Five things we learnt from 14 years of Conservative special advisers
The Cabinet Office’s next data release will give us the first clues of what the Labour spad cohort looks like.

The Cabinet Office’s release of the final tranche of information on the Sunak government’s special advisers completes 14 years of data on Conservative spads. So what does it tell us about how the role has changed over an era – 2010 to 2024 – which saw, by our count, approximately 540 special advisers work for the government?
SpAdCast: What is it really like to be a special adviser? – podcast series
Our special four-part series lifts the lid on what it's like to do one of the most demanding – and influential – jobs in Whitehall, Westminster and beyond.
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Support for special advisers
The IfG Academy can help new and potential future special advisers understand how government works, what ministers want from their teams and how they can get the best out of the officials in their departments.
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