A gentle castigation of TB from my mental health friends
My mental health campaign friends are not best pleased with TB’s ‘two types of crazy people’ reference in his book.
Read MoreAuthor: Alastair Campbell
Q and A on TB’s book for La Repubblica
Italian newspaper La Repubblica interviewed me on the TB book yesterday. It runs in today’s paper. English version below in full
Read MoreTorybashing in abeyance – best wishes to William and Ffion Hague
I’ve always had a bit more time for William Hague than some of the other Tory leaders TB saw off during his leadership of the Labour Party. John Major could never forgive Tony for beating him and likes to think it was all...
Read MoreMarr right that TB book like no other prime ministerial memoir
Fair play to Andrew Marr for giving a more rounded view of Tony Blair’s book than will come over from the screaming headlines. What is coming through from the small number of people who have actually read the book is a...
Read MoreHatred of TB re his book is a form of media madness
Every British Prime Minister I can think of has written his or (in one case only) her memoirs. None have provoked quite the pre-publication antagonism generated in advance of Tony Blair’s autobiography, A Journey, which is...
Read MoreMy Latest Book
But What Can I Do?
Why politics has gone so wrong, and how you can help fix it
by
Alastair Campbell
"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.