The Happy Depressive

Are you happy? Does it matter? Increasingly, governments seem to think so. As the UK government conducts its first happiness survey, Alastair Campbell looks at happiness as a political as well as a personal issue - what it should mean to us, what it means to him.

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, in 1957, the son of a vet. After graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in modern languages, his first chosen career was journalism, principally with the Mirror Group. Campbell worked for Tony Blair -- first as press secretary, then as official spokesman and director of communications and strategy -- from 1994 to 2003, since when he has been mainly engaged in writing, public speaking, consultancy and charity work. He returned to help Labour in the 2005 and 2010 elections. He is an ambassador for the Time to Change campaign to break down stigma and taboo surrounding mental illness. His interests include running, cycling, playing the bagpipes and following the varying fortunes of Burnley Football Club.