From 1997 to 2001, the
Press Secretary to
Tony Blair (
Prime Minister of the
UK from 1997).
As
Press Secretary, Campbell was officially a
Civil Servant, however he is acknowledged as the
most prominent of a '
new breed'. In the
UK Civil Servants are supposed to be
Neutral and
Anonymous. Alastair, along with about 30 other similar people employed by the
Labour Government
are clearly not
Neutral as they are members of the
Labour party and have a role in the
Government.
Political
Press Secretaries are not an entirely new thing, but Campbell has been the most public
in
British politics to date. He is, of course,
unelected and
unaccountable and therefore
undemocratic. These factors, along with others, and his calling most of the UK's
schools '
Bog
Standard Comprehensives', make him substantially unpopular with almost everyone -
politicians,
media and
public. Campbell is also a figure of fun, and his relationship with
Blair has been
satirised brilliantly in the 2001 series of the political impressions/
sketch show Bremner, Bird and
Fortune.
After the June 7th
2001 General Election here in the
UK, Campbell is to change jobs to something
along the lines of
Head of Communications for the
Labour Party. This is a more traditional roll,
and does not mean being a member of the
Civil Service.