Brown boosts spin doctor numbers
Peter Mandelson: the first spin doctor is still one of the most powerful men in Britain
The Electoral Reform Society is a voluntary organisation that campaigns for a better democracy, particularly through changes to our electoral system.
|  |
Find more Opinion Formers in this category:
Prime minister's questions will never stop being a place for 'knock-about politics', Gordon Brown has confirmed. |  |
Brown employed his full range of evasive tactics before the liaison committee today, while MPs and journalists struggled to stay awake. |  |
Friday, 17, Jul 2009 12:00
By Ian Dunt
Gordon Brown has employed another two special advisors since last summer, figures have revealed.
The PM now has twenty five special advisors, adding to a government total of 74.
Special advisors, or 'spads' as they are called in Westminster, are paid for by the taxpayer because their position makes them the only politically appointed civil servants.
The current price tag for special advisors stands at £5.9 million a year.
The prevalence of the 'spads' contradicts statements made by the prime minister and his deputy, Harriet Harman, about reducing spin when he entered Number Ten.