John McTernan

Specialist Speaker John McTernan is a political strategist, communications adviser and commentator.

He has worked inside two of the most fiercely contested premierships in modern British and Australian politics. As Tony Blair’s Director of Political Operations and Julia Gillard’s Director of Communications, he has experienced the business of governing when political pressure is at its greatest.

• Former Director of Political Operations at 10 Downing Street under Tony Blair, 2005–2007
• Former Director of Communications to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2011–2013
• Worked on Labour’s 2005 UK general election campaign and Australia’s 2007 federal election campaign
• Former adviser to UK Cabinet ministers and Chief of Staff to Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy
• International political strategist and former senior adviser at BCW
• Political commentator and contributor to BBC, Sky News, Financial Times and UnHerd

Speaking

John McTernan was working in Downing Street during Tony Blair’s final years as Prime Minister, when Labour was attempting to maintain its authority while the question of Gordon Brown’s succession loomed over government. He was also there on 7 July 2005, when the London bombings abruptly transformed the day’s political agenda.

Many years later, as Director of Communications to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, he found himself in another government under extraordinary pressure. Gillard faced bitter internal leadership struggles, relentless opposition attacks and intense media scrutiny. Her celebrated 2012 parliamentary speech confronting misogyny became a defining moment in Australian political history. John has seen political leadership at close quarters, including the moments when events overwhelm the carefully prepared message. His talks explore how leaders communicate under pressure, how governments maintain public support, and why even experienced political operators sometimes get things spectacularly wrong.

Speaker Topics

• Political Strategy and Election Campaigns
• Crisis Communications and Reputation
• Leadership Under Pressure
• Strategic Communications and Political Storytelling
• British and Australian Politics
• Public Opinion, Media and Political Messaging
• Government Relations and Public Policy

In the Room Where it Happens

John once described the political secretary’s job at Downing Street as bringing the political perspective to decisions: reminding the Prime Minister to consider the unions, the voters and the next election. It sounds straightforward. In practice, it means telling powerful people things they may not particularly want to hear. His career has taken him from the inner workings of government to the television studio, where he now analyses the decisions made by people occupying roles he knows from personal experience. He understands both the pressure to produce a convincing political message and the consequences when it fails.

Why Book John McTernan?

John can take audiences behind the public performance of politics and explain what happens when leadership, policy, personalities and communications collide. His experience of Blair’s final years and Gillard’s turbulent premiership gives him compelling material for conferences exploring political change, crisis management, persuasion and public trust. He brings the perspective of someone who has helped governments communicate their decisions and subsequently examined political successes and failures in public.

Biography

Born in London and raised in Edinburgh, John studied English at the University of Edinburgh before entering politics and public policy. He worked on Labour’s 2005 election manifesto and subsequently became Tony Blair’s Political Secretary and Director of Political Operations, serving until 2007. He later advised Cabinet ministers Des Browne and Jim Murphy. John also worked on the Australian Labor Party’s successful 2007 federal election campaign. He returned to Australia as Director of Communications to Julia Gillard in 2011, remaining through the leadership battles that ended her premiership in June 2013.

Back in Britain, he became Chief of Staff to Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy during the 2015 general election campaign. His subsequent career has included international political consultancy, strategic communications and regular political commentary.

John has written for major national publications and appeared on BBC and Sky News, bringing an insider’s knowledge of the difficult relationship between what governments intend, what politicians say and what the public actually hears. Contact John McTernan for speaking, political commentary or conference appearances via Specialist Speakers on +44 (0)204 616 0868 or email info@specialistspeakers.com.