How did Alastair Campbell get through the media storm over the Iraq War?

Alastair Campbell says that in the worst of the Blair years, around the Iraq War in 2003, he deliberately held on to the memory of his breakdown and told himself each morning that the present was not as bad as then. He admits he was suicidal at points. He coped by caring most about whether his parents, children and Fiona thought well of him, and less about what newspapers wrote.

• Fiona opposed the Iraq War, which put heavy strain on their relationship while Campbell worked 18-hour days.
• Campbell says Tony Blair understood that attacks on him were really aimed at Blair.

▸In their words

“You can get through this day. If you can get through this day, you can get through tomorrow.” Alastair Campbell · at 33:11 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Rest Is Politics (2026-10-15). Read the whole episode summary →

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