At least someone's been getting jobs under Labour! No10 'special adviser' numbers jumped by a QUARTER in Starmer's final year - as Government smashed records

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 11:22, 17 July 2026 | Updated: 11:26, 17 July 2026 The number of 'Spads' in No10 surged by more than a quarter as Keir Starmer fought to survive over the past year. Some 54 special advisers were working directly for the PM as of the end of March, on salaries of up to £160,000. That was up from the 42 political appointees declared for 12 months earlier. Overall there were 159 Spads across the Government, 29 more than at the end of the 2024-25 financial year. Their salary bill spiked by nearly a third year-on-year, from £9.5million to £12.4million. The numbers are thought to be the highest ever, with the previous peak the 134 Spads recorded in 2020.  The highest-paid were Keir Starmer's joint acting chiefs of staff Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, who replaced Morgan McSweeney after his departure amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal. The number of 'Spads' in No10 surged by a fifth as Keir Starmer fought to survive over the past year Your browser does not support iframes. Ms Alakeson and Ms Cuthbertson were both paid between £155,000 and £159,999, the same salary Mr McSweeney received in the previous year. A raft of other senior No10 Spads occupy the next highest pay rung on salaries between £150,000 and £154,999, including the PM's business adviser Varun Chandra. National security adviser Jonathan Powell is also within the same pay bracket. Mr Burnham has said he will keep the veteran diplomat in post. Salaries over £81,000 are declared in bands of £5,000.  Severance costs across 2025-26 – which would include Mr McSweeney's payment after his February exit from Government – were £200,000, well below the previous year's £3.1million, which would have covered outgoing advisers from the previous Conservative government. There are claims today that Andy Burnham's new chief of staff James Purnell considered slashing the number of Spads as part of the incoming PM's first moves. However, that idea appears to have been abandoned as ministers would not tolerate being limited to two appointees.  Supporters of the Spad system argue that political advice is a crucial part of ministers' everyday jobs, and they cannot get it from the civil service.