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Thinking back 15 years - to 3 days that changed the world. I was Tony Blair’s adviser on Africa. After 6 months of tough negotiations we arrived in Gleneagles for the G8 Summit. Hundreds of thousands of people had mobilised to Make Poverty History. Live 8 had been the week before
Unusually for G8 Summits the communique was not a done deal - and was going to the wire. As President Bush flew in we were still negotiating - mid air - universal access to Aids Treatment and debt and aid. Chancellor Schroder was holding out. The Canadians were playing hard ball.
Our spirits were lifted as we heard London had won the Olympics. TB had made a last minute high risk dash to Singapore a few days before. I remember Jonathan Powell and TB doing a joyful jig around the G8 (specially designed) summit table as the the news came in.
On the 6th we got the breakthrough we wanted on universal access to aids treatment - a commitment that has led to over 25 million people being treated with anti retroviral drugs. Gordon delivered the 100% debt cancellation package that opened the door to investment in education.
We moved the focus to landing the $50 billion aid package and a finance facility for immunisation - the brain child of Shriti Vadera. Then on the morning of July 7 everything changed as reports came in of bombs going off in London.
I remember TB standing on the stairs at Gleneagles and being told there had been a power surge on the underground. He immediately suspected terrorism and decided to return to London to lead the response. He came back that night to Gleneagles tired but focussed.
He immediately went to the bar to meet the other leaders and urged them to be bold - by agreeing an ambitious package for Africa they were also sending a message about international values - countering the hatred and division of terrorism. They agreed.
Gleneagles didn’t make poverty history but it did deliver concrete action that changed millions of peoples lives. In hindsight it was the high water mark of progressive Internationalism. It showed the difference leadership combined by people power can make.
If we are to learn the lessons for today’s challenges - and build back better out of this crises - we need global leadership - but we also need to once again build a coalition of hope and ambition that appeals across divides to the non activist middle.
