By Lucy Ashton
Labour’s Alastair Campbell was probably the best known of all the spin doctors, or Sir Bernard Ingham, both pictured above, who worked for Margaret Thatcher during the Miners’ Strike.
These media advisers are not elected and many people in politics and beyond, including civil servants and members of the press, consider them pains in the butt who are too often economical with the truth on behalf of their bosses.
Others view them as an obstruction to openness and transparency in government and a thorn in the flesh and, as many of them are former journalists, people who have sold out and gone over to what is now widely known as “the dark side”.
Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP, pictured right, appears to be unhappy about their ever increasing numbers in the Scottish Parliament and has today accused the SNP of “spinning problems faster than a tornado”.
His criticism was launched after a response to a parliamentary question found that the cost of the government’s special advisers soared by more than £470,000 over the last two financial years.
The response revealed that during the financial year 2021-22, the government spent £1,434,693.34 on SpAds, which increased to £1,909,843 during the financial year 2022-23. This was an increase of £475,149.66.
Mr Rennie said:“Rather than solve problems, the SNP is spinning them faster than a tornado.
“These eye-watering sums would be far better spent on battling the crisis in our NHS, cleaning up the sewage in our rivers and beaches and getting islanders the ferries that have never arrived.
“Right now, the SNP is far more bothered about saving its own skin than helping anyone else.”
Labour MSPs too were fizzing at the news that the cost of Scottish government SPADs has risen by a third or 33 per cent.
Scottish Labour finance spokesperson Michael Marra, pictured left, said: “At a time when thousands of Scots are struggling to make ends meet and parents are being forced to skip meals, the fact that the bill for government special advisers is soaring is morally indefensible.
“This attempt to bury bad news ahead of a bank holiday weekend has backfired spectacularly.
“This is symbolic of the SNP government’s skewed priorities – cutting funding for vital sectors while bolstering the ranks of spin doctors and apparatchiks.
“The fact is that the only job creation scheme that the SNP has succeeded in implementing is one for government special advisers.
“This is a bloated government that is out of touch with the people of Scotland.
“Businesses, workers and families are crying out for help from the SNP government but their calls are going unheeded.
“We need a Scottish Labour government at Holyrood that will put the people – not the press officers – first.”
First Minister Humza Yousaf is yet to finalise his list of SpAds.
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy MSP, pictured right, said: “People will be appalled that the cost of employing SNP spin doctors has surged by a third in the space of a year, to a whopping £2 million of taxpayers’ cash.
“It tells you all you need to know about the SNP’s skewed priorities that, as the Scottish government they lead imposes swingeing cuts to vital public services, the bill for special advisers is soaring.
“Families struggling with household bills and rising energy costs will rightly be furious.
“It’s not even as if this shameful squandering of public money is bearing fruit. Given the SNP’s descent into civil war, the advice they’re getting is either terrible or being ignored. Whichever it is, the Scottish public shouldn’t be footing the bill.”
The full response to the parliamentary question is as follows:
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of employing special advisers was in (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23.
George Adam: Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.
The total cost of Special Advisers employed during the financial year 2020-21 was £1,618,713.47. Total cost includes all salary costs, employer NI, and employer pension contributions. The level of employer NI and pension contribution is not a matter for the Scottish Government.
The cost of Special Advisers during 2020-21 was based on the following Pay Bands and Pay Ranges:
Pay Band Pay Range (£) Number of SpAds in Band
1 £50,839 – £53,208 1
2 £55,583 – £68,307 8
3 £70,391 – £90,564 5
4 £96,400 – £ 102,228 1
The total cost of Special Advisers employed during the financial year 2021-22 was £1,434,693.34. Total cost includes all salary costs, employer NI, and employer pension contributions. The level of employer NI and pension contribution is not a matter for the Scottish Government.
The cost of Special Advisers during 2021-22 was based on the following Pay Bands and Pay Ranges:
Pay Band Pay Range (£) Number of SpAds in Band
1 £51,348 – £53,741 1
2 £56,139 – £68,991 11
3 £71,095 – £91,364 4
4 £97,200 – £103,028 2
The total cost of Special Advisers employed during the financial year 2022-23 was £1,909,843. Total cost includes all salary costs, employer NI, and employer pension contributions. The level of employer NI and pension contribution is not a matter for the Scottish Government.
The cost of Special Advisers during 2022-23 was based on the following Pay Bands and Pay Ranges:
Pay Band Pay Range (£) Number of SpAds in Band
1 £53,915 – £56,428 1
2 £58,946 – £72,441 10
3 £74,650 – £95,019 5
4 £101,088 – £107,149 2
Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Brussels and Edinburgh.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In fairness to readers, I was myself a special adviser for Labour First Minister Henry McLeish 20 years ago and I worked for a Labour MSP at Westminster and the Vice President of the European Parliament in Brussels. I am no longer a member of any political party. Bill Heaney