Milestones are always a time for reflection. So the 25th anniversary of New Labour’s election triumph this weekend has prompted an outpouring of dewy-eyed reminiscences from commentators of a certain vintage about how great it all was.
Cool Britannia, the minimum wage, PFI deals and the Millennium Dome. Truly, a golden age: things really could only get better. To mark this auspicious occasion, a familiar face from those halcyon days has re-emerged to remind voters about the best that New Labour had to offer.
Alastair Campbell, the king of spin, has popped up with a new report by Labour in Communications urging Sir Keir Starmer to revamp his approach to PR ahead of the next election. Campbell has written the foreword to Lessons from a Landslide which outlines ‘how best it [Labour] can learn from the successful formula used by the party in 1997.’
According to the report, there are six lessons to draw from Labour’s past successes including ‘neutralise your opponent’s attack line,’ making Labour ‘the patriotic party of Britain again’ and offering a ‘simplicity and consistency of message and style’ – something which the party certainly
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