Labour Party hires Obama strategist David Axelrod to mastermind Labour's 2015 election campaign

Barack Obama's election guru has been hired to advise Labour on its 2015 campaign.

David Axelrod, instrumental in securing two election victories for the US President, has joined Ed Miliband's camp with the title of senior strategic adviser.

The deal was secured by Douglas Alexander, Labour's election co-ordinator, and involved a six figure sum being paid to Axelrod and AKPD, a media and consulting firm affiliated with the adviser, the Guardian reported.

In a statement released by the Labour party, Axelrod said: “Miliband understands that a growing economy demands that you have to have broaden prosperity. We can't just have prosperity hoarded by a few where people at the top are getting wealthier and wealthier but people in the middle are getting squeezed. This is a problem not just for Britain but everywhere in advanced economies, including here in the US.

“That is how we won in the US. Barack Obama articulated a vision which had, at its core, the experience of everyday people. And everyday people responded, they organised and they overcame the odds. I see the same thing happening in Britain.”

In an interview with the Guardian he compared the rise of UKIP to the right wing Tea Party movement in the US, and said it had “dragged David Cameron to the right”.

Ed Miliband said: “David Axelrod is known across the world for helping get President Obama into the White House in 2008 and then win re-election in 2012.

“It's excellent news that David has agreed to help One Nation Labour win the next election and build our campaign to change Britain so hardworking people are better off. He will be a huge asset to our campaign as we work to show the British people how we can change our country for the better.”