SpAdcast: What is it really like to be a special adviser? – Ep2: Relationships

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

News, Politics, Government

4.6 • 252 Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2024

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the department, shaping policy agendas and managing the media. As a new government gets up and running and scores of new SpAds get to grips with their roles, this four part series lifts the lid on what SpAds do, how they do it, and why they’re indispensable to modern government. In the second episode, we’re focusing on how important relationships are to any SpAd’s job. We start by discussing the importance of trust and understanding between SpAds and their secretary of state – how is this relationship built, and why is it so critical? And what about junior ministers – how do SpAds work with them? The link between SpAds and the civil servants they work with is also vital. We look at their links with both the secretary of state’s and their own private offices, as well as what they thought about the civil service overall, and whether anything frustrated them. Presented by Jack Worlidge. Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Vince was very often the first person I'd speak to in the morning, the last person I spoke to at night.
0:05.0	It really felt like I was married to the job.
0:07.0	I felt a bit like an exotic specimen that had just been brought into a zoo.
0:12.0	Everyone wanted to see me. Welcome to SPADCAST, a special inside briefing podcast in the Institute for Government,
0:29.4	looking at the role of special advisors in government. I'm Jack Wurledge, senior researcher at the
0:34.7	Institute for Government and a former Special Advisor. As a new government
0:38.6	gets up and running, we're using this series to look at the crucial role of special advisors, or SPADS.
0:44.0	In the last episode, we heard about how SPADSOR recruited, what it's like into in government
0:48.5	for the first time, and what the purpose of the role really is. What starts to become clear
0:53.7	is that doing the job effectively
0:55.1	rests on relationships. So that's what we're looking at in this episode, Spad's relationships
1:00.2	with their ministers and civil servants. We'll start with ministers. We heard in the last episode
1:06.1	how important it is for a minister recruiting a Spad to make sure they get on with them and can trust
1:10.6	them.
1:11.8	Once you're in the job, this is really important. You need to know your minister inside out.
1:16.7	You're sort of almost treated like a minister of respirator, you know what I mean?
1:19.4	Allard McLean Jones was special advisor to Steve Barkley in the Treasury and the Cabinet office.
1:24.1	They always say this before you become a special advisor. You've got to know your minister and so now. And if there's a bit of difference for your minister, then it'll be like, you know,
1:32.4	hounds, you know, sometimes just come and kill you. And so you're terrified then because you're like,
1:36.6	well, you know, how do I know the mind of somebody? You know, how do I get inside somebody's head. You do have to get to know the person. Hannah Garen worked for Priti Patel in the
1:45.8	home office. And I've been really fortunate the people I've worked with have always been very clear
1:50.5	about their purpose and their direction of travel. And I think that's really important for,
	...

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