the 11 Day Rule

Alistair Campbell was head of communication in Tony Blair's government. He is seen as a master of spin and media manipulation and may be the model for Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It.

The 11 Day Rule’ according to Alistair Campbell is that if a minister is under pressure in the media and the story remains in the media for 11 days continuously that minister will go no matter how much they were backed by the PM.