Angela Eagle MP, Labour’s Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, responding to the publication of data on the number and cost of Special Advisers employed by the Government, said:

“Another day, another broken promise from David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

“David Cameron promised to get the cost of politics down but under him the number of Special Advisers spirals ever upwards – the public are now picking up bill of over £8m to pay for his appointees.

“This also shows how you can’t trust a word Nick Clegg says. The Lib Dems used to say that Special Advisers shouldn’t be paid for by the public but as soon as he got his feet under the Cabinet table he broke his word. The cost to the public of Lib Dem Special Advisers is over £1.7million – Nick Clegg alone has more advisers working for him than he has female MPs.”

“This is a Government which breaks its promises and leaves hardworking people to pick up the bill.”

Background briefing: Broken promises on special advisers

• Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are breaking pre-election promises on special advisers.

• The Conservatives said that they would put a cap on the number of special advisers – but since the General Election they have steadily increased the number. The latest list of special advisers shows that there are 107 special advisers in post as of 30 Nov 2014[1] in comparison to 98 on 25 Oct 2013, and up from 71 on 28 Oct 2010.

• The Liberal Democrats said that special advisers should be paid out of party funds, not by the taxpayer – but special advisers to Liberal Democrat ministers are paid out of public funds.

The Tories and Special Advisers

• Before the election David Cameron repeatedly talked about “cutting the cost of politics” and said that too much public money was being spent on staff.

“If we’re going to take our country through these difficult times, those who lead must lead by powerful example. That means getting our own house in order and cutting the cost of politics.”

David Cameron, Speech, Cutting the Cost of Politics, 8 September 2009

“Too much money is spent on pay for staff and going on foreign trips.”

David Cameron, Speech, Cutting the Cost of Politics, 8 September 2009 

• From 2006 onwards David Cameron said the Conservative Party would introduce a statutory limit on the number of Special Advisers.

“So this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to put a limit on the number of special advisors and protect the independence of the civil service.”

David Cameron, 8 February 2010

“The latest edition of the Cabinet Office’s press officer directory reveals there are now an astonishing 3,238 press and communications staff across Whitehall. The Ministry of Defence has 229 spin doctors and the Department for Work & Pensions has 181. We will put a statutory cap on the number of special advisers, as part of a wider Civil Service Act to strengthen the independence of the Civil Service.”

David Cameron, Speech to Welsh Conservative Party Conference, 1 March 2008

“The list of Mr Cameron’s proposals involve:

• Reversing the trend towards Tony Blair’s Presidential-style “Department of the Prime Minister”.

• Creating an independent mechanism to investigate breaches of the Ministerial Code.

• Introducing tighter caps on the number of paid and unpaid ministers and a statutory limit on the number of special advisers.

• Ending the practice of MPs setting their own salaries.

• Considering a reduction in the size of the House of Commons.

• Passing a Civil Service Act to re-establish and entrench the independence of the Civil Service.”

Conservative Party press release, 29 September 2006

• The Coalition agreement published in May 2010 promised to introduce a “limit on the number of Special Advisers”.

“We will put a limit on the number on Special Advisers”

Coalition Agreement, May 2011, p.27

• The latest list of special advisers shows that there are 107 special advisers in post as of 30 November 2014 (including appointees to the Council of Economic Advisers)[i], in comparison to 98 on 25 October 2013[ii], 71 on 28 October 2010[iii], 74 on 19 July 2011[iv] and 83 in July 2012[v].

• The Special Adviser paybill for 2014 was £8.4m compared to 7.2m[vi] in 2013, and compared to £5.9m in 2009[vii].

• The Government’s Ministerial Code, published in May 2010, set a limit of two Special Advisers for each Cabinet Minister.

“With the exception of the Prime Minister and the  Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers may each appoint up to two special  advisers (paid or unpaid). The Prime Minister may also

authorise the appointment of one special adviser by Ministers who  regularly  attend Cabinet. Where a Minister has additional responsibility additional advisers may be allowed. All appointments, including exceptions to this rule, require the prior written approval of the Prime Minister, and no commitments to make such appointments should be entered into in the absence of such approval.”

Ministerial Code, May 2010, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61402/ministerial-code-may-2010.pdf

• The Ministerial Code sets a limit of two special advisers for Cabinet Ministers but there are nine ministers with three SpAds (William Hague, Theresa May, Ian Duncan Smith, Michael Gove, Danny Alexander, Nicky Morgan, Jeremy Hunt, Patrick McLoughlin and Baroness Stowell. These exceptions to the rule will have required the prior written approval of Cameron.

• There are more Tory SpAds in Whitehall (79) than Lib Dem MPs (56).

The Liberal Democrats and Special Advisers

• Before the election the Liberal Democrats said that Special Advisers should not be paid by the taxpayer, but should be funded by political parties.

“The government currently employs 74 Special Advisers in the central departments, an increase of more than 90% since 1995, at a cost to the taxpayer of £5.9m each year. These are political jobs, and should, therefore, be funded by political parties. Special Advisors will not be paid for by the taxpayer”
Liberal Democrat policy paper, “A better politics for less”, September 2009

• But now, Special Advisers assigned to Liberal Democrat ministers are paid out of public funds. The latest list of special advisers shows that 28 special advisers have been appointed by Liberal Democrat ministers, with a total salary cost to the taxpayer of at least £1,719,391 (it is not possible to calculate the exact figure because 13 Liberal Democrat Special Advisers are paid below the disclosure threshold of £58,200).
• Nick Clegg alone has 20 special advisers, with a total salary cost to the taxpayer of at least £1,173,961 (it is not possible to calculate the exact figure because eleven of his Special Advisers are paid below the disclosure threshold of £58,200).