UK Government Special Advisers

Special advisers are temporary civil servants, exempted from normal civil service impartiality requirements in order to allow them to give political advice to Ministers. Since 1997 there have been a number of moves to increase their ability to direct permanent civil servants.

Whilst there had been Special Advisers employed by Governments in the past, their numbers increased by a huge amount under Tony Blair, rising to a total of 80 in November 2001. Tony Blair had 29, mainly in the new Downing Street Policy Directorate and his Strategic Communications Unit.

The bill for these Advisers was £4.4 million in 2001, making the average salary nearly £60,000. The total salary bill for Tony Blair's private office was £10.8 million in 1999. The pay of most Advisers is kept secret, but it is known that both Alastair Campbell, Blair's Press Secretary and Jonathan Powell, Downing Street Chief of Staff, were paid more than £120,000.

Although such Advisers hold a huge amount of power, none of them are elected and very few of their jobs are advertised - they are all political appointees.

Many former advisers to the Labour Party have moved on to very well-paid jobs with lobbying and PR companies. Tim Allan, a former Downing Street Adviser, became Director of Corporate Communications for Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB. Anji Hunter, Tony Blair's former 'Gatekeeper' private secretary, took over as Director of Communications at BP on a salary of £200,000.

Like the majority of the Labour Government, most of the Special Advisers have been to Oxford or Cambridge Universities. Several Advisers have been friends with senior Labour Party figures for many years, others are partners of millionaires or bosses and all come from a self-perpetuating middle class elite that thrives on patronage, using it to by-pass the grubby world of democracy and slip into positions of power and influence. When the 2001 election was called, most of the Government's Special Advisers resigned, mainly to work in the election campaign. Most returned to their jobs, although some lost their patron Minister in the June 2001 reshuffle and moved into the private sector. For full details, check out the Former Advisers section.

Some advisers have now moved on to safe Labour seats, vacated by long-standing MPs who were given peerages to get them out of the way, including David Miliband, James Purnell and Andy Burnham, all former members of the Downing Street Policy Unit.

Special Advisors to the Liberal-Conservative Coalition Government 2010

The UK government spent £6.8 million on special advisors in the Financial Year 2009-2010. This page lists the current governments special advisors, by department as of June 2010.

Prime Minister

Andy Coulson | Edward Llewellyn | Kate Fall | Jonny Oates | Gabby Bertin | Tim Chatwin | Steve Hilton | Polly Mackenzie | Henry Macrory | James O’Shaugnessy | Liz Sugg | Peter Campbell | Sean Kemp | Gavin Lockhart | Michael Salter | Rohan Silva | Sean Worth | James McGrory

Deputy Prime Minister

Lena Pietsch | Richard Reeves | Alison Suttie | Chris Saunders

Secretary of State

Arminka Helic | Denzil Davidson

Chancellor

Rupert Harrison | Elanor Shawcross | Ramesh Chhabra | Poppy Mitchell-Rose

Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice

David Hass | Kathryn Laing

Home Office

Fiona Cunningham | Nick Timmothy

Defence

Luke Coffey | Oliver Waghorn

Business Innovation & Skills

Katie Waring | Giles Wilkes

Work and Pensions

Susie Squire | Philippa Stroud

Energy and Climate Change

Duncan Brack | Joel Kenrick

Health

Jenny Parsons

Education

Henry de Zoete | Elena Narozanski

Communities and Local Government

Giles Kenningham | Sheridan Westlake

Transport

Sian Jones | Paul Stephenson

Environment Food & Rural Affairs

Simon Cawte | Will Littlejohn

International Development

Phillipa Buckley | Richard Parr

Northern Ireland

Jonathan Caine

Scotland

Willie Rennie

Culture, Media, the Olympics & Sport

Sue Beeby | Adam Smith

Chief Secretary

Will De Payer

Leader of the House of Lords

Flo Coleman

Cabinet Office, Paymaster General

Laura Trott

Minister of State Cabinet Office

Martha Varney

Minister of State, Universities & Business

Nick Hillman

Leader of the House of Commons

Robert Ridell

Chief Whip

Chris White | Ben Williams

List of Special advisors - 16 July 2009

Gordon Brown gave the following list of special advisers to Parliament on 16 July 2009:

Appointing Minister Special Adviser in post

The Prime Minister Greg Beales Theo Bertram Nicola Burdett Nick Butler Konrad Caulkett (p-t) Matt Cavanagh Brendan Cox Dan Corry Colin Currie (p-t) Patrick Diamond Michael Dugher Justin Forsyth Stuart Hudson Michael Jacobs Gavin Kelly Richard Lloyd Kirsty McNeill David Muir Sue Nye (p-t) Nick Pearce Lisa Perrin Wilf Stevenson Anthony Vigor Stewart Wood John Woodcock

Minister for Cabinet Office and the Olympics and Paymaster General Robert Philpot

Chief Whip (Commons) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Gary Follis Luke Sullivan

Chief Whip (Lords) Ben Coffman Sue Jackson

First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and Lord President of the Council Geoffrey Norris Patrick Loughran

Minister of State (Business) Matt Cooke

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Francine Bates Alex Belardinelli

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Ann Rossiter Jake Sumner

Minister of State (Housing) Ian Parker

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Philip French Lenny Shallcross

Secretary of State for Defence Alaina Macdonald Andrew Bagnall

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Polly Billington Tom Restrick

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Wesley Ball Beatrice Stern

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Madlin Sadler/Sarah Schaefer (job share)

Secretary of State for Health Katie Myler

Secretary of State for the Home Department Clare Montagu Mario Dunn

Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Minister for Women and Equality Ayesha Hazarika Anna Healy

Leader of the House of Lords, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Philip Bassett Jonathan Pearse

Secretary of State for International Development Richard Darlington Stephen Doughty

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Mark Davies Declan McHugh

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Oonagh Blackman

Secretary of State for Scotland John McTernan Tom Greatrex

Secretary of State for Transport Claire MacAleese David Learn

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sam White Catherine McCleod

Chief Secretary Tony Danker David Mills Graham Dale

Secretary of State for Wales Andrew Bold Dan Lodge

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Will McDonald Eleanor Wilcox

(1) In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has appointed Torsten Henricson-Bell and Geoffrey Spence to the Council of Economic Advisers.

List of Special Advisers 2002

Downing Street 2002

Since the 2001 election, the Number 10 Policy Unit has been merged with Tony Blair's Private Office to form the Number 10 Policy Directorate, run by civil servant Jeremy Heywood. Jonathan Powell remains as Chief of Staff, Alastair Campbell has been made Director of Communications and given 2 civil service deputies who now handle lobby briefings, and Sally Morgan has been made Director of Government Relations.

• Alastair Campbell Director of Communications and Strategy. The Prime Minister's former Official Spokesman, known as the 'real Deputy Prime Minister'. Former porn writer for Forum, he went to Cambridge University. He was Political Editor of Today and the Mirror and has worked for Tony Blair since 1994. His partner is Fiona Millar. He is paid £120,000 (£93,562 in 2000).
• Jonathon Powell Chief of Staff
• Sally Morgan Director of Government Relations. Tony Blair's former political secretary at No. 10, who was given a peerage after the 2001 election, but has now taken over from Anji Hunter as Director of Government Communications. She was a Labour Party Student Organiser and Senior Targetting Officer from 1985-93. She was the Labour Party's Director of Campaigns and Elections from 1993-95 and Tony Blair's Head of Party Liaison from 1995-97. Given peerage without being vetted by the House of Lords Appointment Commission.
• Robert Hill Tony Blair's Political Secretary. Former health adviser to Tony Blair at No.10, became Political Secretary to Blair in 2001. Used to work for the Audit Commission and Capita. He was a press officer for Tony Blair before the 1997 election.
• Andrew Adonis Policy Directorate. Former Lib Dem parliamentary candidate (and local councillor) and journalist with the Financial Times and the Observer. Education and Constitution policy adviser at No.10. He is opposed to the elitism of the 'Oxbridge' universities, although he actually studied History at Oxford University.
• Simon Stevens Policy Directorate. Special Adviser at the DoH from 1997-2001. Former President of the Union at Oxford University and analyst for the Guyana Sugar Corporation. Former Director of East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Health Authority. Policy Adviser.
• Peter Hyman Strategic Communications Unit Former Labour Party press officer, BBC producer and Sky News journalist. He is the Policy Directorate's media analyst. He worked as a researcher for Donald Dewar and John Smith.
• Geoffrey Norris Policy Directorate. Used to work on transport issues (he criticised John Prescott's transport white paper as too anti-car), now specialises in trade and industry matters. He has championed the case for Post Office privatisation as the best deal for business, and "Tony adores him." He is regarded as driving an agenda of his own, championing business and determined to undermine the Unions and the Public Sector. He went to Oxford University where he was known for 'Hard-Left' tendencies.
• Derek Scott Policy Directorate. An ex-SDP economic adviser (and parliamentary candidate), now economic adviser for the Policy Directorate. Worked as an economist for Shell from 1982-6 and for Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW) and the IPPR. He was paid £78,128 in 1999. In April 1996 Barclay's Bank paid for Peter Mandelson to make a 10-day trip to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, to reassure businesses that a Labour Government was no threat to them. The trip was organised by BZW, when Derek Scott was working there (and acting as a part-time adviser to Tony Blair).
• Ed Richards Policy Directorate. Used to work as head of strategy for John Birt at the BBC, then for Gordon Brown in Opposition. His brief at the Policy Unit is to work on long-term strategy for the Labour Party's second term. Said to be consulting within the Labour Party and with Business.
• Philip Bassett Research and Information Unit. Former Industrial Editor at the Times. Married to Baroness Symons, a Minister at the Foreign Office. He wrote the briefing paper for Tony Blair's disastrous Women's Institute speech in June 2000. He went to Oxford University.
• Carey Oppenheim Policy Directorate. Former senior lecturer in social policy at the South Bank University and Research Director at the IPPR. She is Chair of the NEXUS Stakeholder Society Group. She used to work for the Child Poverty Action Group and as a researcher for James Callaghan.
• Justin Russell Policy Directorate. Former Senior Manager at the Audit Commission (where Robert Hill also worked). He previously held policy and research jobs in the Labour Party Policy Unit. He went to Oxford University. Special Adviser on policy at the Home Office until the 2001 election.
• Alastair MacGowan Policy Directorate. Special Adviser at the MOD until the 2001 election. Former Research Assistant to Martin O'Neill (Energy) and George Robertson (Scottish Secretary) in Opposition. He went to Oxford University.
• Sarah Hunter Policy Directorate. Part of the team that travelled with Tony Blair on his 2001 election campaign bus, worked for the Labour Party in Opposition. In the past she has worked for Peter Mandelson and for the BBC's policy directorate.
• Roger Liddle Foreign Policy Adviser. A founding member of (and parliamentary candidate for) the SDP. Former Director of Prima Europe PR consultancy. He was paid £78,128 in 1999. He went to Oxford University, and specialises in European policy issues.
• Liz Lloyd Foreign Policy Adviser. A researcher for Tony Blair since he became leader of the Labour Party. Former partner of Ed Miliband, she shares a flat with James Purnell. Used to specialise in Environment (she was connected with the 'Biotechnology Presentation Group' of Government Ministers, set up in 1999 to sell pro-GM policies to the media), but now covers Home Affairs. Sits on Crime Reduction Task Force. She is paid £70,000. She went to Cambridge University.
• Fiona Millar Director of Events. Special Adviser in No.10 until the 2001 election in what used to be the 'Social Unit'. Alastair Campbell's partner. Former journalist for the Express. She is Cherie Blair's assistant and handles her PR, as well as organising Tony Blair's visits. She is paid about £75,000.
• Hilary Coffman Special Adviser/Press Officer at Downing Street (she resigned temporarily to accompany Blair on the 2001 election campaign). Used to be married to David Seymour, who was Alastair Campbell's Associate Editor at the Daily Mirror, now married to David Hill.
• David Bradshaw Strategic Communications Unit. Former Deputy Political Editor at the Mirror, working for Alastair Campbell. Worked at Millbank during the 1997 election campaign, and has been working at No.10 ever since.
• Kate Garvey Worked for Tony Blair in Opposition, then became Blair's Private Secretary until she temporarily resigned to work on the 2001 election campaign tour, returning to No.10 after the election.
• Catherine Rimmer Former colleague of Bill Bush at the Political Research Department of the BBC.
• Carl Sobhan Former member of the Media Monitoring Unit at the Labour Party's Millbank HQ, nicknamed the Ministry of Truth. Alongside Chris McShane, he was appointed in January 2000 as a Special Adviser in Downing Street. He is paid approximately £70,000.
• Chris McShane Former member of the Media Monitoring Unit at the Labour Party's Millbank HQ with Carl Sobhan. He is paid approximately £70,000.
• Joanna Nadin Member of the Labour Party's Policy Unit at Millbank until becoming a Special Adviser after the 2001 election.
• Patrick Diamond Former Special Adviser to Peter Mandelson, when he was Northern Ireland Secretary. Former Chairman of Labour Students, he stood for Cambridge Council in 1998 and lost. Director of New Labour magazine 'Progress' and member of the Steering Committee of the Labour Renewal Network. Responsible for issues concerning public services.
• Matthew Elson Policy Directorate. Joined the Policy Directorate in January 2002 from McKinseys, the management consultants that has many links with the Labour Government. Transport policy adviser.

Treasury

• Ed Balls Former leader-writer for the FT. Went to Oxford University and Harvard. Earns £60,000 and is known as the 'Deputy Chancellor'. Married to Health Minister Yvette Cooper. He worked with Gordon Brown in opposition from 1994, coming up with the blueprint for the independent Bank of England and caused a row when Brown made him Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury, bypassing official procedures. Click on the picture for more information.
• Ed Miliband Former television researcher. He went to Oxford University and was an adviser to Harriet Harman in opposition. His brother David is head of the Downing Street Policy Unit. He is the former partner of Liz Lloyd, also from the Policy Unit.
• Sue Nye Old friend of Gordon Brown, she has always worked for the Labour Party. She runs Brown's private office and is married to Gavyn Davies, millionaire Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs and member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. They live in a large house in Islington and have another one in Devon. Sue Nye was born in Zimbabwe and went to Cambridge University. She works for Brown unpaid.
• Ian Austin Ian Austin, former Deputy Director of Communications for the Scottish Labour Party (working for Gordon Brown), he was brought in as Brown's spin-doctor as a replacement for Charlie Whelan in June 1999. He had previously been the Labour Party's West Midlands Press Officer, since 1995.
• Spencer Livermore Worked in Gordon Brown's Economics Secretariat before the 1997 election and as political adviser to Andrew Smith when he was Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, now Special Adviser to the Chief Secretary of the Treasury. He went to Oxford University and the London School of Economics.
• Nicola Murphy Special Adviser to the Chief Secretary of the Treasury. Former Chief Political Research Officer for the Labour Party.

Treasury Council of Economic Advisers

• Chris Wales A former City accountant who secretly worked with Ed Balls before the 1997 election, developing the new Labour Government's first budget. Former adviser to Geoffrey Robinson. He was a tax partner at Arthur Andersen, head of a team who toured the City drumming up support for the Labour Party before the 1997 election, after which he immediately joined the Treasury.
• Paul Gregg As well as working for Gordon Brown, Paul Gregg works part-time as a Senior Research Associate at the London School of Economics and as a Reader in Economics at the University of Bristol. Before joining the LSE in 1995, he worked at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research from 1987.
• Shriti Vadera Former Executive Director at Warburg Dillon Read, where she worked on banking and privatisation teams. She is an expert on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deals. She is the Treasury's top negotiator in the PPP scheme to part-privatise the London tube network, telling London transport commissioner Bob Kiley she 'could not sanction public control of the tube under any circumstances' on February 12th 2001.
• Maeve Sherlock Former Director of the National Council for One Parent Families. She was a member of the National Union of Students Executive from 1985-1998 including as President from 1988-90.
• Dr Stewart Wood Professor in Politics at Oxford University (he is on leave until 2004). Went to Harvard University in the USA and is an organiser of the 'Third Way' think-tank Nexus, which has co-ordinated research for the former No. 10 Policy Unit.

Cabinet Office

• Sue Jackson Former Labour Party Campaigns Officer and Head of Administration in Tony Blair's Office. A career Labour Party official.
• Margaret Ounsley Former Labour councillor in Reading who then worked for the Local Government Association. Former History teacher.
• David Mathieson Special Adviser at the Foreign Office until the 2001 election, now Special Adviser to the Leader of the House of Commons. Former solicitor with Clifford Chance. A Party Political Appointee, paid for by the Labour Party.
• Meg Russell Special Adviser to the Leader of the House of Commons. Senior Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit of the University College London (also responsible for PR). A former National Women's Officer in the Labour Party and Parliamentary Researcher for Clare Short (in Opposition).
• Greg Power Special Adviser to the Leader of the House of Commons. Former Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government Programme and Head of the Parliamentary Unit at Charter 88.
• Matthew Seward Special Adviser to the Leader of the House of Lords. Former Home Affairs Policy Officer for the Labour Party. He went to Hull University.
• Deborah Lincoln Special Adviser to the Leader of the House of Lords. Formerly Director of Communications at Macmillan Cancer Relief and a former National Women's Officer in the Labour Party.
• Fiona Gordon Special Adviser to the Chief Whip, Hilary Armstrong. Former West Midlands Regional Director for the Labour Party.
• Joe McCrea Knowledge Network Project Joe McCrea was the former Special Adviser to Frank Dobson from 1997-9 (he also worked for Dobson in opposition for 4 years). He is now the Project Manager of the Knowledge Network Project (KNP) at the Cabinet Office. He is said to have ordered the playing of New Labour's favourite song "Things can only get better" at his wedding reception in 1999! Click on the image for more information.

Forward Strategy Unit

The Cabinet Office Forward Strategy Unit was set up after the 2001 election to work on policy and strategy projects. It is run by former Special Adviser Geoff Mulgan. There are a number of people working in the Unit as unpaid advisers:

• Dr Arnab Banerji Chief Investment Officer at Foreign &Colonial Management Ltd. He is responsible for investment management, policy decision-making and asset allocation. Previously he was Chief of Staff at Citibank Global Asset Management.
• Nick Lovegrove Director at McKinsey & Company, co-leader of the Global Media and Entertainment Practice (in charge of 200 consultants around the world), in the past he has advised Gordon Brown on productivity and competitiveness. McKinsey have held seminars on productivity at Downing Street. He is working with the DCMS, looking at the effect of technology on broadcasting.
• Penny Hughes Former President of Coca Cola Great Britain and Ireland. Non-Executive Director of Vodaphone, Enodis, Swedish bank SEB and Trinity Mirror.
• Adair Turner Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch and former Director-General of the CBI. In the past he has worked for BP, Chase Manhattan Bank and McKinsey & Company. He went to Cambridge University, where he was Chairman of the Conservative Association. Joined the SDP in the 1980's. He sat on the Government's Skills Task Force and the DTI's Competitiveness Advisory Group. He is examining the "supply side" of the NHS.

Deputy Prime Minister

• Ian McKenzie Special Adviser in the Cabinet Office until the 2001 election. Worked as an adviser to Ann Taylor (former Chief Government Whip) in opposition. Former Head of PR at the Southampton Institute (a higher education college). Former President of the University of East Anglia Student's Union.
• Joan Hammell Special Adviser at the DETR from 1997-2001. She has worked for John Prescott since 1994. Before that she worked for Neil Kinnock, Ann Taylor and Frank Field.
• Anna Healy Worked as Senior Consultant for Strategic Communications at lobbyists GPC (alongside Joy Johnson, former head of Party communications) until the 2001 election, and previously as Press and Strategic Communications Co-ordinator for Carlton Television. Former adviser to Jack Cunningham and Mo Mowlam, before that she worked as Senior Parliamentary Press Officer for the Labour Party for 6 years. Working part-time for John Prescott.
• Paul Hackett Special Adviser at the DETR from 1997-2001. Previously worked at the Cranfield School of Management and the TUC (remains a Research Fellow at Cranfield University). He was caught on film in 1998 trying to get the Lobbyist Derek Draper to publicise a report he had written for Cranfield, in return for a favour Draper was asking him. Working part-time for John Prescott.

Department of Trade and Industry

• Jim Godfrey He is a former PR manager for the IPPR (where he worked one day a week for Patricia Hewitt). He worked on Frank Dobson's campaign to be mayor of London and joined the Labour Party's Millbank team as a Senior Press Officer in 2000 and worked on the 2001 election campaign.
• Kitty Usher Former Chief Economist at the Britain in Europe group.
• Roger Sharp Former Head of Business Liaison for the Labour Party at Millbank. Previously worked at lobbyists GJW Government Relations. A Manchester City fan, he is working for the DTI part-time.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

• Ruth MacKenzie Has worked in the Arts since the 80's, including at the Arts Council. General Director of Scottish Opera from 1997-9, during which time it was within 48 hours of bankruptcy and was criticised by an all-party committee for 'wholly inadequate' management. She was also on the board of the Dome's New Milliennium Experience Company from 1997-99. She went to Cambridge University.
• Bill Bush Special Adviser in the Research and Intelligence Unit at N0.10 until the 2001 election. Former Head of Political Research at the BBC and former aide to Ken Livingstone at the GLC.

Department for Education and Skills

• Dr William Cavendish Lecturer in Economics at Imperial College and local councillor in Oxford. He was the Head of Policy for the Labour Party until being made a Special Adviser. He is a specialist in privatisation and a member of the New Local Government Network alongside Paul Corrigan.
• Chris Boffey Former News Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, and had previously worked at the Sunday Mirror, the News of the World and the Daily Star.

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• Nicci Collins (Previously Nicci Russell) Special Adviser at the Cabinet Office until the 2001 election. Former Westminster Labour councillor. She went to Cambridge University. Has worked for Margaret Beckett for more than 5 years.
• Sheila Watson Special Adviser at the Cabinet Office until the 2001 election. Deputy Director of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies in Manchester. Has worked for Margaret Beckett since 1990 and is a former researcher for the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Went to Oxford University with Andrew Hood.

Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions

• Dan Corry Special Adviser at the DTI from 1997-2001. He is a former Employment (1984-86) and Treasury (1986-89) economist for the Tories and Chief of Economics at the IPPR. He was Head of the Labour Party's Economic Secretariat from 1989-1992. He went to Oxford University.
• Michael Dugher Unsuccessful Labour candidate at the 2001 election. He is the former Head of Policy at the AEEU and speech-writer to Frank Dobson. Former National Chair of Labour Students and regional convenor for the NUS in the East Midlands, during which time the Warwick University Labour Club suggested they would "almost start to think he was actually a maniacal, power-hungry psycopath who'd willingly screw over anyone to get his corrupt and mentally deficient mates elected" as delegates to a Labour Students conference.

Home Office

• Nick Pearce Special Adviser at the DfEE until the 2001 election, he worked for David Blunkett and Ann Taylor in Opposition. Former Director of Education at the IPPR.
• Sophie Linden Special Adviser at the DfEE until the 2001 election, she also worked for David Blunkett in Opposition for 5 years. She went to Cambridge University. Working part-time at the Home Office.
• Katherine Raymond Former Director of the Social Market Foundation, a right wing think-tank. She believes that private schools should have a greater role in teaching State pupils and that when it comes to private firms running schools and hospitals, "it doesn't matter who provides services".
• Huw Evans Labour Party Regional Press Officer for Wales until the 2001 election.
• Kevin Bond Head of Police Standards Unit Managing Director of US-based "environmental engineering" company. In 1998, when he was Managing Director of Yorkshire Water he received a pay rise of 69% (to £298,000). Former Chief Superintendent of West Mercia Police. Technically not a Special Adviser, but paid £200,000 which is considerably above the maximum payable to civil servants.
• Andrew Hood Former Special Adviser to Robin Cook at the Foreign Office. He went to Oxford University (with Sheila Watson). Co-wrote a book on the Constitution with Tony Benn.
• Richard Taylor Member of the Labour Party Policy Unit at Millbank until the 2001 election.

Department of Health

• Darren Murphy Special Adviser at the DETR from 1997-2001. Newcastle Councillor. Former Treasurer of Labour Students and Lobbyist for European Economic Development Services. Adviser on Press and Parliamentary Relations.
• Professor Paul Corrigan Husband of Chief Whip, Hilary Armstrong. He is the Executive Director of the New Local Government Network (NLGN) and the Executive Director of the Public Management Foundation, both of which support an increase in private-sector involvement in Local Government. The NLGN has been described as pushing "anti-democratic measures on behalf of private interests" and is funded to the tune of £500,00 a year by companies that include Amec, Jarvis, Sodexho and Serco, all of which have won major NHS contracts.

Department of Work and Pensions

Kieran Simpson Special Adviser at the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until the 2001 election. Long-term aide of Nick Brown. He worked in Gordon Brown's economic team in Opposition. Former Chair of Scottish Labour Students at Edinburgh University. Simpson currently works for Scottish and Newcastle and has responsibility for their corporate social responsibility strategy his official title is Public Affairs and Government Manager.

Lord Chancellor's Department

• Garry Hart Labour Party donor and friend of Lord Irvine.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• Ed Owen Former Special Adviser at the Home Office, he has worked for Jack Straw since 1993. Former journalist on the Stockport Messenger.
• Dr Michael C. Williams Former Senior Consultant at the Office of the High Commissioner, UNHCR. Senior Spokesman for the UN Force in the former Yugoslavia.

Department for International Development

• David Mepham Former International Policy Officer for the Labour Party. Also used to work for Robin Cook. He went to London and Oxford Universities.
• Susannah Cox

Special Advisers to the Labour Government 1997-1999

In April 2006, GMB (the "general union") commissioned a report outlining the career trajectories of former Labour Special Advisers, which observed that:

It is rare that a Special Adviser from the early years of the Labour Government is not now benefiting from that special relationship with the Government. Their biographies often emphasise the role that they had, and note that the role has given them significantly advantageous access to knowledge about Government workings, leading to business and policy opportunities.

These individuals (whose names were listed in Hansard Written Replies 1997-1999) are as follows:

Paid advisers

The Prime Minister

• Tim Allan | Dr. Iain Anderson | Alastair Campbell | Hillary Coffman | Kate Garvey | Robert Hill | Anji Hunter | Peter Hyman | Roger Liddle | Liz Lloyd | Pat McFadden | David Miliband | Fiona Miller |Geoff Mulgan | Geoffrey Norris | Jonathan Powell | Roz Preston | Lance Price | James Purnell | Derek Scott

Chief Whip

Sue Jackson | Kieran Simpson

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Cath McGlynn | Nicci Russell | Time Walker

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Andrew Burnham | Julian Eccles | John Newbiggin

Secretary of State for Defence

Bernard Gray | Alasdair McGowan

Secretary of State for Education and Employment

Lisa Barclay | Hilary Benn | Tom Bentley | Sophie Linden | Nick Pearce | Conor Ryan

Deputy Prime Minister

Paul Hackett | Joan Hammell | Darren Murphy

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

David Clark | Andrew Hood

Secretary of State for Health

Joe McCrea | Simon Stevens

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Ruth Allen | Ed Owen | Justin Russell | Norman Warner

Secretary of State for International Development

Jessica Crowe | Daniel Harris | David Mepham | Dee Sullivan

Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords

Marianne Morris | Damien Welfare

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Anna Healy | Nigel Warner

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

James Cornford | Andrew Lappin

President of the Council

Keith Hellawell | Ian McKenzie | Michael Trace

Secretary of State for Scotland

Wendy Alexander | Murray Elder | David Whitton

Secretary of State for Social Security

Elsbeth Johnson | Liz Kendall | John McTernan

President of the Board of Trade

Dan Corry | Sheila Watson

Minister of Transport

Kate Davies | Tony Grayling | Richard Olszewski

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Ed Balls | Paul Gregg | Chris Wales | Charlie Whelan

Chief Secretary

Andrew Maugham | Ed Miliband

Secretary of State for Wales

John Adams | Julie Crowley | Huw Roberts | Gareth Williams

Unpaid advisers

Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education and Employment

Dennis Stevenson

Deputy Prime Minister

• David Taylor

President of the Board of Trade

• Lord Hollick

Minister without Portfolio

• Benjamin Wegg-Prosser

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

David Mathieson

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Spencer Livermore | Sue Nye

Celebrity Special Advisers

• Sir John Birt 'Personal Strategic Adviser to Tony Blair'.
• Jonathon Porritt Adviser on Sustainable Development
• Keith Hellawell 'Drugs Czar'

Others

• Jo Moore Special Adviser at the DTLR until she resigned in February 2002. A former lobbyist for Westminster Strategy (run by former adviser to David Blunkett, Mike Lee). She was Senior Press and Broadcast Officer of the Labour Party from 1993-7. In 1999 Westminster Strategy was given the contract to handle all Islington Council's communications and marketing.
• Anji Hunter Former Director of Government Relations. Blair's former 'Gatekeeper' private secretary, she ran his office from 1986 to November 2001. She went to the exclusive St Leonards Girls School. She has known Tony Blair since their schooldays and they became friends at Oxford University. She is nicknamed the 'Destroyer'. She left Downing Street to take up a job as Director of Communications at BP on a salary of £200,000. Sally Morgan has taken over the job.
• David Miliband Now MP for South Shields. Former Head of the No 10 Policy Unit. He is a former Labour Party policy director (before 1997 election), Secretary of the Social Justice Commission and member of the IPPR. Brother of Ed Miliband, Special Adviser to Gordon Brown at the Treasury. He was paid £70,000 in 2000. He went to Oxford University and MIT. While he was at No.10, no Government Green or White Paper was published until he cleared it.
• James Purnell Now MP for Stalybridge and Hyde. Former Islington Councillor and Chair of Islington's Housing Committee. Special Adviser with responsibility for Broadcasting at No.10 from 1997-2001. Used to work at the IPPR, worked with Tony Blair in Opposition and then worked for John Birt at the BBC policy and planning department. He went to the same school in Guildford as Tim Allan, then Oxford University. His sister, Katie Purnell, was secretary to the infamous lobbyist Derek Draper at Prima Europe.
• Lance Price Former BBC political journalist (he worked there for 20 years). As a journalist on the Birmingham Evening Mail he gained a reputation for 'Rottweiler tendencies'. He was employed as Alastair Campbell's Deputy but was transferred to the Labour Party's Millbank HQ as an employee of the Labour Party in June 2000. Friend of Peter Mandelson. He went to Oxford University, where he was known as a Tory.
• Pat McFadden Tony Blair's Deputy Chief of Staff at No.10, he was employed as a Special Adviser (he specialised in constitutional reform) but was transferred to the Labour Party's Millbank HQ as an employee of the Labour Party in June 2000. Former adviser to John Smith and Donald Dewar. Employed on a temporary basis in the Coalition Information Centre in Islamabad for the war in Afghanistan.
• Tim Allan
• Colin Byrne
• Mike Craven
• David Hill Former Labour Party Director of Communications from 1991-97. He left to become a Director of Good Relations (part of the Bell Pottinger PR group), whose clients include Monsanto, the GM food company, Tesco and Corus. He was back at Millbank as a senior Press Spokesman, on loan from Bell Pottinger for the 2001 election campaign. Married to No.10 Special Adviser Hilary Coffman.
• Roz Preston Worked for Tony Blair when he was shadow Home Secretary, and then with Fiona Millar in the Social Unit until the 2001 election. Married to John Preston, millionaire record industry boss and former Chairman of the BPI and BMG Entertainment International.
• (John) Philip Murphy Special Adviser on Media Strategy until the 2001 election. Former Director of Communications and Assistant General Secretary of the Labour Party. Former Communications Director of the Arts Council (run by Gerry Robinson), where he was paid £70,000. As a journalist he worked for the Newcastle Journal, the Yorkshire Post and the Press Association (as Political Editor). He went to Oxford University.
• Bob Bartram Special Adviser in Downing Street until the 2001 election.
• Lesley Smith Left the Labour Party Communications team after the 1997 election. Now the Director of Communications at Dixons. She took leave of absence to travel on the 2001 election campaign bus, organising rallies and other major events.
• Simon Virley Policy Directorate Listed as Special Adviser at No. 10 after the 2001 election. Former member of the Treasury's Economic Briefing and Analysis Team. He went to Oxford University. Former Personal Private Secretary to Tony Blair.
• Dr Brian Hackland Policy Directorate Special Adviser at No. 10 for several months after the 2001 election. Former Head of the Air and Environment Quality Division at the Dept of the Environment (before 1997) and Private secretary to the Tory Environment Minister David Curry. After 1997 he was Special Environment Adviser to Tony Blair. He has returned to the DEFRA.
• Mike Emmerich Policy Directorate Listed as Special Adviser at No. 10 after the 2001 election. Former Policy Adviser in the Treasury's Productivity Team and the Enterprise and Growth Unit. A pro-PFI speaker at conferences. Member of the Regeneration Through Work project of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, proposing policies which link Welfare to Work with urban regeneration schemes
• David North Policy Directorate A civil servant who worked for the Downing Street Policy Unit before the 2001 election. Listed as Special Adviser at No. 10 after the election.
• Clare Sumner Policy Directorate Listed as Special Adviser at No. 10 after the 2001 election. Private Secretary to Tony Blair. Helps him prepare for his weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.
• Geoff Mulgan Later, Head of PIU and Forward Strategy Unit Former No 10 Policy Unit member, he was given the senior civil service post of Head of the Performance and Innovation Unit at the Cabinet Office in September 2000. He is Founder and former Director of the DEMOS think-tank and remains Chairman of their Advisory Board. Former policy adviser to Gordon Brown. Got a first at Oxford University.
• Nigel Warner Special Adviser in the Cabinet Office until the 2001 election, then went to work for Mike Craven's Lexington Communications lobbying company. A former researcher for Paul Boateng, he has worked for Mo Mowlam since 1992, most recently at the Northern Ireland Office. He has a master's degree from the London Schoool of Economics.
• Michael Tatham Foreign Policy Adviser Listed as Special Adviser at No. 10 after the 2001 election. Had an article on the "chattering classes" published in the infamous right wing magazine The Salisbury Review ("the Quarterly Journal of Conservative Thought") in Autumn 2000.
• Anna Wechsberg Foreign Policy Adviser Listed as Special Adviser at No. 10 after the 2001 election. Former Private Secretary to Tony Blair with responsibility for Foreign Affairs. Before that she was a member of the International Economic Policy Department in the DFID. In 1996 she acted as a Director of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Andrew Lappin Worked as an adviser on Defence for David Clark in opposition and followed him as Special Adviser in the Cabinet Office from 1997-2001 (he stayed on to work for Mo Mowlam when she got the job). He went to Oxford University.
• Jo Gibbons A former Millbank Press Officer, who worked on the World Cup 2006 bid after the 1997 election before becoming Special Adviser to Baroness Jay up to the 2001 election. Part of Blair's election campaign team, she has left to join Edelman PR, an American lobbyists, on a salary of £80,000.
• Clare Cozens Special Adviser in the Cabinet Office until the 2001 election. A barrister, she worked as a civil servant in the Treasury Solicitor's Department under the Tories for two years, before becoming an adviser to the Labour Party in 1992. She studied law at Oxford University.
• Andy Burnham Now MP for Leigh Special Adviser at the DCMS from 1997-2001. Worked for Tessa Jowell in Opposition, then for a health think-tank. Former adminstrator of the Football Task Force. He went to Cambridge University.
• Joe Irvin Special Adviser at the DETR from 1997-2001. John Prescott's Chief of Staff in Opposition and before that he was Head of Research at the TGWU for 10 years. Married to Diana Holland, National Women's Secretary at the TGWU.
• David Wilson Special Adviser to Hilary Armstrong at the DETR until the 2001 election, then went to work for Mike Craven's Lexington Communications lobbying company.
• Adrian Long Special Adviser at the DETR until the 2001 election. Former Producer of BBC's On The Record (he worked at the BBC from 1993-99). General Secretary of the National Union of Students from 1985-7. Spent 5 years as a full-time official of the GMB.
• Conor Ryan Special Adviser at the DfEE until the 2001 election. Worked for David Blunkett in Opposition for 4 years. Former ILEA Press Officer
• Tom Engel Special Adviser at the DfEE until the 2001 election. Worked as a researcher for David Blunkett in Opposition. Prior to Special Adviser job, worked as a Lobbyist for Westminster Strategy for 2 years. Westminster Strategy, run by Mike Lee (an adviser to Blunkett in Opposition), has several clients in the Education sector.
• Andrew Maugham Special Adviser at the DSS until the 2001 election. Used to work at the Bank of England. Has worked for the Labour Party since 1991. Former Adviser to Alastair Darling when he was at the Treasury.
• Elsbeth Johnson Special Adviser at the DSS until the 2001 election. Former President of the Cambridge University Union Society (the posh debating club). Worked for Alastair Darling in Opposition, then became a Merchant Banker with Barclays Capital. Former Special Adviser to Donald Dewar. She is a specialist in PFI projects.
• Jack Thurston Special Adviser at the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until the 2001 election.
• David Clark Special Adviser at the Foreign Office until the 2001 election. He worked for Robin Cook for the previous 8 years. He has also worked for John Reid and John Robertson. Former adviser on European Policy and Security.
• Dee Sullivan Special Adviser (on Media) at the DFID until the 2001 election. Former Media Relations Chief at the TUC. Assisted Tony Blair during the 1997 election campaign.
• Paul Andrew Former member of the DfEE Strategy and Communications Unit and former Special Adviser at the Treasury until the 2001 election.

External Resources

• Info-Dynamics Research Where are they now? The 1997/1998 Special Advisers to the Labour Government, briefing for GMB, April 2006.
• Special advisers - House of Commons Library research note SN/PC/03813, Oonagh Gay, Last updated 16 April 2009.
• Code of Conduct for Special Advisors, Cabinet Office, accessed 21 July 2009.
• Special Advisers - What are they?, civilservant.org.uk, accessed 21 July 2009.
• Wikipedia Special Advisers in the United Kingdom
• Written Ministerial Statement, List of Special Advisors, Prime Minister, 10-June-2010