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Europe needs to get real on defence; Britain needs to get real on Europe

Below is the text of a speech I am making this evening to the Labour Movement for Europe, urging a change in approach by Labour, to be bolder in the terms of the "reset" that is promised, clearer in ... Continue

The Tories seem to dislike everyone who works in public service – apart from ‘independent’ Mervyn King

So I went out for a run yesterday, over the Heath to the opticians to get my glasses tightened. Only en route it is my chest that is tightening - asthma bad this time of year - and I end up walking pa... Continue

17 May 2012

Plenty for Cameron to be nervous about as confident Hollande takes the reins in the rain

I was in Paris for part of the aftermath of former Presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn's spectacular fall. The mood in the Parti Socialiste at the time was one of real anxiety, for all the con... Continue

16 May 2012

Submission to the Leveson Inquiry

Something has gone wrong with the paragraph numbering but if you can ignore that, here is the second submission I made to the Inquiry in advance of giving evidence earlier today. SECOND SUBMISSION TO... Continue

14 May 2012

On the descent into alcoholism. A guest blog from Diane Goslar

I was at the European Parliament in Brussels earlier this week, taking part in a seminar hosted by Labour MEP Glenis Wilmott on the need for both the EU and member states to face up to the need for be... Continue

12 May 2012

Cameron wrong if he thinks sacking nine out of ten civil servants the answer to his problems

Not much doubt which will be the most read newspaper in Whitehall today... the Daily Telegraph, which leads on a story headlined 'worst civil servants to be sacked,' and includes the remarkable line f... Continue

11 May 2012

Cameron very defensive as he starts decoupling from Clegg

It is a sign of the Prime Minister's new found defensiveness that he is saying to the Daily Mail things they want to hear, and his team are stressing that today's Queen's Speech is no big deal compare... Continue

9 May 2012

If Cameron panders to the Tory right now, he is finished

I have been around long enough to know it is unwise to believe everything you read in the the Sunday papers, but the whiff of U-turn in the Tory air has a credible aroma to it. One word for David Cam... Continue

6 May 2012

Boris win a boost for Cameron – I don’t think so

It is remarkable how slowly the media moves from a pre-ordained narrative that turns out to be wrong. Boris Johnson having failed to win anything like the support being predicted for him, the win ove... Continue

5 May 2012

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.