The Secret Life of Special Advisers

The Secret Life of Special Advisers
Peter Cardwell
RRP:
NZ$ 27.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 23.09
Paperback
Not defined - 320pg
14 Jun 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781785907395
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Special advisers are a key part of the government, yet who they are and what they do is much misunderstood. Key advisers to Cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister since the 1970s, their role is shrouded in mystery, despite acres of newsprint devoted to particularly high-profile members of the cohort, such as Alastair Campbell and Dominic Cummings. Peter Cardwell' s book lifts the lid on the people Piers Morgan called ' these miserable little creatures' , revealing who spads are, how Cabinet ministers use and interact with them, how much influence they have and how they deal with the civil service. Featuring numerous anecdotes and sometimes almost unbelievable stories about what actually happens in a spad' s daily life - from dealing with counter-terror emergencies in COBRA to explaining what a dental dam is to the Justice Secretary, to having your inside leg measured in a Minister of the Crown' s office - this book has it all. Part history, part how-to (and how-not-to) guide and part insider account drawing on the author' s own experiences - particularly in the Cameron, May and early months of the Johnson administrations - The Secret Life of Spads will inform and entertain anyone who has ever wondered what these shadowy figures really do all day.
"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.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781785907395
Published: 14 Jun 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Biteback Publishing
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320

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