First, a disclaimer. Looking back, I see that for a brief period in my twenties a disproportionate chunk of my social and professional circle comprised of special advisers, with a handful of party and trade union officials thrown in. Now that I have successfully emerged from ‘the bubble’ of life within SW1 and reacclimatised back into wider society, I approached this book with a mix of interest and trepidation.
Would the authors successfully lift the lid on the profession behind the dark humour of The Thick Of It, and, if so, would I be comfortable with their verdict? Would the Blair administration under which I worked be singled out as a model of best practice in structuring political advice, or the contrary? Would the coalition government be exposed as both incompetent and hypocritical with regard to the size and selection of its special advisory team, after all those promises of less spin?
My nervousness was eased by what was clearly a methodical rather than overtly political approach by the authors. There is no sensationalism here. Ben Yong and Robert Hazell’s text seeks to establish answers to four key questions: why ministers appoint special advisers; who typically becomes a special adviser; what ‘spads’ actually do; and how their role and effectiveness could be improved.
Through data analysis, surveys, and interviews with special advisers, ministers and senior civil servants, the book confirms a number of issues which resonate with both my personal experience and the stereotypical portrayal of spads in the media: that their background is too narrow; that the recruitment process is ad hoc and lacks transparency; that a minority let the profession down, either through inexperience or adverse briefing. Yong and Hazell also successfully depict the delicate path to be trodden by the few isolated political operatives machinating alongside the apolitical army that is the civil service.
Overall, Special Advisers is a comprehensive and fair contribution which will serve anyone wishing to demystify the role well. It is an easy read, albeit a rather dry one. A few lengthier and juicier anecdotes might admittedly have detracted from the authoritative tone of the book, but may have offered a dash more pleasure to intrigued readers. There are plenty of illuminating stories to be told.
As a supplement to the book, the publishers have produced a handbook for current and aspiring spads, entitled Being A Special Adviser, which is helpfully available for free via the University College London website. While the real challenge for special advisers may lie in intangible skills like the ability to second-guess your minister’s inclinations, there are undoubtedly gems of wisdom here: a checklist of what to encourage colleagues to do for you and how to reciprocate; a crisis management case study (the collapse of the Farepak Christmas box company); top tips from former spads across the three main parties (hats off to the anonymous Tory for the honest nugget, ‘enjoy Fridays’).
Let’s see if we notice a smoother-running government and fewer ministerial glitches following this publication – and perhaps a surge in downloads from Labour quarters.
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Claire Reynolds is a former special adviser
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Special Advisers: Who They Are, What They Do and Why They Matter
Ben Yong and Robert Hazell
Hart Publishing | 234pp | £25