

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab confirmed this morning that Sir Lynton will return to help the Tories focus on voter priorities.   

Mr Raab told LBC Radio that voters, MPs and the Prime Minister want the Conservative Party to ‘get back to doing the job that people elected us to do’.

‘Lynton Crosby is an important element of that,’ Mr Raab said.

‘He has got a good strategic nose and a good sense of the direction of public opinion and a good place – not to formulate, that’s not what we do – but to test the work that we are doing to make sure we are nailing the priorities of the people.’

Mr Johnson apologised to MPs yesterday after senior Cabinet Office official Ms Gray found ‘failures of leadership and judgment’ over gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall while England was under coronavirus restrictions in 2020 and 2021. 

Ms Gray’s update revealed that the Met Police are currently investigating 12 separate events.

The PM said in the House of Commons: ‘I will address the report’s findings in this statement, but first I want to say sorry. I am sorry for the things we simply did not get right and sorry for the way this matter has been handled.’

He added: ‘But it is not enough to say sorry. This is a moment when we must look at ourselves in the mirror, and we must learn.’ 

A snap poll conducted after the PM’s statement found 65 per cent of people did not accept Mr Johnson’s apology while three in ten (29 per cent) said that they did. 

Some 69 per cent of voters believe Mr Johnson should resign while 68 per cent said the PM and the Government cannot be trusted to deliver for the British people.        

Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta ComRes, said: ‘In many respects, the PM’s statement in the Commons felt like groundhog day, with Johnson choosing to answer questions with a plea to wait for the Met’s investigation into the Partygate scandal to conclude. 

‘However, the mood was undoubtedly more sour than in previous weeks, with a number of his own MP’s not holding back in their anger at the alleged conduct of Number 10.

‘And, it seems the public are equally unforgiving in their assessment of the Prime Minister. 

‘Not only does a significant majority want him to resign, but in direct response to Johnson’s apology and a direct assertion that the country would rather he and his government focus on other things, most say they don’t accept it and simply don’t trust him to deliver.’