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523. The Starmer-Mandelson Scandal: Lying or Incompetence?

Can Starmer survive if it emerges he was previously told about Mandelson's failed vetting? Is he developing a pattern of blaming others when things go wrong? Will this lead Labour MPs to start questio... Continue

A brilliant guest blog on Children of Alcoholics Week

A while back I posted a guest blog from Lucy Rocca, who with a friend had set up http://www.soberistas.com a website aimed at helping people like her, who had had a drink problem, and were now trying ... Continue

14 February 2013

Why manifestos matter, even if nobody reads them (and should we call them something different?)

Below is a piece published by Portland and Labour List yesterday. Among the responses I saw was one suggesting that the problem with manifestos is the word manifesto. It does seem remarkable that so f... Continue

13 February 2013

Don’t miss the Culture Show special on Abraham Lincoln tonight

I do not make a habit of apologising to the BBC but sorry, sorry, sorry, I forgot. Forgot what? I promised to do a blog today about the BBC2 Culture Show special on Abraham Lincoln. It is on at 1120p... Continue

12 February 2013

If only Cameron was as bright and principled as Norman Fowler … Leveson burial chapter 324

You know how hard I find it to be overly nice about Tories, but I must salute the indefatigable Norman Fowler for his attempt to make sure the government does not wriggle out of doing the right thing ... Continue

9 February 2013

Musings on Borgen, strong women, the gap in the UK TV market, and Maradona

The outpouring of jealousy at my meeting 'Birgitte' from Borgen was not quite on a par with that inspired by my 'never talk about it' football playing with Diego Maradona. It was there nonetheless, fr... Continue

2 February 2013

Time to think differently about mental health care

The King's Fund has launched a debate about the future of health and social care, called 'Time to think Differently.' They asked me to write a piece on mental health. To find out more about the Kin... Continue

31 January 2013

Lance Armstrong liked to play the long game. David Walsh has played even longer, and won

I don't recall exactly where and when it was that I met journalist David Walsh, not long after I had met Lance Armstrong for the first time, but I do recall his shock tinged with anger that I had 'fal... Continue

20 January 2013

Cameron’s speech timetabling shambles underlines his DNA problem – all tactics no strategy

Here is a piece I have done for The Guardian today. I sometimes wish we had patented "The Grid", the scheduling tool New Labour developed in opposition and subsequently used in government to seek to... Continue

15 January 2013

Alastair Campbell is a writer, communicator and strategist best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy. Still active in politics and campaigns in Britain and overseas, he now splits his time between writing, speaking, broadcasting, charities and consultancy.