I haven’t read The Times, so I am only going on an edited version of Rachel Sylvester’s column today, as summed up by Labour’s media monitoring department. At the risk of offending Rupert’s paywall...
Read MoreI was sitting right behind Fabio Capello at the Chelsea-Manchester United match yesterday. He never mentioned that he had just dropped a bombshell on Italian TV about the big question that would have kept Shakespeare awake at...
Read MoreI was pleased that Gillian Tett of the Financial Times backed the call I made for a Chilcot/Leveson style inquiry into the banking disaster when we appeared on This Week last night. When Andrew Neil asked for a...
Read MoreI am on the sofa with Michael Portillo tonight (if you get my drift) listening to the wit and wisdom of Andrew Neil, presenter of the BBC1 This Week show. We will doubtless be chatting banks and bankers, Dave and Ed, and all the...
Read MoreI’m not sure what to make of this Sir and now not so Sir Fred Goodwin. He was clearly up to all sorts that he shouldn’t have been and RBS became a disaster area under his tenure, for which we are all still paying a...
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by
"Your country needs you. Your world needs you. Your time is now."
Our politics is a mess. We have leaders who can't or shouldn't be allowed to lead. We endure governments that lie, and seek to undermine our democratic values. And we are confronted with policies that serve the interests of the privileged few. It's no surprise that so many of us feel frustrated, let down and drawn to ask, 'But what can I do?' That question is the inspiration behind this book. It's a question regularly posed to Alastair Campbell, not least in reaction to The Rest is Politics, the chart-topping podcast he presents with former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart. His answer, typically, is forthright and impassioned. We cannot afford to stand on the sidelines. If we think things need to change, then we need to change them, and that means getting involved. But What Can I Do? provides each of us with the motivation and the tools to make a difference. Opening with an acute analysis of our polarised world and the populists and extremists who have shaped it, it goes on to show how we help transform it. It explains how we can develop our skills of advocacy and persuasion. It draws on Alastair’s long experience, as well as on role models and lessons from history, to offer practical tips on starting and leading a campaign. It offers advice on developing confidence and coping with criticism and setbacks. And it sets out the practical steps by which we can become political players ourselves. Part call to arms, part practical handbook, But What Can I Do? will prove required reading for anyone who wants to help change things for the better.