This paper examines how opinion-shaping political and civil service stakeholders view the role and contribution of Special Political Advisers (SpAds) within the Westminster system of government. The literature only recently paid considered attention to this role, partly due to the recent reforms that spawned the emergence of SpAds, but also because political advisers still only represent a small population within the government community. It is acknowledged that each country’s institutional and administrative traditions greatly influence SpAds’ tasks; arrangements with the UK being no exception. Recognising that SpAds take on the role of “temporary civil servants” whose duties vary according to ministerial direction, the study reported in this paper concludes that SpAds can make an invaluable contribution to policy delivery by acting as a bridge between Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary. The capability to bridge the tensions between ministerial urgency to realise policy goals and civil servant realism to accurately assess the “fracture points” to be overcome in the process of policy delivery is reported as particularly valued by the public official. This paper concludes that the SpAd’s relentless pursuit of the Minister’s agenda is distinctly counterproductive for both Minister and civil servant, but adopting the function of bridging across contrasting interests enhances policy delivery effectiveness.
KeywordsSpecial Political Advisers (SpAds)Secretary of StatePermanent Secre-taryBridging FunctionPolicy Delivery
Alvesson, M., & Skoldberg, K. (2009). Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Askim, J., Karlsen, R., & Kolltveit, K. (2017). Political Appointees in Executive Government: Exploring and Explaining Roles Using a Large-N Survey in Norway. Public Administration, 95, 342-358. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12272
Barberis, P. (1996). The Elite of the Elite: Permanent Secretaries in the British Higher Civil Service. Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing Company.
Blach-Orsten, M., Mayerhoffer, E., & Willig, I. (2019). From Government Office to Private PR: Career Patterns of Special Ministerial Advisers and the Privatization of Politics. The International Journal of Politics, 1-19.
Blick, A. (2004). People Who Live in the Dark: The History of the Special Adviser in British Politics. London: Politicos.
Bluntschli, J. K. (1880). German State Doctrine and the Present World of States.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford: OUP.
Burch, M. (1983). Mrs Thatcher’s Approach to Leadership in Government: 1979-1983. Parliamentary Affairs, 36, 398-416. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/36.4.399
Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural Holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cabinet Office (2010a). Ministerial Code. National Archive, May. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/ http:/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409215/ministerialcodemay2010.pdf
Cabinet Office (2010b). Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. London: Cabinet Office.
Cabinet Office (2015b). Special Adviser Data Releases: Numbers and Costs. Cabinet Office. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-december-2015
Cabinet Office (2016). Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. Cabinet Office. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/832599/201612_Code_of_Conduct_for_Special_Advisers.pdf
Cabinet Office (2017a). List of Special Advisers in Post as at December 2017. Transparency Data. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs- december-2017
Cabinet Office (2017c). Special Adviser Data Releases: Numbers and Costs. Gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-december-2017
Cameron, S. (2012). Stand Up, You Spads, and Be Accountable. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9241164/Stand-up-you-Spads-and-be-accountable.html
Christensen, J. G., & Opstrup, N. (2018). Bureaucratic Dilemmas: Civil Servants between Political Responsiveness and Normative Constraints. Governance, 31, 481-498. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12312
Civil Service Commission (2015). The Civil Service Code. Gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code
Civil Service Management Code (2016). UK Government, 16 March. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code
Cline, A. W. (2008). The Modernisation of British Government in Historical Perspective. Parliamentary Affairs, 61, 144-159. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsm050
Connaughton, B. (2010). Glorified Gofers, Policy Experts or Good Generalists: A Classification of the Roles of the Irish Ministerial Adviser. Irish Political Studies, 25, 347-370. https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2010.497636
Connaughton, B. (2015). Navigating the Borderlines of Politics and Administration: Reflections on the Role of Ministerial Advisers. International Journal of Public Administration, 38, 37-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2014.952820
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010). UK Government. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/25/contents
CSW (2009). Special Report: Out of the Darkness. Civil Service World. https://www.civilserviceworld.com/special-report-out-of-the-darkness
Deacon, D., Pickering, M., Golding, P., & Murdock, G. (2007). Researching Communications: A Practical Guide to Methods in Media and Cultural Analysis (2nd ed.). London: Hodder Arnold.
Delaney, K. J. (2007). Methodological Dilemmas and Opportunities in Interviewing Organizational Elites. Sociology Compass, 1, 208-221. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00028.x
Dror, Y. (1985). Policy Making Under Adversity. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
Eichbaum, C., & Shaw, R. (2010). Partisan Appointees and Public Servants: An International Analysis of the Role of the Political Adviser. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849803298
Eichbaum, C., & Shaw, R. (2014). The Mortal Temples of the King: Prime Ministers and Their Advisers in Parliamentary Democracies. In R. A. W. Rhodes, & P. t’Hart (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Leadership (pp. 517-532). Oxford: OUP. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199653881.013.020
Elgot, J., & Mason, R. (2017). Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill: Unelected Advisers Who Acted More like DPMs. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/10/nick-timothy-and-fiona-hill-unelected-advisers-who-acted-more-like-dpms
Fawcett, P., & Gay, O. (2010). The United Kingdom. In C. Eichbaum, & R. Shaw (Eds.), Partisan Appointees and Public Servants: An International Analysis of the Role of the Political Adviser (pp. 24-36). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Francesca, F., & Stoker, G. (2011). Special Advisers and the Transmission of Ideas from the Policy Primeval Soup. Policy and Politics, 39, 485-498. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557310X550169
Fulton Committee (1968). The Civil Service, Vol. 1, Report of the Committee 1966-1968. https://www.scribd.com/document/283634741/Fulton-Committee-I
Gay, O. (2000). Advisers to Ministers (Research Paper 00/42). London: Parliament and Constitution Centre, House of Commons Library.
Gay, O. (2009). Special Advisers. London: House of Commons Library Standard Note SN/PC/03813.
Gay, O. (2010). Special Advisers (Standard Note SN/PC/03813). London: Parliament and Constitution Centre, House of Commons Library.
Glencross, T. (2015). Attack of the Clones: How Spads Took over British Politics. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/19/spads-special-advisers-took-over-british-politics
Hazell, R., Yong, B., Waller, P., & Walker, B. (2012). Submission to the Public Administration Committee Inquiry on Special Advisers, the Constitution Unit, University College London. Parliament UK. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmpubadm/134/134we10.htm
HCPACAC (House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee) (2018). The Minister and the Official: The Fulcrum of Whitehall Effectiveness. Fifth Report of Session 2017-19, Ordered by the House of Commons to Be Printed 12 June 2018.
History Extra (2014). Thomas Cromwell: The Rise and Fall of Henry VIII’s Henchman. BBC History Magazine and BBC World Histories Magazine. https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/thomas-cromwell-the-rise-and-fall-of-henrys-henchman/
Hood, C., & Lodge, M. (2006). The Politics of Public Service Bargains. Oxford: OUP. https://doi.org/10.1093/019926967X.001.0001
Hope, C. (2012). Number of Special Advisers Employed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg Soars. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9406787/Number-of-special-advisers-employed-by-David-Cameron-and-Nick-Clegg-soars.html
House of Commons (2018). Special Advisers. Parliament UK. http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN03813
House of Commons Library (2018). Special Advisers, Briefing Paper, Number 3813. Research Briefings. http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03813/SN03813.pdf
Hustedt, T., & Salomonsen, H. H. (2017). Political Control of Coordination? The Roles of Ministerial Advisers in Government Coordination in Denmark and Sweden. Public Administration, 95, 393-406. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12312
Hustedt, T., Kolltveit, K., & Salomonsen, H. H. (2017). Ministerial Advisers in Executive Government: Out from the Dark and into the Limelight. Public Administration, 95, 299-311. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12329
Inwood, G. J. (2009). Understanding Canadian Public Administration: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (3rd ed.). Scarborough: Pearson-Prentice Hall.
Jenkin, B. (2012). Avoid the Thick of It-Style SpAd Appointments, Ministers Told. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/oct/14/avoid-thick-of-it-appointments
Jones, G. (1978). The Prime Ministers’ Men. Whitley Bulletin, April 1978, 4, 66-68.
Kakabadse, N. K., & Louchart, E. S. (2012). Delicate Empiricism: An Action Learning Approach to Elite Interviewing. In A. P. Kakabadse, & N. K. Kakabadse (Eds.), Global Elites: The Opaque Nature of Transnational Policy Determination (pp. 286-307). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230362406_17
Kidd, C., & RoseI, J. (2017). The Perils of Political Advice. PPR Progressive Review, 24, 243-253.
Knight, C. (1990). The Making of Tory Education Policy in Post-War Britain, 1950-1986. London: The Falmer Press.
Langdridge, D. (2007). Phenomenological Psychology: Theory, Research and Method. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Laughrin, D. (2014). What Special Advisers Do for Ministers. In B. Yong, & R. Hazell (Eds.), Special Advisers: Who They Are, What They Do and Why They Matter (pp. 61-86). Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Lodge, M. (2010). Public Service Bargains in British Central Government: Multiplication, Diversification and Reassertion? In M. Painter, & G. B. Peters (Eds.), Tradition and Public Administration (pp. 99-113). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230289635_8
LSE GV314 Group (2012). New Life at the Top: Special Advisers in British Government. Parliamentary Affairs, 65, 715-732. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gss011
Mangset, M., & Asdal, K. (2019). Bureaucratic Power in Note-Writing: Authoritative Expertise within the State. The British Journal of Sociology, 70, 569-588. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12356
Marsh, D., Richards, D., & Smith, M. J. (2000). Re-Assenting the Role of Departmental Cabinet Ministers. Public Administration, 78, 305-326. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00207
Ohberg, P., Christiansen, P. M., & Niklasson, B. (2017) Administrative Politicization or Contestability? How Political Advisers Affect Neutral Competence in Policy Processes. Public Administration, 95, 269-285. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12253
Page, E. (2010). Has the Whitehall Model Survived? International Review of Administrative Sciences, 76, 407-423. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852310373004
Parliament UK (2012). SpAds Need Better Training and Support: Bernard Jenkin MP, Chair of the Committee. Parliament UK. https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-administration-select-committee/news/publication-of-spads-report
PASC (Public Administration Select Committee) (2012). Special Advisers in the Thick of It, Sixth Report of Session 2012-13, House of Commons. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmpubadm/134/134.pdf
Patapan, H. (2012). Machiavellian Advisers: Political Leadership and the Problem of Policy Adviser. International Public Policy Association. http://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/file/paper/5938db34ef65b.pdf
Peters, B. G., Rhodes, R., & Wright, V. (2000). Administering the Summit: Administration of the Core Executive in Developed Countries. New York: St Martin’s Press.
Raven, B. H. (1965). Social Influence and Power. In I. D. Steiner, & M. Fishbein (Eds.), Current Studies in Social Psychology (pp. 371-382). New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston.
Richards, D., & Smith, M. J. (2016). Governance: An International Journal of Policy. Administration, and Institutions, 29, 499-516. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12225
Riddell, P., Gruhn, Z., & Carolan, L. (2011). The Challenge of Being a Minister: Defining and Developing Ministerial Effectiveness. Institute for Government. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/challenge-being-minister
Rose, R. (1986). A House Divided: Political Administration in Britain. University of Strathclyde Studies in Public Policy Number 158.
Rouban, L. (2012). Politicisation of the Civil Service. In B. G. Peters, & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of Public Administration (2nd ed., pp. 380-391). London: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446200506.n25
Shaw, R., & Eichbaum, C. (2014). Ministers, Minders and the Core Executive: Why Ministers Appoint Political Advisers in Westminster Contexts. Parliamentary Affairs, 67, 584-616. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gss080
Shaw, R., & Eichbaum, C. (2015a). Following the Yellow Brick Road: New Directions in Studying Political Advisers in Executive Government. International Journal of Public Administration, 38, 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2014.980910
Smith, J., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. London: Sage.
Smith, R. F. I. (1976). Ministerial Advisers. Canberra, Appendix 1.J: Ministerial Advisers. RCAGA Appendix Volume One.
Smith, R. F. I. (1977). Ministerial Advisers: The Experience of the Whitlam Government. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 36, 133-158. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8500.1977.tb00391.x
Svara, J. H. (2001). The Myth of the Dichotomy: Complementarity of Politics and Administration in the Past and Future of Public Administration. Public Administration Review, 61, 177-183. https://doi.org/10.1111/0033-3352.00020
Svara, J.H. (1999). Complementarity of politics and administration as a legitimate alternative to the dichotomy model. Administration and Society, 30(6), 676-705. https://doi.org/10.1177/00953999922019049
Tansey, O. (2007). Process Tracing and Elite Interviewing: A Case for Non-Probability Sampling. PS: Political Science and Politics, 40, 765-772. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096507071211
Tiernan, A. (2007). Power without Responsibility. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Travis, A., Huhne, C., & Wintour, P. (1989). Lawson Sparks Reshuffle. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1989/oct/27/past.christopherhuhne
Walter, J. (1986). The Ministers’ Minders: Personal Advisers in National Government. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Whitaker, R. (2000). Politics versus Administration: Politicians and Bureaucrats. In M. Whittington, & G. Williams (Eds.), Canadian Politics in the 21st Century (5th ed., pp. 55-78). Scarborough: Nelson, a Division of Thomas Learning.
Wicks, N. (2002). Defining the Boundaries within the Executive: Ministers, Special Advisers and Permanent Civil Servants. http://www.public-standards.gov.uk
Wildavsky, A. (1979). Speaking Truth to Power: The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis. Boston, MA: Little, Brown. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04955-4
Wilson, S. H. (1976). Governance of Britain. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, and Michael Joseph.
Wilson, W. (1887). The Study of Administration. Political Science Quarterly, 2, 197-222. https://doi.org/10.2307/2139277
Yong, B., & Hazell, R. (2014). Special Advisers: Who They Are, What They Do and Why They Matter. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Young, H., & Sloman, A. (1982). No, Minister. London: BBC Books.