The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq - The Alastair Campbell Diaries (35 page)

TB was doing interviews pushing a very hard line on Zimbabwe [human rights], whilst on Iraq, he was making supportive statements for Bush and hotting up the rhetoric for action.

I spent part of the day working on a note responding to TB’s note on the press. We had to break the herd instinct. I had lunch with Richard Wilson. He clearly believed I had been briefing against him during the Peter M affair, which I hadn’t, and we cleared the air on that. He seemed pretty down, said he had just about had enough of the job and really hated recent events, as had I. I felt he had done pretty well and that TB was probably right, that we should have involved him more, but Jonathan basically felt he was hostile. He said he felt I was exceptionally good at the job but perhaps the GICS had withered a bit under my weight. He liked Tony, felt he was an extraordinary character and the way he used the impact he made on people was a real gift. But he wished he could have done more to help him.

He thought maybe it was a generational thing, but he never felt that he got into the inner circle. He felt Jonathan despised him. He said permanent secretaries felt real respect for GB. He sometimes thought Tony believed he could live with GB on the back benches, but he didn’t think so. He gave me the impression of someone who felt he hadn’t succeeded. He was keen for a Civil Service Act but didn’t seem sure what he would want to do with it. There was something very sad about him today. It was in its own way an enjoyable discussion in that for once we had been very frank, cut through some of the crap that sometimes surrounded us. He talked a lot about his kids and in particular how proud they were of their deaf son, and what perspective his deafness gave them. The nonsense about TB’s shirts was getting out of hand. He was now getting more coverage for his bloody clothes than we were for policy.

We were doing an article for the
Express
on Iraq, which TB had toned down, though one paragraph he had written was totally
incomprehensible. I took in some changes from DB, the FCO and John Scarlett and then got it signed off by TB. TB was disappointed about CHOGM, both the outcome and the lack of real commitment there had been re Zimbabwe. Sally was worried about the Iraq article, felt that we were in danger of getting into a real mess with the party on this. Jack was also cautious, said he felt TB was more vulnerable than he had ever been and had to be really careful. Jonathan, though totally supportive on the substance, made an interesting observation. He said he couldn’t put his finger on it but he felt we could be at the point of the beginning of the end. The big problem domestically was GB looming large, difficulties in driving through the changes in the public services, and the international agenda developing in a way none of us had planned or predicted.

It still felt like we were swimming through treacle. TB called just before 7, having landed at 6.15 after a 24-hour flight via Singapore. I was down on him at the moment, annoyed about all the stuff about his clothes. He felt we were far too defensive about it and I thought in its own way it was damaging, suggested out of touch. He believed our problem was one of communication. I believed there was also a problem with reality and that currently we lacked purpose and direction and when that happened, the trivia and the shit took its place. Clinton had told him that the press and the Tories were doing exactly what his opponents had done to him – drown out policy debate, attack integrity and persuade the public that we spent all our time dealing with all the shit, not worrying about the things people cared about. TB believed we did have a real strategy, and it was the right strategy, but the press were just trying to distort it the whole time. I felt we weren’t disciplined enough at agreeing to a strategy, sticking to it and driving it through.

We had a good meeting with Charles Clarke, David Triesman, Douglas [Alexander, DTI minister], Ed Miliband [special adviser to GB] etc. going through Philip’s latest groups. They were neither bad nor good, just indifferent. We agreed on ‘Investing in strong communities’ as a basic local election message and agreed TB would have to go out campaigning to show we meant business. We had to get back to values-based politics, which meant handling better the frenzies when they came and using them to emphasise the two agendas. TB was tired at the PMQs preparation meeting and very pissed off that we were all so pissed off at all the coverage of his clothes. We were finding each other irritating at the moment. I ran home, then to Rory’s GCSE options
evening. TB had a stack of different meetings but he didn’t seem to be up for anything at the moment. He was a bit spooked by GB.

I drove in with Philip who felt we needed a plan to deal with spin and sleaze. He said switchers had been getting jittery, no sense of delivery, nothing going on in the debate that they identified with. TB leadership and the economy, commitment to public services and the Tories were what kept us going but we weren’t in good shape. TB felt this was the effect of the press drowning the real agenda. I felt he was a bit head-in-sand, couldn’t see, or didn’t want to see there were reality as well as perception problems and they couldn’t all be addressed by a communications plan. Blunkett was in a foul mood because someone had briefed the
Guardian
against his spending bid. TB felt David was slightly losing the plot with the police.

Cabinet was mainly about Iraq. Not exactly division, but a lot of concern, where is it going? DB saying he didn’t feel there was much support. Several saying the real concern was the Middle East peace process. Charles [Clarke] said the party would support provided the case was real and properly made. Jack pointed out it was untrue to say sanctions had stopped food going to Iraq. Geoff H said that if action was taken it would be because of UNSCRs [UN Security Council resolutions]. DB raised the international and legal basis for action. He said that support for Kosovo and Afghanistan had been pretty overwhelming. He felt a military assault on Iraq would carry less weight. It would depend on the role of the UN. Robin started off by saying that Saddam was a shit, a psychopath, who resolved their prison overcrowding problem by shooting 15,000 people with the longest sentences and who gassed the Kurds. On military action, he said there was a fine balance to strike. Saddam will not listen to Kofi Annan [UN Secretary General] unless he believes there might be military action. He said he wasn’t convinced that action three years ago had been productive. He doubted whether it would be worth taking action if he was still standing at the end, and said he will be much cleverer than the Taliban. He said the best way of isolating Saddam from the rest of public opinion there was progress in the MEPP. He also warned that Britain could end up isolated, with a number of EU governments sounding sympathetic but on past form would not sign up. Charles C felt the judgement that would be applied would be one of success or failure. He felt people understood TB’s position of support in exchange for influence.

TB said people’s concerns were justified. ‘I do want to assure you that the management has not gone crazy.’ What are the dangers? US
unilateralism. Bush doing it for the wrong reasons. Lack of progress in the Middle East. Taking action which proves to be ineffective. He said post September 11 there was a huge dialogue over a new UNSCR. Russia is owed a lot of money by Iraq. Egypt said Iraq had the most dangerous leader we have ever come across. [Hosni] Mubarak saw him as a real and present threat. He said we had to try to influence and shape US strategy. But we have to try to put ourselves in the right position. Get the weapons inspectors back in. He said the only thing Saddam responds to was real fear. If we had regime change it would make a huge difference to the whole region. It wasn’t a row as such, but it was immediately briefed to the [
Evening
]
Standard
as such and that would frame it for the rest. It was a good discussion. TB said nothing decided.

Later we saw Milburn who said the problem was we were still behaving like a first-term government. We were too timid. We should be bolder, risk more arguments, more enemies. John Monks had written a bad letter to TB, saying we were in danger of losing our roots. Alan felt GB was the problem, that he spooked TB and we were paralysed on the economy, euro, public services.

Cabinet awayday at Chequers. Mood not great. The papers were full of division, threats of resignations over Iraq which even though untrue was clearly being flammed up from somewhere. TB and I were not getting on at the moment. I was fed up with the whole business, and he knew it. He was probably going elsewhere for advice, notably Peter M and to be fair, I could see why because I was giving him very little by way of ideas and support at the moment. I was down on him and down on the job. TB emphasised the need to get through this difficult phase with direction focused on values and delivery. He was still on the basic message mantra focused on the economy, society, public services, the international agenda. He felt the crime agenda was the most important at the moment. People needed to know we got it.

GB was looking odd, his face often contorted, his lips pushed out like he was blowing the whole time, his hands often clasped together over his eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to look at TB when he spoke. TB said we were currently facing a test of mettle and maturity and had to hold our nerve. He was worried about yesterday’s briefings out of the meeting. But after three months of sustained onslaught, we were still in a pretty strong position in the polls. The strategy against us was to assault our integrity because that goes to trust. Then it was
to say that public services were crap and it makes no difference spending more money.

On the Civil Service, be careful not to be in a state of war with it. Win them over for reform. He said the fundamental positions we took were right, the specific programmes were right and the values were right, and though government is tough, what we’ve been through is nothing like as tough as other governments have, so we need to exude a sense of leadership and confidence, hold firm, take the tough decisions, drive the programme through. JP said whoever briefed yesterday’s discussion on Iraq had behaved appallingly, that we worked hard to unite on policy and we should protect that unity. He said yesterday was a good discussion but then loose talk, nonsense about hawks and doves and threats of resignation had damaged us. Blunkett said it was rare he disagreed with TB but he disagreed with him about the Civil Service. They put SpAds on the back foot. They were in the strongest position they had been in for ages. There needs to be more Civil Service reform. Clare said the Cabinet was not ideologically divided. The ’45 government achieved a lot but there was a real bitterness there. Of course there are differences here, but there is no big ideological divide. Our values are different to Tory values that have dominated in the last century. Our kind of values can become the norm, she said, which will be phenomenal.

Margaret B warned that though IDS was hopeless, we shouldn’t underestimate because he may have a certain appeal. She said the mood in the party was terrible, they think we are growing out of touch. She also felt we needed to do a better job of challenging cynicism. The press are more poisonous than ever before, churn out all sorts of stuff that’s untrue, unchallenged. Byers felt the Cabinet was too pessimistic. Strong economy, good record on jobs, inflation and interest rates. Robin lightened things a bit, started off by saying if JP was blaming him for briefing on Iraq ‘he can step outside’. He said he totally supported TB in saying we needed to use Parliament more. We were not using Parliament enough to set the agenda. He said the problem with disengagement was one affecting the whole of Europe. Politics is now seen as a matter for politicians not people. We must convey a sense that we are not an elite constantly rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. He said GB has been a very distributionist Chancellor but we never talk about it. We don’t talk enough about the changes we are making.

John Reid said he could remember a time when the press was more poisonous, when Neil was leader. It will get worse than this. But what they prey on above all is division, and we should do nothing to feed it. He said we needed to be more political, less managerial, emphasise
values, struggle, change, then delivery. GB said we had a historic opportunity to dominate for a generation, and deliver full employment. He felt we should worry less about the media, get the strategy right and shape long-term expectations. He said the Budget would further establish a strong economy, fairness agenda, solid foundations for the public services with the stress on reform as much as money. Alan M said values-based politics, being politicians not managers, was what was needed. When we were doing difficult things, explaining why according to our values, that was when we are strong. We had allowed ourselves to be projected as being on the side of the wealthy as well as the poor and sometimes the people in the middle didn’t feel we were on their side.

TB summed up at some length. He said that after yesterday’s Cabinet Richard Wilson had said to him he had never known a Cabinet with less malice in it and it was important we stuck together. When colleagues are in trouble, we support them. There was no doubt the press was in a different mode to the public, who wanted to see us with our sleeves rolled up, getting on with the job, doing the things they elected us to do. Our opponents remain frustrated because we have a strong coalition of traditional Labour and aspirational Labour, and we have to hold that together. He said the reason centre-left parties have lost in Europe is partly because they allow different parts of their coalition to erode. They don’t get the importance of the antisocial behaviour agenda, rights and responsibilities. He spoke well, and the mood at the end was better than at the beginning.

Middle East, Zimbabwe and Iraq the main issues at the moment. I took Rory to a race at Chelmsford where one of the coaches came over with some kids and said they were studying me at school.