Our politics is a mess. Leaders who can't or shouldn't be allowed to lead. Governments that lie, and seek to undermine our democratic values. Policies that serve the interests of the privileged few. It's no surprise that so many of us feel frustrated, let down and drawn to ask, ' But what can I do?' Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions, followed by a discussion of The Voice referendum in Australia and the election results in Poland and New Zealand.

But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong - WHSmith

I know my depression will always be a part of me. I’ve accepted that now. I still have suicidal thoughts and dark days, and I always will. But at least now I can recognise them, I feel them coming on, and I can deal with them better than I used to. There may one day be a vaccine for Covid-19. But I doubt there will ever be a vaccine or a cure for depression. It is part of the human condition; it is certainly part of mine. I’ve spent decades learning to live with that. And now, through trial and error, through medication and therapy, through highs and lows, above all through grief and love, I have finally got to know my enemy. I live better for having dealt with it. And I deal with it, through living better. I hope that for some of you out there, this book can help you do the same. Perhaps the most important reform needed, however, is a change in how we elect our MPs. There is no such thing as a perfect electoral system. But our first past the post system is so far from perfect that it too must be revised and made fit for the very changed politics of today. This event will explore the hopes and concerns of young people from across UCL and London about engaging in politics and consider how our political system can become more open to their participation. Mutating the genetic DNA of our Parliamentary system is a seminal strand running through Campbell’s book, its imperative force gives Promethean fire to the kindle fuelling the flames of his core argument. I put it to him that ingrained tribal bias, ignorance and internecine conflict, not to mention rank self-interest characterising much of our political landscape, paradoxically serve to make his argument more valid, but less appealing to those he urges to act upon it :Our politics is a mess. Leaders who can't or shouldn't be allowed to lead. Governments that lie, and seek to undermine our democratic values. It's no surprise that so many of us feel frustrated, let down and drawn to ask, ' But what can I do?'

BUT WHAT CAN I DO? – Trying to answer - Alastair Campbell

I remember when the Hutton Inquiry into the death of government weapons inspector David Kelly was under way. I got a fax while on holiday in France saying that Lord Hutton wanted to see my private diaries. It probably is a bit of a campaign” he says, reflecting on the many conversations he’s had with young people up and down the country. The conversation will continue when Campbell comes to speak at UCL in the first event in this years Department of Political Science, Policy in Practice series. That gulf contains a rich political seam for Labour if they promise – and come up with a plan – to fix our politics along with everything else that needs fixing after the 13-year omnishambles of national decline. What is the next stage in the war between Israel and Hamas? How important is Joe Biden's impending visit? Is it possible to be both victim and oppressor? Inspired by what he saw as a crisis of loneliness across the UK, Alex set up Cares UK to ‘help people find connection and community in a disconnected age.’ Alex sits alongside countless other inspiring examples in the book—stories of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.

That question is the inspiration behind this book. It's a question regularly posed to Alastair Campbell, not least in reaction to The Rest is Politics, the chart-topping podcast he presents with former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart. His answer, typically, is forthright and impassioned. We cannot afford to stand on the sidelines. If we think things need to change, then we need to change them, and that means getting involved. So though, yes, Johnson is out of power, as we are seeing in the United States, defeating a popul ist is not the same thing as defeating popul ism. Rishi Sunak is still having to bow to its pressures from people who feel, some with their huge Parliamentary majorities, that it really doesn’t matter what they say or do. What advice would Campbell give to those following the election campaign today? In his new book But what can I do: why politics has gone so wrong and how you can change it, Campbell attempts to set out the recipe for success. Written as a guide for a new generation of leaders and campaigners, who he thinks could help turn politics around, it’s part campaign tool, part inspirational guide and part support manual. After all, Campbell knows all too well how bruising politics can be. Popular podcaster, Alastair Campbell, discussed how the next generation can change politics as he joined a panel debate held by UCL Political Science. Ahead of the event he spoke with James Baggaley at the UCL Policy Lab about why he thinks politics can and must change.

But What Can I Do? by Alastair Campbell review: A doom

it focuses on the three Ps that have done so much damage – populism, polarisation and post-truth... That the current government has to be shown the door is surely now clear to all but the most committed Tories. Austerity. Brexit. Covid corruption – a disastrous ABC contributing to, and being topped by, a cost of living crisis that is pushing millions to the brink and beyond, and exposing Rishi Sunak’s regime as horrifically out of touch. So instead of the Tories trying to appeal to the young, they now try to stop them voting, by bringing in unnecessary new rules on voter ID, and allowing older people to use forms of ID the young cannot. At a time when we should be defeating cynicism and apathy, the Tories are trying to create it. At a time when we should be building up our democratic institutions, they are deliberately undermining them. Facilitated by the brilliant Julia Macfarlane of ABC News and joined on stage by students from UCL. Alastair will explore the challenge laid out in the sub-title of his book: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How YOU Can Help Fix It. Just the other day, I was doing a debate with Gary Neville for Debate Mate” the charity that pairs working class young people with adults to help them gain confidence in debating. “I was arguing that politics was the best route to changing the world.”Every morning as I wake, I give myself a number. From one to 10. My depression scale. So much of the day ahead will depend on that first feeling, and the mark I give to my mood. Then my phone rang. It was my deputy, Godric Smith, calling for a chat. He was unaware that I had been asked for my diaries and that I had been advised to get my own independent legal advice. He exploded, on my behalf, at the unfairness. Then he exploded at the fact he, who was also being called to the inquiry, had been given no advice from the Cabinet Office at all. His explosion was so huge it became comic, and helped my suicidal feelings pass. In the old days, I would live with that feeling, get up, carry on, pretend I was fine, drink to drown the depression, work to chase it away. Now I tell Fiona straight away. She always asks, though she knows what my answer will be, “What triggered it?” and I say, “I don’t know.” Our politics is a mess. Leaders who can't or shouldn't be allowed to lead. Governments that lie, and seek to undermine our democratic values. Policies that serve the interests of the privileged few. It's no surprise that so many of us feel frustrated, let down and drawn to ask, 'But what can I do?'