Politicians need to spend less time looking at polls and more time talking to voters, says veteran Australian political strategist Lynton Crosby.
Sir Lynton was named Britain's Australian of the Year on Saturday night in London, just weeks after he was controversially knighted for his role in masterminding the Conservatives' return to power in 2015. 
He made a rare public appearance to accept the award, at a gala dinner at Australia House in London attended by hundreds of successful Australian expatriates.
Sir Lynton said it was an honour to receive the award - "the thing about Australians in London is they seem to punch above their weight in all sorts of walks of life from theatre to business and even to politics". It was for others to judge why he received this award - and the knighthood - he said, but hinted at his role in the election as one reason - "in the last year or so ... an Australian has had some impact on what's gone on in this country".
The British media were intense and partisan, he said, "so it's a very aggressive environment in which you're operating so that makes it tough. But every election is a hard fight and the 2015 election was no different in that respect".
He lamented that polls had multiplied in number and had become a "part of the political process".
Before the election last   May, polls had predicted either a Labour win or a hung parliament, not the sweeping win for the Conservatives that took place.
"I always was confident that David Cameron would be prime minister and that we could win the election," Sir Lynton said.
"Opinion polls have a place, a role to play in politics but sometimes I think people have abdicated responsibility to look at the issues and talk to voters themselves to get a true picture of what is going on."
He said he didn't prefer to be called "Sir Lynton" - or "the Wizard of Oz" as he has also been dubbed. "I prefer Lynton."
Sir Lynton defended his knighthood, which was attacked by some as evidence of 'cronyism' in the New Year Honours lists.
"You'll always get your critics but you've just got to be confident in your own contribution and satisfied with that," he said. Celebrity chef Rick Stein was named Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK.
He opened 'Rick Stein at Bannisters' in Mollymook in 2009, and now divides his time between Australia and the UK.
Saxophonist Amy Dickson was named 2016 Young Australian Achiever of the Year.
Letters, Page 15