♠️ Call a SpAd a SpAd

Some time ago, someone in the midst of a special adviser (SpAd) recruitment process asked what Policy Unstuck interviewees had to say on what these roles are like. (For those outside the UK, a SpAd is a ministerially-appointed political adviser.)

If your job involves influencing or working with political advisers, and you are an avid Policy Unstuck reader sold on the idea of bureaucratic ethnography, this issue is for you.

As ever, feedback most welcome.

Tom

If you try to grip everything, you grip nothing

Robert Ede, former Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Pressing issues were like little piranha bites out of my day, and with each one the amount of time I had to think about the long term eroded. When I came into government, I remember talking to another special adviser who had worked in government before. I said that I wanted to spend about a third of my time thinking about longer term stuff. He laughed, shook his head, and said 'you are completely naive'.

You quickly realise that if you try and grip everything, you grip nothing. I came in thinking ministers need to have more control and oversight. Over time though, I realised that there is only so much you can oversee; you have to focus on where the politics adds most value.

My advice to new advisers is to work out who the officials and externals are who you can really trust. You need to identify the people who get what the secretary of state's priorities are and won't put anything forward that is ill thought-through. Then you can let their submissions go through with a little less scrutiny, and use that time to focus on the things that are high on the worry list. If you try and do it all the risk is you burn out far too quickly. Trust and relationships are a shortcut to doing slightly less while getting more done.

→ Read Robert’s full Policy Unstuck interview here.

Figure out the problems with a policy as soon as possible

Hannah Guerin, former Special Adviser to various Secretaries of State, including in the Home Office, the Department of Health, and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

We would always think about it from the opposing side: what problems would I highlight if I were my opposite number? If it's some kind of funding policy or a formula, which areas of the country are going to benefit? Is it viable at a national scale, or on a smaller scale? Who are going to be the winners and losers? How is it going to play with our election targets? 

You need to think through how to mitigate the problems before you make big announcements. That doesn't mean 'don't talk about it'. Lots of people are concerned about keeping policy under wraps and keeping it secret, but getting out and talking about it and working out how and where the problems are can really speed up delivery of what you want to achieve. You've just got to know this stuff in order to get your policy through in the first place if you're having to negotiate with Treasury or Number 10. These are the questions advisers will be asking. With finite time and finite resources, you've got to be really clear on the benefit of what you're trying to deliver.

My advice to new advisers is to step back. There is so much going on, you are so time poor. Everyone is pulling you in a hundred different directions. Have a not-to-do list as much as a to-do list. Particularly these first six months, they will pass you by unless you actually take that hour, two hours, three hours, to sit out and work out what your strategy is for what you want to be true at the end of the year. Be kind to yourself.

→ Read Hannah’s full Policy Unstuck interview here.

Understand the nature of power

James Nation, former Deputy Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit, and former Special Advisor to the Chancellor.

Getting policy unstuck depends on the issue. If it's something with a quick fix, then it can be something that the PM says at PMQs or where he wants a particular situation or a small pot of money or regulation change, provided that's not too hard legislatively. In those cases action can happen quite quickly. But for the more systemic issues where you have to fundamentally change a culture in a department or maintain pressure from the centre, then that resolute focus and accountability on that department, of course, is harder.

It comes down to a variety of factors around the intangible nature of power and effective power. What is the Prime Minister's position? What kind of majority do you have in Parliament? If it's something legislative and then with the Department, it's making them believe that this is something that you are going to be consistently held to account on.

But also, have you got that link between the people at the top and the delivery side? There are so many gaps in between, and authority and detail get lost as it moves through the system. If you can get direct contact between people who are known to have the Prime Minister's ear - or even the PM himself - and delivery people, that really helps make things happen but, given time pressures, choose your moments and the issue.

If you're thinking about Special Advisor roles in the new Government, you're probably a thoughtful person in your particular area and you've got a lot to contribute. You've been in opposition or you've been in think tanks thinking about all of this for quite some time. So trust your instincts and remember that you are there as that person to challenge and to try and engage with the outside world as much as you can, even while you're also directing or helping to direct the Civil Service machine. Try and hold on to that - it's difficult. It's an enormous privilege to work in these roles, you've got that chance to shape things. Enjoy it.

→ Read James’ full Policy Unstuck interview here.

The three questions you need to have answers to at all times

Jack Sellers, former Special Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales.

My advice to SpAds is always to stay strategic and above the detail. There are policy experts employed who have specific niches and expertise. Trust them to do the work, and when it comes to you, maintain the strategic level. Focus on: Why are we doing this? Who is it aimed at? What are the politics?

Special advisers are political appointees, so they serve as reminders of the politics—why you're doing something, how it fits into the government's agenda. From a comms perspective, we can't tell the public we have five priorities and then start talking about something completely random. People will think, "I thought you were focused on this other thing." Government narrative is crucial.

You see this with Labour at the moment. The feedback they're getting is: "What are they actually doing?" With us, people knew what we were trying to do—they might not have agreed with it, but they could identify our five priority areas. With Labour currently, it's less clear.

→ Read Jack’s full Policy Unstuck interview here.

Thank you to the 81 Policy Unstuck readers who have referred a friend or colleague.

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