It is always wise to be a little suspicious of stories which emerge from private sector surveys, particularly if designed as what journalists in the pre no-deadline online age used to call a ‘Sunday for Monday’....
Read MoreSimon Kuper, best known for his writings on sport, has an excellent column in the FT magazine today. It is never easy to reduce a rich column to a sentence or two, but his main point is that in our celebrity-obsessed media (new...
Read MoreWelcome to what is surely the longest blogpost put up here since I started blogging some time ago. It certainly has the longest paragraphs, but bear with me – that’s what happens when you get academics involved. The...
Read MoreThe noise surrounding it would suggest George Osborne made an important speech last night. Northern Rock sell-off and banking reform seemed to take most of the coverage, big ticket items both. So for once I was keen to see the...
Read MoreBack in March, more in sorrow than in anger, I wrote a blogpost critical of my childhood hero Geoffrey Boycott, who had some some rather insensitive things about Michael Yardy, who had come home from the World Cup. The piece I...
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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.