A Journey

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What we are offered in this documentary series is in essence a hagiography of New Labour, which, even when critical, seems to portray more a romantic tragedy (particularly in the last years of the Brown government) than a damning account of failure. In establishing the New Labour brand, the documentary’s first episode charts not only Blair and Brown’s personal development as politicians, but also the old familiar territory of Labour history: now often tropes within New Labour’s own account of events. A Journey covers Blair's time as leader of the Labour Party and then British prime minister following his party's victory at the 1997 general election. His tenure as Labour leader begins in 1994 following the death of his predecessor, John Smith, an event Blair claims to have had a premonition about a month before Smith died. Blair believes he will succeed Smith as Labour leader rather than Gordon Brown, who is a strong contender for the job. Blair and Brown subsequently reach an agreement whereby Brown will not run against Blair for the position, and will succeed him later. But it leads to a difficult working relationship, which is discussed at length. He likens them both to "a couple who loved each other, arguing over whose career should come first." [14] To him, Brown is a "strange guy" [15] with "zero" emotional intelligence. [16] Campbell became a central figure in the handling of the aftermath of Princess Diana's death after the head of the royal household, the Earl of Airlie, asked Tony Blair to second Campbell to help prepare the funeral, saying they knew it would have to be different. Campbell is widely reported to have coined the phrase "the people's princess" and to have persuaded the queen to make her broadcast to the nation more personal, not least by using the phrase "speaking as a grandmother". Campbell's character appears in the 2006 film The Queen, but he has said most of it was fictional. Mount, Harry (1 September 2010). "Tony Blair Shouldn't Be Surprised by the Queen's Traditional Upper-Class Manners". Telegraph.co.uk. London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010 . Retrieved 9 November 2010.

The book closes with a final chapter offering a critique of Labour Party policy, and discusses its future. Blair warns Brown's successor that if Labour is to remain electable they should continue pursuing New Labour's policies rather than return to the left-wing policies of the 1980s: [35] "I won three elections. Up to then, Labour had never even won two successive full terms. The longest Labour government had lasted six years. This lasted 13. It could have gone on longer, had it not abandoned New Labour." [25] Publication [ edit ]Alastair Campbell: My dinners with Putin". indipendant.ie. Irish Indipendant. 13 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022 . Retrieved 5 April 2022.

Toynbee, Polly; Freedland, Jonathan; Clark, Tom; White, Michael (1 September 2010). "Tony Blair's Memoirs: Verdict". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 22 May 2012. In 2018 Campbell worked for the People's Vote campaign's planning and organisation of a march on Parliament on 20 October, which drew an estimated 250,000 people [59] onto the streets. The march was described by the media as the second biggest ever, after the protest against the Iraq war in 2003. In May 2012, Campbell took a role at PR agency Portland Communications, at the invitation of Tim Allan, a former adviser to Tony Blair. [39] [40] Along with Tony Blair, Campbell has also provided consultancy services to the government of Kazakhstan on "questions of social economic modernisation." [41] [42] [43] Campbell worked again for the Labour Party as Campaign Director in the run-up to their third consecutive victory at the 2005 general election. Campbell also acted as an adviser to Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband at the 2010 and the 2015 general elections. Sir Clive Woodward recruited Campbell to manage relations with the press for the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005. Campbell wrote a column for The Times during the tour. Exclusive interview: Alastair Campbell". MHT. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017 . Retrieved 5 May 2020.Watch: Scottish musicians join forces with Alastair Campbell to launch charity single in aid of NHS workers". The Scottsman. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020 . Retrieved 4 May 2020. Campbell moved into government when Labour won the general election in May 1997 and served as the Prime Minister's chief press secretary until 2000. In government, he implemented many radical changes to both procedure and operational management. He persuaded Cabinet Secretary Sir Robin Butler that government communications had to be modernised, and the government set up the Mountfield Review. He created a Strategic Communications Unit which gave Downing Street the power to co-ordinate all government activity, using what became known as "the grid" as its main apparatus. He set up a rapid rebuttal unit similar to the one he had used in opposition. He put Downing Street briefings on record for the first time, and although he was only identified as "The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman", he became one of the most high-profile and written about figures in British politics, earning the epithet "the real deputy Prime Minister". He opened briefings to the foreign media, among a raft of modernisation and efficiency strategies he introduced. [19] In 2001, Campbell claimed that the days of the bog standard comprehensive school were over due to educational policies of the Labour government. [20] [21] [22] Ryan, Anya (5 August 2022). "Comedian Grace Campbell, 'I don't give a f**k, I get that from my dad' ". Evening Standard . Retrieved 17 February 2023. He entered into a civil partnership with British journalist Fiona Millar, on 30 March 2021, after being together for 42 years. [92] The couple have two sons and a daughter, the comedian Grace Campbell. [93] [94] Stage and screen portrayals [ edit ]