Lynton Crosby is a master strategist with the common touch In Australia, I had first-hand experience of this. Enemies and opponents of the prime minister Julia Gillard, for whom I worked as director of communications, sought to make me the story in an attempt to get me discarded. In a way, this was a great compliment, but it was an unnerving experience, too, particularly because advisers advise, but ministers decide. In the end, one has to rely on the politicians to beat back the attacks. So, Labour's attacks on Crosby are not about his ethics, his politics or his client list. They are about his effectiveness. Consider the thread that connects the revival in Tory fortunes. It's not better policy, or a stronger economy. It's sharper messaging, a strong narrative and message discipline. Why is Labour on the back foot on welfare? Not because Universal Credit is a masterful reform, or because the benefits cap is a success. No, it's because when Mick Philpott killed six of his 17 children in a house fire, George Osborne condemned a lifestyle that had been sustained by welfare. Labour was exasperated at the Tories exploiting a tragedy, but the Chancellor knew he was channelling the outrage of mainstream Middle England. Classic Crosby, a values wedge: Labour defending the feckless, the Government standing for decency. This is Crosby's genius. Picking a tender spot that forces Labour to defend the indefensible because embracing the middle ground would be too painful. That's the point of the benefits cap. And the trashing of the NHS brand, too. The pre-positioning of the Keogh report on hospital deaths bore all the hallmarks of Crosby. A potentially devastating attack on the current management of the NHS was pivoted into an assault on Labour's stewardship. In politics, great strategists don't go round a problem, they go through it. The Government forced Labour to defend failure. Again and again, the pattern is the same: Government weakness turned to strength; language crafted with precision; Labour forced to choose between purity and popularity. Remember the 2005 general election? The best thing about it was Crosby's language, the dozen words that crisply defined the Tories, the subversive, persuasive - and correct - slogan: "It's not racist to worry about immigration." Wrong time, wrong candidate, sure, but spot on because Crosby Textor, the Australian's company, does some of the best polling in the world. And he backs it with personal experience. A former colleague of mine describes Crosby's modus operandi like this: "Lynton always checks out a battleground. When he's hired for a campaign he spends days driving around, buying coffee, eating lunch, having a beer, talking to people. He knows that, properly done, every conversation is a mini focus group. Only after that process does he draft questions for focus groups. This is what Labour is up against: a professional at the top of his game. All campaigners have wins and losses. Crosby's loss - Michael Howard's 2005 campaign - was balanced by the securing of a second term for Boris. London is a Labour city, and to re-elect a Tory mayor when the national party was polling below 30 per cent was a great achievement. This is the crux of it: Lynton Crosby is doing his job and doing it well. It may enrage Labour, but anger is not enough. How do you fight a man with a 12ft sword? Don't start with a 6ft sword. Of course Crosby can be beaten - but play the game, not the man. John McTernan was political secretary to Tony Blair, and head of communications for Julia Gillard from 2011-2013