Am in Belgium, and have just learned that Lloyd George used to stay in the very house where we are. Now there was a Liberal to be reckoned with. I see some of the commentators are beginning to compare semi-detached Vince Cable...
Read MoreThe Guardian asked me for a piece yesterday on the news that Catherine Zeta-Jones was being treated for bipolar disorder. Here is the piece I wrote for them. In an ideal world, it would not take a film star to get the media...
Read MoreTen days ago I posted this blog about two young men from Northern Ireland setting out on a remarkable challenge to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. Jez Davison and Gareth Crockett had lost a close friend, John...
Read MoreThere has been a touch of the ‘I had that David Cameron in the back of my cab’ to the Prime Minister this week. Street parties for the Royal Wedding … all them Labour councils (allegedly) stopping people having...
Read MoreFirst of all, thanks for all the responses to yesterday’s blog asking for examples of frontline cuts to mental health services. Thanks also to Mark Brown, editor of One in Four, for sending me a brilliant description of...
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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.