"The media are obsessed with spin doctors and with portraying them as a bad thing, yet seem addicted to our medicine."
About Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell — Life and Legacy
Alastair Campbell is a prominent British political strategist and writer, best known for his role as the Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair. His work during the Labour Party's rise to power in the late 1990s was marked by a focus on the importance of truth and effective communication in politics. Campbell's quotes often reflect his belief that transparency is essential for public trust, particularly in governance. For instance, he famously stated, 'The truth is the first casualty of war,' highlighting the tendency for honesty to be compromised in political discourse. This perspective underscores his commitment to challenging the status quo and advocating for accountability in leadership. Campbell's insights remain relevant today, as they resonate with ongoing discussions about media influence and political integrity, reminding us of the vital role that truth plays in democratic societies.
Quote collection
Alastair Campbell quotes (page 1 of 3)
52 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"My public caricature - that of a self-confident alpha male - is only partly accurate."
"In an ideal world, it would not take a film star to get the media focused on mental illness."
"There are many reasons for the decline in royal esteem. One is that so many of the royals are thick."
"I want to write more books, see my first novel made into a film, fight more campaigns, work in more countries. I want to be able to recall experiences that have endured for their pleasure and range and intensity."
"One in four of us will have a mental illness at some point. That is a lot of people."
"I'm certainly driven, I hate losing, I can be ruthless and short-tempered and terribly competitive."
"So here is one of my theories on happiness: we cannot know if we have lived a truly happy life until the very end. This view of life and death was reinforced by my close witnessing of the buildup to the death of Philip Gould. Philip was without doubt my closest friend in politics. When he died, I felt like I had lost a limb."
"The royal family's existence is a constant reminder of the hollowness of John Major's rhetoric, and idiotic statements by its leading members a constant boost to the republican cause. They're fine opening hospitals. It's when they open their mouths they get into trouble."
"One day, we will look back and wonder how on earth we used to believe that depression was a lifestyle choice, only to be debated and taken seriously when an A List film star took his life, and the world filled with people saying how shocked and saddened they were."
"My closest friend, who died not long ago, is buried near Marx's grave in Highgate cemetery, so I see the gaggle of admirers laying roses at the foot of his tombstone regularly. I have never been tempted to leave flowers there myself. Great theories, shame about the practice. Marx did many things. But inventing class was not one of them."
"What concerns me is that the Independent is going, and there are job cuts at the Guardian, but the wretched Daily Mail is still rampant, making lots of money by millions of people clicking on pictures of cellulited women. I think that's sad."
"We should confine booing in sports arenas to sport. I love a good boo as much as the next football fan."
"The thing about politicians in Britain is that they are out there, you can lobby them, get close to them, there are loads of ways you can protest against them, and booing is a pretty weak way of doing it."
"May I share with you my earliest memory of a political row? It was with my mother, about the Queen - classic Freudian stuff, shrinks would say. I was eight, and refusing to watch the Queen's Christmas Day broadcast."
"I will continue to help the political causes I believe in in any way I can."
"My dad, Donald, was a vet and had a practice in Yorkshire. Cats and dogs were his bread and butter, but his greatest love was large animals."
"Like most meaningful activities, campaigns are team games."
"For all that the papers would say I was a liar, I took the words I was saying at briefings as seriously as Tony Blair took what he would say at the Despatch Box. I find it very difficult not to tell the truth. I felt I was accountable for what I said."
"There is something in me that makes me see things through."