Penguin But What Can I Do? Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It.

by Alastair Campbell

Light wear to the covers and one page has a folded corner. Shipped from the UK in recyclable card packaging.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster, and activist, who is known for his political roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director in opposition (1994–1997), then as Downing Street Press Secretary, and as the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson (1997–2000). He then became Downing Street's director of communications and spokesman for the Labour Party (2000–2003).

Since his work for Blair, Campbell has continued to act as a freelance advisor to a number of governments and political parties, including Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania. He was an adviser to the People's Vote campaign, campaigning for a public vote on the final Brexit deal. He is the editor-at-large of The New European and chief interviewer for GQ. He acts as a consultant strategist and as an ambassador for Time to Change and other mental health charities. Throughout his time in Downing Street, Campbell kept a diary which reportedly totalled some two million words. Selected extracts, titled The Blair Years, were published in 2007. He expressed an intention to publish the diaries in fuller form, which he did from 2010 to 2018. In 2019, Campbell was expelled from the Labour Party after voting for the Liberal Democrats in that month's European elections. In 2022, Campbell launched the podcast The Rest Is Politics with Rory Stewart, which has been the top politics podcast in the UK in the Apple rankings since its launch.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is in 3 parts, 1 & 3 are good, part 2 less so, as the author states himself, more like a self help guide.

But, well written, perhaps aimed at a (much) younger audience than me, but worth the read. A number of “bete noirs” crop up, good old Boris and the Daily Mail, but it is well researched.

I suppose whether this book is truly successful will be whether I get involved in politics again.

[Lesley Tilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alistair Campbell wrote this book in response to the question - "Was politics always as bad as this?" We've been through awful times - with the long hostility and stalemate of Brexit, then the lying and childish behaviour of Johnson, Covid and the corruption that went with it, and Truss succeeding without having been elected, and because of her slavish belief in her ideology, crashing the economy. Then there's the Tories playing to a racist minority with "performative cruelty" - sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. Alistair, in part one, can't resist going through all this with his accompanying fury, and even though we'd all love to forget it, we shouldn't.

He talks about the threat of of fascism and the perils of disengagement. He tells people not to be apathetic and respond with "I can't be arsed", "they're all the same", and "nothing changes however you vote". Also, "It is what it is". He points out that things do change - sometimes very much for the better. He gives examples of political campaigns that have made a difference.

He gives some instruction in campaigning, being a leader, being a team player, be a strategist. For those who have already been involved in politics, this is not a necessary book, but if you have never engaged in politics this may be useful. He gives a lot of advice that's not necessarily political, but he's the kind of guy who thinks he has loads of useful experience to offer, so while he's at it, he'll tell you to drink lots of water and do some exercise every day.

I couldn't read much of this book at any one time because I didn't need it, but I liked it because I like Alistair, and he writes exactly as he speaks, in a very friendly and avuncular voice. I feel I should pass this book onto someone who might be encouraged into political action.

[Jack Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit like a 300 page pat on the back for the Good Friday agreement and meeting Mandela but some useful techniques for professional development (yawn)

[Phil Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read and as he admits, a very depressing first half. While the second half offers encouragement to people, especially young people to go into politics at all levels, I don't think it was particularly inspirational. Having said that, I do hope some young people read it and do become inspired. We have to start somewhere.