John McTernan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) McTernan atPolicy Exchange, November 2014 | |
| Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 2005–2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Pat McFadden |
| Succeeded by | Joe Irvin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John McTernan 1959 (age 65–66) London, England |
| Education | Firrhill High School |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
John McTernan (born 1959) is a Britishpolitical strategist and commentator. He has been a political adviser to theLabour Party.
McTernan was Prime MinisterTony Blair's Director of Political Operations from 2005 to 2007. He then worked on the November 2007Australian Labor Partyfederal election campaign.[1] From 2007 to 2010 he wasspecial adviser to two Cabinet Ministers inGordon Brown's Labour Government: first toDes Browne,Secretary of State for Scotland andSecretary of State for Defence,[2] and then toJim Murphy MP, theSecretary of State for Scotland from 2008 until May 2010. From June 2010 to October 2011, he was a columnist atThe Scotsman, and thendirector of communications for the Australian Labor prime minister,Julia Gillard, from September 2011 to June 2013.[3]He was chief of staff to the 2014–2015 leader of theScottish Labour Party,Jim Murphy, who resigned after the Labour Party lost all but one seat in Scotland, including Murphy's, in the2015 general election.
McTernan was born in London and grew up in Edinburgh, and attendedFirrhill High School. He studied English at theUniversity of Edinburgh.[4]
McTernan was political secretary and director of political operations at10 Downing Street forTony Blair[1] from 2005 to 2007, where he providedpolitical management and support for the development of the government'spolitical strategy. In 2007, McTernan was seconded to theScottish Labour Party to run its campaign for theMay 2007 Scottish Parliament election.[5][6][7]
During the 2006–07 police investigation into theCash for Honours political scandal surrounding the Labour Party, McTernan was twice questioned,under caution, by theMetropolitan Police.[5][6][8] No criminal charges were ever brought against McTernan or anybody else.
From 2007 to 2008 he was Special Adviser toDes Browne,Secretary of State for Scotland andSecretary of State for Defence.[2] He wasspecial adviser toJim Murphy MP, theSecretary of State for Scotland from 2008 until 2010.[9]
In January 2008, while McTernan was employed as a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Scotland, it emerged that in 2002 McTernan had branded Scotland as being "narrow" and "racist" during the period he worked for the Scottish Arts Council. In an email to the then LabourMSPKaren Gillon, who was about to make a trip toSweden, McTernan wrote: "If you've not been to Sweden before, I think you'll really like it – it's the country Scotland would be if it wasn't narrow,Presbyterian, racist etc. etc.Social democracy in action."[10] The email was obtained by the LondonSunday Times underfreedom of information legislation.[11][12]
In 2007 he worked on the November 2007Australian Labor Partyfederal election campaign.[1]
In September 2011, he was appointed communications director to theAustralian prime minister,Julia Gillard.[13] From February 2011 to October 2011, he was Thinker in Residence at theGovernment of South Australia.[14]
During 2012–13, a political scandal erupted over his employment. Accusations were made that Gillard had not attempted to find a suitable Australian candidate for the director of communications post, but had flouted Australia'svisa process to employ John McTernan, a British citizen, on a457 visa – a foreign workers scheme which is designed for employers who cannot find local candidates to fill jobs.[15] When a reporter from Australia'sABC News asked McTernan if he was working in Australia on a 457 visa, he replied "hardly fucking relevant".[16][17]
In January 2015, McTernan was appointed chief of staff toJim Murphy, then Scottish Labour leader, ahead of the2015 general election, and oversaw media and policy in this role.[18]
McTernan strongly opposedJeremy Corbyn, the eventual winner, in the2015 Labour leadership election, describing Corbyn's popularity as a "strange psychological emotional spasm". He said: "I can't see any case for letting him have two minutes in office, let alone two years in office because I think the damage that will be done to the Labour party in that period makes it incredibly hard to recover".[19][20] The MPs who nominated Corbyn were "moronic", according to McTernan.[21]
Following the 2016 revelations aboutDavid Cameron's earlier offshore earnings, and Corbyn's call for an investigation,[22] McTernan argued in hisDaily Telegraph column thattax avoidance is an expression of basic British freedoms.[23]
In February 2016 McTernan joined the policy and media advice agency Westminster Policy Institute as an associate.[24] He continued to write a regular column forThe Daily Telegraph.[25]
In November 2016, McTernan bet bloggerStuart Campbell $100 on aClinton victory in the2016 US presidential election, which he lost. Campbell has said that McTernan failed to honour the bet, and Campbell has taken court action against him.[26]
In August 2017 McTernan joined the Labour Party left-wing pressure groupMomentum, set up to support Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. McTernan had previously been a critic of Momentum and of Corbyn.[27]
In October 2018, John McTernan was asked if he still defended the2003 invasion of Iraq. He responded in the affirmative: "Any war against a fascist dictator is a good war."[28] He went on to compare the war in Iraq to theFalklands War, theSecond World War and theSpanish Civil War. "As my Kurdish friends say 'We never ask why did you invade, we ask why did you take so long?'," said McTernan. He went on to argue thatBrexit was the result of a lack of a humanitarian intervention in theSyrian civil war because it would have prevented the refugee crisis.[citation needed]
In April 2020, McTernan wrote an article inThe Critic advisingKeir Starmer to purge the "Corbynistas" from theLabour party, saying that "there's no problem with a witch-hunt when there really are witches to hunt".[29][30] In June 2024, however, he wrote another article, in which he said, "the Left is a vital part of our movement – our broad church", and asked rhetorically, "Where would New Labour have been withoutMarxism Today?"[31]
In November 2024, Prime MinisterKeir Starmer distanced himself from McTernan following comments he made onGB News while discussing inheritance tax rises in the budget which would affect farmers. He said that family farming is “an industry we can do without" and suggested that if farmers protested "we can do to them whatMargaret Thatcher did to the miners”.[32]
He will work alongside the party's new deputy leader, Kezia Dugdale, and oversee Scottish Labour's media and policy operations.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Political Secretary to the Prime Minister 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |
