David Canzini was brought in as a senior adviser to Boris Johnson. Canzini’s influence includes bolstering the determination of Liz Truss, left, to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland protocol
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When Boris Johnson reshuffled his Downing Street team at the height of the lockdown parties scandal there was one new entrant to No 10 whose arrival slipped largely under the radar.
Amid feverish speculation about the return to frontline politics of the Tories’ election guru Sir Lynton Crosby, the appointment of his protégé, [David Canzini](https://archive.ph/TfTNx), as a senior adviser to the prime minister was not even formally announced. To this day even his formal title is unclear.
Yet three months on Canzini has emerged as one of the most pivotal and divisive figures around the prime minister, whose growing influence is drawing comparisons — both for good and ill — with Johnson’s estranged political svengali Dominic Cummings.
To his supporters he is a highly effective, politically astute operator who is pivotal to the Conservative Party’s chances of winning the next election. But to detractors in No 10, Canzini is the “unacceptable version of Crosby” who is pushing Johnson to the right and risks reviving the Conservatives’ reputation as the nasty party.
Like Cummings, they say, Canzini is building his own power base in government and using his influence to shape the direction of government policy — sometimes over the heads of ministers.
In the past fortnight he has made two high-profile interventions, [pushing for a hardline approach](https://archive.ph/ZoUqa) to the Northern Ireland protocol and moving [to block a windfall tax](https://archive.ph/snQ5h) on oil and gas companies. He has also [played a significant role in hardening](https://archive.ph/5e2KS) the prime minister’s tone on trans rights.
He has told government advisers to focus relentlessly on identifying “wedge” issues that the Conservatives can use to delineate themselves from Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to the 2024 election. He has [hailed the government’s policy](https://archive.ph/41p0M) of sending migrants to Rwanda as an exemplar.
Canzini’s muscular and unabashed conservatism has begun to mould Johnson’s administration in a way that delights many traditional Tories. They credit him with bringing a clarity and purpose previously lacking from No 10, forging an alignment of governing with campaigning that relentlessly focuses minds on winning the next general election.
But for others in government, Canzini’s right-wing priorities risk alienating floating voters and unsettling the delicate coalition of working-class northerners and affluent southern professionals. And there are signs of increasing tensions in No 10 at Canzini’s growing prominence, with resentment among those nominally superior to him at his apparent influence over the prime minister.
Relations with Steve Barclay, the chief of staff to whom Canzini is nominally a special adviser, are said to be strained. “There is a rivalry over who is actually in charge,” said another Tory source.
Canzini [bolstered the determination of Liz Truss](https://archive.ph/i4xkz), the foreign secretary, to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland protocol. He is said to be “of the same mind” as Truss, according to one source close to both. His hardline approach led to accusations from some in No 10 that he is a “knuckle-headed Brexiteer”.
Others are even more blunt, recoiling from his blunt focus on winning and disdain for political niceties, which they worry will revive the Tories’ “nasty party” image.
But one senior MP says he has made No 10 more responsive to the parliamentary party and has shown an ability to persuade the prime minister to pick his side of an issue.
“Boris trusts him and listens to him because he’s Lynton’s representative on earth and he’s got the track record of success that comes with that,” they said. “He’s a consummate professional, very diplomatic Conservative operator who isn’t interested in briefing against people but is absolutely clear when a decision is made and people have to get behind it.”
A veteran Conservative operative with deep connections at every level of the Tory party, Canzini was brought in by Johnson in February to repair relations with MPs and activists. “He has got a phenomenal hinterland in the Conservative Party,” says one friend. “He knows everyone, including in the voluntary party.”
Canzini’s career began as an election agent in the 1980s and he has stuck with the party through good times and bad, notably overhauling the demoralised Scottish Conservatives in the late 1990s before moving to the London party.
He worked for William Hague and David Davis before joining Crosby’s consulting firm. A long-standing Brexiteer, he was involved in organising the “Chuck Chequers” campaign against Theresa May’s ill-fated Brexit deal.
The friend said that “everyone in politics who makes a difference has enemies but I don’t think he’s got that many as he tends to deliver what he promises . . . and keeps a low profile.”
If you misssed this before it is still worth reading:
It ain’t like Johnson has not had Downing Street working like a PR operation since he got into office, he has, it be you should be aware of the fruitcake who is now running the Downing Street operation.
My takeaway from your stack of text is that this is the guy you hire to get the party under control. Johnson’s primary threat right now is a vote of no confidence, and it seems like all the focus is inwards.
If the government has been critisised for focussing on domestic votes over sensible foreign and trade policy, then they are now going to prioritise MPs and the constituency parties behind them over domestic votes.
Although this would seem like the party machine committing to Johnson, I still believe he will be replaced before the next election – they just need him to see out the tough times to come and they can replace him with an ‘outsider’ if things start to turn for the better economically. Whether Johnson agrees or not would depend on many things, not least what he is offered after quitting.
3 comments
David Canzini was brought in as a senior adviser to Boris Johnson. Canzini’s influence includes bolstering the determination of Liz Truss, left, to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland protocol
–
When Boris Johnson reshuffled his Downing Street team at the height of the lockdown parties scandal there was one new entrant to No 10 whose arrival slipped largely under the radar.
Amid feverish speculation about the return to frontline politics of the Tories’ election guru Sir Lynton Crosby, the appointment of his protégé, [David Canzini](https://archive.ph/TfTNx), as a senior adviser to the prime minister was not even formally announced. To this day even his formal title is unclear.
Yet three months on Canzini has emerged as one of the most pivotal and divisive figures around the prime minister, whose growing influence is drawing comparisons — both for good and ill — with Johnson’s estranged political svengali Dominic Cummings.
To his supporters he is a highly effective, politically astute operator who is pivotal to the Conservative Party’s chances of winning the next election. But to detractors in No 10, Canzini is the “unacceptable version of Crosby” who is pushing Johnson to the right and risks reviving the Conservatives’ reputation as the nasty party.
Like Cummings, they say, Canzini is building his own power base in government and using his influence to shape the direction of government policy — sometimes over the heads of ministers.
In the past fortnight he has made two high-profile interventions, [pushing for a hardline approach](https://archive.ph/ZoUqa) to the Northern Ireland protocol and moving [to block a windfall tax](https://archive.ph/snQ5h) on oil and gas companies. He has also [played a significant role in hardening](https://archive.ph/5e2KS) the prime minister’s tone on trans rights.
He has told government advisers to focus relentlessly on identifying “wedge” issues that the Conservatives can use to delineate themselves from Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to the 2024 election. He has [hailed the government’s policy](https://archive.ph/41p0M) of sending migrants to Rwanda as an exemplar.
Canzini’s muscular and unabashed conservatism has begun to mould Johnson’s administration in a way that delights many traditional Tories. They credit him with bringing a clarity and purpose previously lacking from No 10, forging an alignment of governing with campaigning that relentlessly focuses minds on winning the next general election.
But for others in government, Canzini’s right-wing priorities risk alienating floating voters and unsettling the delicate coalition of working-class northerners and affluent southern professionals. And there are signs of increasing tensions in No 10 at Canzini’s growing prominence, with resentment among those nominally superior to him at his apparent influence over the prime minister.
Relations with Steve Barclay, the chief of staff to whom Canzini is nominally a special adviser, are said to be strained. “There is a rivalry over who is actually in charge,” said another Tory source.
Canzini [bolstered the determination of Liz Truss](https://archive.ph/i4xkz), the foreign secretary, to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland protocol. He is said to be “of the same mind” as Truss, according to one source close to both. His hardline approach led to accusations from some in No 10 that he is a “knuckle-headed Brexiteer”.
Others are even more blunt, recoiling from his blunt focus on winning and disdain for political niceties, which they worry will revive the Tories’ “nasty party” image.
But one senior MP says he has made No 10 more responsive to the parliamentary party and has shown an ability to persuade the prime minister to pick his side of an issue.
“Boris trusts him and listens to him because he’s Lynton’s representative on earth and he’s got the track record of success that comes with that,” they said. “He’s a consummate professional, very diplomatic Conservative operator who isn’t interested in briefing against people but is absolutely clear when a decision is made and people have to get behind it.”
A veteran Conservative operative with deep connections at every level of the Tory party, Canzini was brought in by Johnson in February to repair relations with MPs and activists. “He has got a phenomenal hinterland in the Conservative Party,” says one friend. “He knows everyone, including in the voluntary party.”
Canzini’s career began as an election agent in the 1980s and he has stuck with the party through good times and bad, notably overhauling the demoralised Scottish Conservatives in the late 1990s before moving to the London party.
He worked for William Hague and David Davis before joining Crosby’s consulting firm. A long-standing Brexiteer, he was involved in organising the “Chuck Chequers” campaign against Theresa May’s ill-fated Brexit deal.
The friend said that “everyone in politics who makes a difference has enemies but I don’t think he’s got that many as he tends to deliver what he promises . . . and keeps a low profile.”
If you misssed this before it is still worth reading:
>Financial Time: [Boris Johnson purges key business reforms from his legislative programme](https://www.ft.com/content/1fa0cce0-a954-45f9-8b81-33ba26db3040)
>
>PM’s deputy chief of staff has been a key influence over which bills are in the Queen’s Speech
>
>([🪞 link](https://archive.ph/Akxs2))
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and, though not active on it now, his twitter gives you an insight:
>https://twitter.com/dcgrumpy
>
>https://nitter.net/dcgrumpy
–
It ain’t like Johnson has not had Downing Street working like a PR operation since he got into office, he has, it be you should be aware of the fruitcake who is now running the Downing Street operation.
My takeaway from your stack of text is that this is the guy you hire to get the party under control. Johnson’s primary threat right now is a vote of no confidence, and it seems like all the focus is inwards.
If the government has been critisised for focussing on domestic votes over sensible foreign and trade policy, then they are now going to prioritise MPs and the constituency parties behind them over domestic votes.
Although this would seem like the party machine committing to Johnson, I still believe he will be replaced before the next election – they just need him to see out the tough times to come and they can replace him with an ‘outsider’ if things start to turn for the better economically. Whether Johnson agrees or not would depend on many things, not least what he is offered after quitting.