But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It - Softcover

Campbell, Alastair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1804943134 ISBN 13: 9781804943137

Publisher: Penguin, 2024

Synopsis

'Everything a manifesto should be: heartfelt, hectoring, impassioned, rousing.' The i
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Your country needs you.

Your planet needs you.

Your time is now.

Our world is a mess. It faces challenges that few are prepared to confront. It is littered with governments that lie, led by people who can’t or shouldn’t be allowed to lead. It’s no surprise, therefore, that so many of us feel angry, frustrated and let down. Yet we also feel overcome by such a sense of powerlessness that we find ourselves asking in despair, ‘But what can I do?’

That question is 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.

This book is his answer.

About this title

About the Author

Alastair Campbell was born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1957, the son of a vet. Having graduated from Cambridge University in modern languages, he went into journalism, principally with the Mirror Group. When Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party, Campbell worked for him first as press secretary, then as official spokesman and director of communications and strategy from 1994 to 2003. He continued to act as an advisor to Mr Blair and the Labour Party, including during subsequent election campaigns. He now splits his time between writing, speaking, politics in Britain and overseas, consultancy and charity, as chairman of fundraising for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, and a leading ambassador for the mental health campaign Time to Change.

He lives in North London with his partner of thirty-five years, Fiona Millar. They have three children. His interests include running, cycling, bagpipes and Burnley Football Club. He has published six volumes of diaries, including the number one Sunday Times bestseller, The Blair Years, a memoir on depression, The Happy Depressive, and three novels.

From the Back Cover

Our politics is a mess. Leaders who can't or shouldn't be allowed to lead. Governments that lie, and seek to undermine our democratic values. 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 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 effect change for the better. It draws on Alastair's long experience to offer practical tips on putting together and leading a campaign team. It provides priceless 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 make a difference.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1804943134
• ISBN 13: 9781804943137
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336