Alistair Campbell

Last Friday I went to a function room at Chester Race Course to hear a talk given by Alistair Campbell, the former director of communications to Tony Blair, and one of the key architects of new Labour. It was a brilliant evening; Campbell is the master of presentations and his anecdotes from his years in power were illuminating and candid. He took questions from the audience and answered with honesty and humour.

Alistair Campbell at the Chester Literary Festival

 Campbell is in the process of publishing his extensive diaries that cover the Blair period. They are bound to be important when historians come to assess the achievements of New Labour in power. I am sure to read them. However, it is not always the diaries of the main players that capture an era in politics. Take, for example, the Thatcher years. How many have read Maggie's autobiography? Were there any significant diaries produced by those close to Thatcher? Probably not. It is the diaries of the much lesser known figure Alan Clark that has provided the best insight into politics during the 1980s and 90s. The same maybe true of the Blair years. Long after the autobiographies of Blair, Mandelson, and indeed Campbell, have faded on the shelves, it may well be that the diaries of Chris Mullin entitled 'The View from the Foothills' is the literary work that captures the essence of New Labour. They are beautifully written and always self deprecating. If you have not read this book, then do so.