Richard Farmer's Daily Email Briefing

Timely insights into politics.
Every weekday morning.

BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

FREE trial

NEWS AND VIEWS
Australia

Other Countries

£1 for Every Extra Vote

Thursday, 27th April, 2006

Humiliated by their loss to Tony Blair's New Labour in 2001, the British Conservative Party turned in 2005 to the Australian Lynton Crosby to improve their fortunes. Fresh from successes at home for John Howard, Crosby signed on for a fee of £441,000 and £27,000 for accommodation – a total all up equivalent to $A1,123,270. Not a bad earn for a few months work but what did the Conservatives get for their money? Well certainly not the victory they were after.

In 2001 without the Australian political guru's advice they got 8,357,292 votes or 31.7% of the national total. With Lynton on board in 2005 the total vote rose to 8,785,941 or 32.4% of the total. In other words an extra 428,649 votes at a cost of £1.09 ($A2.62) a vote or, in percentage terms, £668571 a percentage point.

The figures on election spending disclosed yesterday by Britain's electoral commission show why it is that both Labour and the Conservatives would be out of business but for secret loans from wealthy supporters in the business community. Labour and the Tories between them spent £18 million and the Liberal Democrats £4 million. Lynton Crosby's fee was £62,000 less than Prime Minister Tony Blair paid the American pollster Mark Penn who was recommended to him by Bill Clinton.

Disclosure: If there is a hint of envy in this piece it is because I worked on Bob Hawke's election campaigns for payment for a month as a junior stenographer and that was only paid to meet the requirement that only staff members could travel free on CIP jets used for campaigning.