Shadowy geniuses whispering, Rasputinlike, into the ears of our elected politicians under a cloak of secrecy, or a crucial but undervalued cog in the machinery of government? Or just a rag-tag band of weirdos and misfits?
Despite the acres of speculation devoted to special advisers in recent years, from Alastair Campbell to Dominic Cummings, their role is much misunderstood. Who are the people Piers Morgan once called these miserable little creatures and just how much influence do they have?
Peter Cardwell served as SpAd to four Cabinet ministers, acting as media adviser, political fixer, troubleshooter and occasional wardrobe consultant. In this candid, compelling and frequently hilarious insider account, he takes the reader into the heart of Whitehall to reveal what the job really involves, from dealing with counter-terror emergencies in Cobra to explaining to the Justice Secretary what a dental dam is, to having your inside leg measured in a government office.
Packed with advice on navigating the perks and pitfalls of the job, The Secret Life of Special Advisers will inform and entertain anyone who has ever wondered what these mysterious figures really do all day.
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"A rare, fascinating and funny look at life in the corridors of power. This book will teach you how Westminster really works - as well as how it fails." - Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians and Spectator assistant editor "Peter allows you to peep behind the curtain of a much caricatured but little understood part of our political universe. With the structures of government in flux, it's a timely look at how some of the key relationships in Westminster work, and how they sometimes misfire." - Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor "It's the book we have long needed. Peter Cardwell takes us into the mysterious world of the political aides at the heart of Whitehall - the shadowy fixers who oil relations between ministers, mandarins and the media. Some special advisers are more powerful than many Cabinet ministers; many are much cannier operators. Cardwell's book fizzes with stories and humour from his experience as an adviser to four different ministers and his years as a Westminster journalist with BBC Newsnight, ITV and Sky." - Michael Crick
Peter Cardwell served as a special adviser in the UK government for three and a half years. He worked for four Cabinet ministers in four departments: the Northern Ireland Office; the Home Office; the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government; and the Ministry of Justice. After being educated in Northern Ireland, he went to St Hugh's College, Oxford, before winning a Fulbright scholarship to the Columbia School of Journalism, New York. He was a broadcast journalist for ten years, working for the BBC in London, Washington DC, New York and Belfast, as well as for Sky News, Channel 5 News and ITV's Good Morning Britain. He is a frequent political commentator for the UK and international broadcast and print media. In his spare time, he volunteers as chairman of a trust for student journalists, mentors a teenager in the care system and spends time with his rescue cat, Jack. He lives in London and Richhill, County Armagh.
