What a joy it must be to support a team close to your home. Here I am, just gone eleven, and I’m home after watching Arsenal give a football lesson to Cardiff, a bit like Burnley gave a lesson to Arsenal when we dumped...
Read MoreIt has been interesting to see what kind of twittering or Facebook status updating provokes the most intense responses. Blogging about Boris and the F word started a lively debate. The stuff I did last week on mental health...
Read MoreI stand to be corrected (and will happily publish such a correction here) but I think I am right in saying no national newspaper editor sends their children to State schools. This is worth bearing in mind when you read the...
Read MoreSorry to go on about Dave Cameron again (oh ok, I’m not sorry at all) but I saw him blathering on the story about the 13-year-old who became a Dad. He had exactly the same intensity of expression he applies for soundbites...
Read MoreI never read any of the freesheets handed out in London on the grounds that I am unsure which are pouring more money into the evil that is Paul Dacre and his Mail newspapers. But as I travelled on the tube last night it was...
Read More
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.