Alastair Campbell

For ten years Alastair Campbell was Tony Blair's right-hand man as communications strategist and chief spokesman, often witnessing history in the making. He has remained an influential voice and commentator on the political stage, particularly through co-hosting the hit podcast The Rest is Politics with Rory Stewart, where they tackle the latest developments in global politics and share their insights into the complex relationships within Parliament. He expanded on these insights in his Sunday Times Bestseller But What Can I Do? Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It.

In the years running up to Labour's 1997 landslide win, and throughout their time in power, Alastair led communications strategy and was also no stranger to controversy. He is one of four figures credited with creating the New Labour project, fighting numerous battles in their pursuit of modernisation, including with how the media portrayed the party. He was reviled by some parts of the media but still respected for his commitment, creativity, loyalty, and work rate.

After leaving frontline, politics Alastair has written seventeen books, including ten volumes of diaries, four novels, a number one best-selling analysis of what it takes to win in politics, business, and sport, and two personal memoirs on depression and the pursuit of happiness.

He has been candid about his personal experiences of depression, alcoholism, and mental illness, frequently examining the links between work, stress, and mental health -  a subject he's tackled in numerous interviews, documentaries, and podcasts, and in his books Living Better: How I Learned to Survive Depression, The Happy Depressive: In Pursuit of Personal and Political Happiness, and Living Better: How I Learned to Survive Depression. He has brought this experience to charity work (as both an advisor and a fund-raiser), and espouses the belief we should be as open about our mental health as we are about our physical health, and that every business should have first Mental Health First Aid training.

With humour and insight Alastair takes an insider’s look at politics at home and abroad, as well as what it takes to be a successful leader (a subject he tackled in his book Winners: And How They Succeed). He also tackles reputation, his own and how others manage theirs, the media and mental health.