Alastair Campbell, going Hand in Hand with Politics and Publishing
In 1994 shortly after Prime Minister Tony Blair was elected as leader of the Labour Party, Alastair Campbell became official Press Secretary. Effectively going Hand in hand with Politics and Publishing for the first time. Now as Editor at Large of the New European newspaper which is a hard-hitting political publication he is again going hand in hand with Politics and Publishing. He has written several volumes of memoirs mostly based around his experiences at Downing Street and his close friendship with Tony Blair, yet another example of Publishing and Politics joining together. Being a totally reformed and sober previous alcoholic, Alistair has had a varied and successful life and career, with Politics, Publishing, Journalism and Family being the main focus of his sixty-six years.
Alistair has had a long connection to journalism and in 1982 he moved to Fleet Street and the London offices of the Daily Mail. As Political Correspondent he also had close affiliations with Tony Blair and the Labour Party. It was in 1986 while he was then working for the Today newspaper that the stress turned him to alcohol. It was after suffering a nervous breakdown and receiving psychiatric counselling that he vowed never to drink again.
He is a staunch advocate of Mental Health Charities, including “Time for Change” and is open about his own bouts of depression and struggles with anxiety. He has written more than one book on the topic including “All in the Mind” in 2008, and “The Happy Depressive” in 2012.
