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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

Britain least convinced of EU countries of need for massive cuts

It says something for the insularity of the UK media that The Guardian makes such a big deal of the idea of special reports from our European neighbours. Too often, the editor rightly says, the countr... Continue

14 March 2011

On the perils of shorthand and/or mumbling and/or not fully explaining

I don't know for sure that Euan Ferguson of the Observer does teeline (the form of shorthand in which I was once, many years ago, 120 words a minute proficient). But I think he might. Either that or I... Continue

13 March 2011

Is it such a bad thing that London is PR capital of the world?

Phil Stephens had a very measured column in the FT last week about the fact that UK PR companies always seemed to be on hand to help less democratic countries than ours with a bit of image advice. I h... Continue

12 March 2011

Fred Goodwin superinjunction underlines need for Parliament not media or judges to decide policy in this area

A few weeks ago I took part in a discussion at one of the big internet companies on something called 'the right to be forgotten.' The notion - which the giants of the web are not terribly keen on - i... Continue

11 March 2011

Support the Demoratic Life campaign to keep citizenship on the curriculum

The hints that the Government is thinking about removing citizenship from the curriculum are becoming a little louder. It would be yet another mistake by Michael Gove, at a time the government is de... Continue

10 March 2011

Hannah and George the latest young people to make a big impression

Hannah and George are two young disabled people who helped co-present the latest podcast for the BBC disability programme, Ouch. Having been locked away in a Bloomberg's meeting room, sitting on a pan... Continue

9 March 2011

Dream School has convinced me we need more not less politics teaching in schools

As I know from living with a virtually full-time State schools campaigner, education arouses enormous passions and very strong views. So it shouldn't really come as a surprise that Jamie Oliver's Drea... Continue

8 March 2011

As Cameron slithers from tactic to tactic, Mandelson and Straw right to defend difficult positions

I may not have liked much about Peter Mandelson's book ("'insufferably self-indulgent' - Alastair Campbell" doesn't seem to have made it to the quotes on the cover of the paperback). However, I totall... Continue

7 March 2011

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.