Lynton Crosby, the Australian political strategist who has run multiple general election campaigns for the Conservatives, is a font of striking sayings. From the ‘dead cat strategy’ (see Michael Fallon) to the idea you ‘can’t fatten a pig on market day’. But right now, it’s all about another of his shibboleths: the need to ‘get the barnacles off the boat’.
Now, I don’t even like to step into a pedalo, but Crosby is referring to extraneous policies that dilute or distract from a core message, and give your political rivals ammunition with which to attack you. Specifically, this relates to Rachel Reeves’s decision to water down Labour’s flagship £28bn green investment plan.
