Lord Tebbit exposes top strategy that will give Boris Johnson stronger election results

Lord Norman Tebbit claimed Boris Johnson has mastered a better-performing "electoral machine" compared to former Prime Minister Theresa May due to his campaigning style. The senior

Conservative blamed the "attitude" Mrs May adopted in the run-up to the 2017 election for the loss of the majority the party had won only two years before under David Cameron. Speaking to

Express.co.uk, Lord Tebbit said: "There’s a very great difference between Theresa May as an election machine and Boris Johnson as an election machine.

"Theresa May hadn’t got the remotest idea on how to contact and grab the attention of the voters.

"Months before polling day, we had a terrific swing in the local government elections to the Tories – why didn’t it happen for her?"

Lord Tebbit, a former chairman of the Conservative Party who held several ministerial positions under Margaret Thatcher, insisted the decision not to highlight the candidates' association to

the party played a key role in losing the election.

He continued: "The first election material I got a hold of was a letter, a leaflet. The only place where the word Conservative appeared was in the imprint at the back, which is a legal

obligation.

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"It started off more or less like this, ‘I want you to vote for my candidate’ – her candidate?

"There’s a Conservative candidate, who we had selected at the Conservative Association there and it was that attitude of Mrs May that cost us the election."

In his first electoral campaign video, Boris Johnson opted for a "Vogue 73 questions" style approach – revealing to potential Conservative voters his love for Marmite and the Rolling Stones

to maximise his appeal as a relatable candidate.

Mr Johnson is hoping to secure a strong majority to put an end to the Brexit deadlock gripping Parliament to deliver through the Commons his proposed withdrawal agreement and see Britain

quit the European Union on January 31.

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But barely one week into his electoral campaign, the Prime Minister is now facing a further challenge from Brussels as the bloc launched legal action against the British Government for

failing to nominate a new British member for the European Commission. 

The UK is obliged to select a new candidate as membership of the EU was once again protracted despite Mr Johnson's pledge to see the UK out by October 31 – a delay resulting from claims the

time offered to debate his withdrawal deal was not sufficient to MPs. 

Mr Johnson was accused of “undermining the regular functioning” of the bloc after telling Ursula von der Leyen the country would not send a eurocrat to Brussels before next month’s general

election.

EU officials alleged that the Brexit-supporting Government was hiding behind their domestic legal system to avoid putting forward a name after the Prime Minister instructed his EU Ambassador

Sir Tim Barrow to say the UK would delay the nomination until after December 12.

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Brussels demanded an answer by the end of next week as Mrs von der Leyen hopes to be in office by December 1.

Officials said: “In its letter, the UK authorities consider that they are not in a position to suggest a candidate for the post of EU commissioner in view of the upcoming general election.

“The European Commission recalls that, in accordance with established EU case-law, a member state may not invoke provisions prevailing in its domestic legal system to justify failure to

observe obligation arising under Union law.”

A European Commission statement added: “The United Kingdom is invited to submit its aberrations on the letter of formal notice at the latest by Friday, November 29, 2019.

“After examining these observations, or if no observations are submitted within this time-limit, the Commission may, if appropriate, issue a Reasoned Opinion.”

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