SpAd Wars

Downing Street’s briefing that under-performing special advisors will soon be sacked has created a storm in the Westminster tea-cup. One SpAd pointed out to me the complete hypocrisy of a Number 10 that constantly stresses that briefing against colleagues is a sackable offence doing exactly that.

Sacking under-performing SpAds will not be as easy as you’d think it should be. These advisors have, in most cases, been hand-picked by the Secretary of State who will be reluctant to give them up without a fight.

SpAds in the rest of Whitehall also argue that the Downing Street operation itself is far from perfect. As Craig Oliver, the PM’s new communications director, has discovered on his tour of the departments, SpAds feel that they have no one to call to get Number 10’s line on things.