A review of the book “But What Can I Do?” by Alastair Campbell
The last book that I read was “Why We Get The Wrong Politicians” by Isabel Hardman. In my view, that work put too much emphasis and blame on individuals for the current state of British politics, spent far too much time describing the problem and very little time suggesting remedies, and was overly pessimistic about the present condition of public affairs.
By contrast, this book by Alistair Campbell – best-known as Tony Blair’s Director of Communications from 1994-2003 – takes a more systemic approach to “Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong” (to quote the sub-title), spends even more time on addressing “How You Can Help Fix It” (again to quote the sub-title), and overall is much more positive about the prospects for reform and renewal.
Campbell identifies the tipping point when contemporary politics went wrong as the global financial crisis of 2008/09 and summarises the major causes as the three Ps: polarisation, populism, post-truth. His advice is simple but sensible: resist cynicism, develop a campaigning mindset, be a leader, be a team player, be a strategist, learn confidence, acquire persevilience (what he describes as “the marriage of perseverance and resilience”).
There is nothing particularly new or dramatic here, but there is a great deal of really practical advice from an experienced campaigner with lots of anecdotes and extensive contacts. Campbell writes in a lively, accessible style that draws on his considerable experience and is candid about his own strengths and weaknesses. Whereas the tone of Hardman’s book questions why anyone would want to go into politics, Campbell concludes his work with a chapter entitled “How To Get Into Politics”.