The likely awarding of a knighthood to Australian-born political strategist Lynton Crosby is being likened to former prime minister Tony Abbott's disastrous knighting of Prince Philip. 
British Prime Minister David Cameron's reported decision to recommend Mr Crosby for the honour in the New Year honours list has drawn criticism in Britain and also earned the ire of at least one Australian Labor MP.
Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell says Mr Cameron's move shows why Australia should "untie itself from the Poms" once and for all.
"Surely there are far more genuine deserving people who contribute to the English society and community as a whole than a conservative political strategist," he said.
"To do this it would be seen as an embarrassment to the honours system and would rival Tony Abbott's decision to knight Prince Philip.
"What is it with conservatives and Tories who believe they are more deserving of awards than genuine people? It makes my belief that we stand on our own two feet as a country and untie ourselves from the Poms sooner even stronger."
Mr Crosby is the co-founder of polling company Crosby-Textor. He drove the successful election campaigns for former prime minister John Howard in 1998 and 2001 and London mayor Boris Johnson in 2008 and 2012.
He also ran the British Conservative Party's campaigns in 2005 and in 2015, when Mr Cameron held office without a coalition, despite polls predicting a hung parliament.
It is not the first time Mr Crosby's political tactics have been rewarded by his own side. Mr Crosby was included in the Office of the Order of Australia on Australia Day in 2005, when Mr Howard was still the prime minister, "for service to politics as federal director of the Liberal Party of Australia".
Mr Cameron is being accused at home of "demeaning the honours system" by including the Tories' campaign strategist, the so-called Wizard of Oz, in the line up.
Mr Abbott's decision to knight Prince Philip nearly one year ago on Australia Day was lampooned across the country.
It forced him to promise that he would not personally intervene in awarding further knighthoods and dameships.
But his revived honours system was scrapped altogether after Malcolm Turnbull took over as Prime Minister.