Conservative campaign chief behind landslide win in 2019 to return amid speculation of snap election

Isaac Levido currently works at 10 Downing Street. Photo: Leon Neil/Getty Images Europe

Tory campaign manager , inspired by the 2019 Election Victory organization, plans to return to party headquarters on a permanent basis on January 1 amid rumors of an earlier-than-expected general election.

Isaac Levido, Australian political strategist and protégé of Sir Lynton Crosby , currently works at Number 10, but will return to Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ) early next year.

The move comes after Jeremy Hunt announced in an autumn statement on Wednesday that he would cut National Insurance is up two per cent from January, meaning voters will feel the benefit before the new tax year starts in April.

This prompted him. There are rumors that Rishi Sunak, widely expected to call an election next October, could reach voters as early as May.

Mr Levido was called in by Boris Johnson in late 2019 to oversee conservatives. a list of target locations, campaign messages and a digital campaign strategy that has proven highly effective.

The Telegraph reported at the time that the 40-year-old was at his desk every day at 5.20am, in time for the meeting with key CCHQ staff at 5:40 am.

Mr Levido was reportedly instrumental in overhauling Mr Sunak's green policies over the summer, resulting in a number of key climate targets have been delayed or weakened. He also helped turn the Liberal Party around by retaining power in Australia's 2019 elections.

Earlier this year, Mr Sunak invited him to a cabinet retreat where he outlined the Tories' chances in the next elections.

Lord Finkelstein, a Conservative peer who joins some of Mr Sunak's Prime Minister's Questions prep session earlier, argued that an early election could minimize potential losses as the party remains about 20 points behind in polls.

Many of Downing Street's recent announcements have been seen as moving on an election footing, including Mr Hunt's biggest tax cut in 35 years in his autumn statement.

On Wednesday evening, former chancellor George Osborne said Mr Hunt was «opening the door to an election in May» but added it was «unlikely» Mr Sunak would actually call one.

Speaking on his podcast 'Political currency' Mr Osborne said: “He has proposed tax cuts and is insisting they come into force from January. In other words, you'll start to feel the effects by May.

“He follows Lynton Crosby's law that you can't fatten a pig on market day. Lynton Crosbie, the Conservative election strategist in the previous election, told us MPs (I remember being a fairly young MP in 2005) that you can't just use all your ammunition in a general election.

“You have to make your party attractive and you have to make people feel the benefits of your policies in the many, many months leading up to this election. So I think Jeremy Hunt opens the door to the May election, although I think Rishi Sunak is unlikely to get through.»