Campbell likens Starmer to Bush as he warns of ‘dark place’ if Labour fails

Former president Mr Bush gained a reputation for gaffes during his time in the White House – years where he spent a significant amount of time with Sir Tony during his time in Downing Street – but Mr Campbell spoke highly of him.

“He reminds me, to this regard only, of George W Bush,” he said.

“George W Bush was somebody who if he was there now sitting on that sofa chatting to you, you would think, what a charming, funny guy. And why has he got this reputation of being stupid, because he’s really clever?

“As soon as the cameras came on him, he was a different being.

“And I sometimes feel like if you could only see Keir in a kind of real human setting, he can be impressive, he can be charming, be all the things that you’d want a political leader to be.

“There’s something about the mechanism of modern political communication that I think sometimes stops him being himself.”

Despite Labour struggling in UK-wide polls and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the ascendency, the former strategist – who now presents a podcast – said he was “confident” it can be turned around.

But he added: “If it isn’t turned around, by the way, we are in deep shit.

“Because if this government, if this Labour government, doesn’t succeed I think we’re going to a pretty dark place.”

Mr Campbell did concede, however, the Government’s unpopularity had been a “massive drag” on the Scottish Labour campaign ahead of the May 7 election in Scotland, adding that he was “really sad” for leader Anas Sarwar.

In recent years, the party has gone from competing with the SNP to be the largest party to fighting it out with Reform for second place, according to the polls, though senior Labour figures remain confident Mr Sarwar could end up in Bute House after May 7.