NEW YORK -- Alastair Campbell has said David Cameron’s attack on Jeremy Corbyn was "not fair" though likely “effective.” Speaking in Manchester on Wednesday, the prime minister accused the Labour leader of holding a “Britain-hating ideology.”
Suggesting that Corbyn thought the death of Osama bin Laden a “tragedy,” Cameron countered: "A tragedy is nearly 3,000 people murdered one morning in New York. A tragedy is the mums and dads who never came home from work that day. A tragedy is people jumping from the towers after the planes hit. My friends -- we cannot let that man inflict his security-threatening, terrorist-sympathising, Britain-hating ideology on the country we love.”
Speaking to HuffPost Live later that day, the former Labour communications chief, who is in the US to promote his book ‘Winners: And How They Succeed,’ said Cameron’s message was a clear indication of how the Tories will go after their rival.
“I said before Corbyn was leader that now he’s in the big league, he’ll discover the past is not a foreign country and everything he’s done and everything he said is going to be brought up.” Referring to Cameron’s speech, Campbell said “we’ve seen there how they are going to attack him. And the reality is there is quite a lot to attack.”
Campbell said Corbyn supporters have accused him of being “totally obsessed about winning,” but added that in politics he is. “It is what I’m obsessed about because I don’t like the Conservatives, I don’t like David Cameron being prime minister, I don’t like the stuff they’re doing with welfare and I don’t like all the stuff they’re doing with the health service.”
Yet Campbell said he remained “unpursuaded” that Corbyn can win the next general election. “On his position that Britain should come out of NATO... that on its own is enough to lose an election,” he said, noting that “policy positions” rather than ”rhetoric,” or the “great speeches that get the new members going” is what is important. “It’s about what you say you would do if you were prime minister,” he added.
On speaking to some of the thousands of new members that joined the Labour Party during Corbyn’s candidacy, Campbell said “it was almost by electing him they’d already ended austerity and changed the world.”
“They haven’t,” he added. “You can’t change the world in politics unless you’re in power.”
Also on HuffPost Live on Wednesday, film director Danny Boyle, a long-standing supporter of left-wing politics, gave his view of the new opposition leader. Watch that clip below:
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David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Conference
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(01 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron stands onstage with wife Samantha following his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(02 of28)
British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) stands by his wife Samantha after delivering a speech to delegates at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PAUL ELLIS via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(03 of28)
Samantha Cameron, the wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, listens as her husband addresses delegates on the final day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(04 of28)
British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) waves by his wife Samantha Cameron on stage after delivering a speech to delegates at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(05 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron stands onstage with wife Samantha following his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(06 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron stands onstage with wife Samantha following his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(07 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron stands onstage with wife Samantha following his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(08 of28)
British Conservative party member of parliament and London Mayor Boris Johnson (C) receives a standing ovation from delegates after receiving a complimentary mention in Prime Minister David Cameron's speech on the final day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(09 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(10 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(11 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Delivers His Speech On The Closing Day Of The Conservative Party Conference(12 of28)
David Cameron, U.K. prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, delivers his speech on the closing day of the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Cameron will set out changes to planning rules to encourage house-builders to deliver more of the homes for young people that his government has promised. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(13 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(14 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(15 of28)
British Prime Minister David Cameron smiles as he delivers a speech to delegates at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(16 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(17 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron gives his keynote speech to delegates on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron has announced plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(18 of28)
British Prime Minister David Cameron delivers a speech to delegates at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(19 of28)
British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) and wife Samantha arrive at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PAUL ELLIS via Getty Images)
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Delivers His Speech On The Closing Day Of The Conservative Party Conference(20 of28)
David Cameron, U.K. prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, right, arrives with his wife Samantha Cameron, to deliver his speech on the closing day of the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Cameron will set out changes to planning rules to encourage house-builders to deliver more of the homes for young people that his government has promised. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(21 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha arrive for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron is expected to announce plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Delivers His Speech On The Closing Day Of The Conservative Party Conference(22 of28)
David Cameron, U.K. prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, right, arrives with his wife Samantha Cameron, to deliver his speech on the closing day of the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Cameron will set out changes to planning rules to encourage house-builders to deliver more of the homes for young people that his government has promised. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Delivers His Speech On The Closing Day Of The Conservative Party Conference(23 of28)
David Cameron, U.K. prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, right, arrives with his wife Samantha Cameron, to deliver his speech on the closing day of the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Cameron will set out changes to planning rules to encourage house-builders to deliver more of the homes for young people that his government has promised. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(24 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha arrive for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron is expected to announce plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (credit:Dan Kitwood via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(25 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha arrive for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron is expected to announce plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
BRITAIN-POLITICS-CONSERVATIVE(26 of28)
British Prime Minister David Cameron (L) and wife Samantha arrive at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, north west England, on October 7, 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron will today call for a building 'crusade' in Britain, in a bid to address a housing shortage that has become a political hotcake. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:OLI SCARFF via Getty Images)
David Cameron Addresses The 2015 Conservative Party Autumn Conference(27 of28)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: British Prime Minister David Cameron and wife Samantha arrive for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference, at Manchester Central on October 7, 2015 in Manchester, England. Mr Cameron is expected to announce plans to encourage developers to build 200,000 new 'affordable' homes for first time buyers. The initiative is set up to secure the homes by the end of the parliament, and is one of the key election pledges of the Conservative's election campaign. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Delivers His Speech On The Closing Day Of The Conservative Party Conference(28 of28)
George Osborne, U.K. chancellor of the exchequer, left, and Sajid Javid, U.K. business secretary, listen to David Cameron, U.K. prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, deliver his speech on the closing day of the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015. Cameron will set out changes to planning rules to encourage house-builders to deliver more of the homes for young people that his government has promised. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)