542. Starmer Loses His Defence Secretary: What Next?
11 June 2026
Another day, another string to my bow, ideas welcome for GQ interview victims
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Post
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13 January 2014
I bring you news from the fashionable world of GQ magazine, and a press release (a very old-fashioned term) they have released this morning, as follows...
'Alastair Campbell is the newest recruit to British GQ, having been commissioned to undertake heavy-hitting interviews covering the worlds of politics, sport, business and media, it was announced today by Dylan Jones, Editor of GQ.
“I’m thrilled that Alastair is joining us. A brilliant, opinionated and compelling writer who has the ability to get straight to the heart of what matters, we’re delighted readers of the magazine will be able to enjoy his insightful and entertaining prose,” commented Dylan Jones.
Alastair Campbell added “To be frank, I did not think I was well dressed enough, or cool enough, ever to get approached by GQ, so I was quite surprised when Dylan Jones asked me to do this. But I like the fact that GQ has a tradition of giving a lot of space to big interviews, and to letting the interviewee get their voice heard, so after making a few stipulations - like never describing me, verbally or in print, as Piers Morgan's successor - I said yes. When I was a full-time journalist, I always enjoyed big interviews and I am pleased GQ want me not just to do politics, but figures from sport, business, culture, other aspects of life that I find interesting. I also hope I can bring a bit of lefty influence to the magazine. There is something not quite right about having an editor who slopes off to write sympathetic books about David Cameron, and makes Benedict Cumberbatch the GQ man of the year. GQ should be the magazine for State schools, not Eton and Harrow. More anon.”
Alastair Campbell, communicator, writer and strategist, was formerly the Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair. Still active in politics in Britain and overseas, he now splits his time between writing, speaking, charitable fundraising, consultancy and campaigns. His first interview for GQ will appear in the May 2014 issue.
British GQ is in its 25th anniversary year, recently receiving the Digital Magazine of the Year 2013 (Men’s Lifestyle) in the Digital Magazine Awards, and Dylan Jones was awarded Editor of the Year at the BSME Awards, taking the number of awards won by the magazine to 48. British GQ has a combined print and digital circulation of 130,009 (ABC Jan-Jun 2013); readership is 398,000 (NRS Jul 2012-Jun 2013); unique users of the website total 1,037,909, with 10,714,796 page impressions (Google analytics Aug-Oct 2013).'
I am very open to suggestions about who you would like to see me interview, and I am also not averse to 'spin doctors' seeking to persuade me that their charges are worth talking to. Suggestions welcome.
Congrats
Michael Gove.
Michael Gove.
Assuming you’ll have the job until at least the end of the year, how about interviewing Alex Salmond after the referendum.
Nothing to do with GQ (not a magazine I’ll ever read, by the way – much too blokey), can you tell us what on earth we’re going to do when Labour doesn’t get enough votes to form the coalition you’re predicting? Fracking hell…
Francois Hollande on how seriously he took his job (and how much longer he expects to keep it).
Not being a celeb mag fan I have to admit this one has exposed something that had to be outed.
This was a much more reasoned and very elegant condemnation of Mr Hollande’s farcical behaviour :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03pmkzm
Easy to play now it’s been broadcast for the repeat.
oooops I think I forgot to add congratulations !
Enjoyed reading this Ali. ; )
http://www.fabians.org.uk/giving-one-nation-meaning-interview-with-alistair-campbell/
“Campbell’s affinity with Labour stems from his time at Cambridge, where he “battled with class conflict” and feelings of being “an outsider”. His early experiences defined his tribal loyalty to Labour. Campbell is here to stay, at least until he has achieved his agenda of getting Labour, a party he believes will strive for a fairer nation, back into power.”
GQ? It is just another glossy!! : )
The Authenticity Conundrum,
http://kingsreview.co.uk/magazine/blog/2013/11/27/who-is-the-real-alastair-campbell/
Not too sure that I should congratulate you-watch your back with Dylan Jones….but how about Ryan Giggs? Or even better Paul Scholes-if you can persuade him to open up…..??
Seen this Ali? As if I didn’t know…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25747068
Margaret Hodge on what have been the most memorable and most funny explanations of financial arrangements given to her committee.
I think I posted about her determination some months ago and mistakenly renamed her M Beckett !
Another 🙂
Sinead O’Connor about her depressions and why on earth she bothered advising the twerker (especially given the title of her latest and fab album!).
Another 🙂
An honest and apolitical statistician.
I’m sick of the duplicity / vagueness in the numbers that are being spouted, this day as a percentage that day as a quantity another day as an in/decrease yadder yadder yadder.
Today’s news about the drop in UB claimants is great news but could it actually be hiding something?
A person can’t be legitimately compulsorily retired at their minimum age for state pension if in work but if s/he is on unemployment benefit it will be stopped of the very day they reach their age group’s minimum retirement age whether they would, if working, have elected to retire or not.
This leaves them with no income unless they do draw the pension they might otherwise have chosen to let ‘grow’ for longer. Like it or not they would be thrown off UB.
As to the ‘highest ever’ number in work …. we know how that was achieved don’t we?
AC, if you ever get to interview Peter Mandelson for GQ Magazine, perhaps you could ask him what he meant exactly when he said that we are now living in ‘a post democratic era’
How about Peter Tatchell , sometimes controversial and sometimes he has some valid points