Tales of the Unelected by Dan Corry

 

Visit the hidden Whitehall world of the unelected special advisers.

Encounter their hopes, dreams, rivalries and compromises as they face the challenge of doing the right thing in a role full of tensions. See how they struggle with the civil service, accusations of being the source of leaking, politicians who need to up their game, negotiating with No 10, finding time with the PM, and worrying about physical attacks on their Secretary of State. All this as they try to keep some semblance of family life intact.

Dan Corry entertains and informs us well in Tales of the Unelected.

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“There are so many tensions and emotional conflicts in being a special adviser and Dan Corry takes you into that world through this fascinating collection of stories.”
Ed Balls (former special adviser, minister and Shadow Chancellor)

“It’s an honour to be a special adviser, as I was, but most of what has been written about them is of the sensational type. Here, in all its everyday glory, is a real feel of what it is like.”
Ayesha Hazarika, former special advisor

“Dan Corry’s subtle and engrossing short stories are the real thing, a window on the largely hidden lives of the fixers and policymakers of the political world, the notorious advisers. His compelling authority is no accident: reader, he was one.”
Robert Peston (Political Editor at ITN)

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With the ambitions and scheming of Whitehall’s growing army of political special advisors increasingly hitting the headlines, this absorbing collection of short stories could hardly be more timely. Corry’s intimate knowledge of the machinery and process of government, through years at the coalface himself, offers the reader a revealing insight into how even successful policy making in Britain usually involves bargaining, backbiting and bickering to get it across the line. But make no mistake, these are also in many ways uplifting stories, illustrating how many of our public servants struggle to overcome their own vulnerabilities and imperfections to deliver change which they sincerely believe is for the better. Like all compelling fiction, Corry makes you believe in the characters. Highly recommended.

 

With a new government struggling to find its feet, Dan Corry's book of short stories set across Westminster provides a unique insight into the world behind the media sound bites. It will be as valuable to current practitioners of the dark arts in Westminster as to students of politics and a wide, general audience. Corry was a civil service economist and then a Labour special advisor across numerous departments, including no10, during the labour governments of 1997-2010. So he writes with authority. But beyond his political instincts and institutional experience, he writes with humanity, psychological insight and dramatic purpose. Very few special advisors resemble Malcolm Tucker and most ministers and civil servants are intelligent and well-intentioned. Corry's short stories explore the ethical, public policy and political dilemmas they face daily, through the prism of the special advisors who work closely with them and whose own positions are often precarious. His book is a reminder that politics matters, is rarely easy and impacts on all our lives.  

 

Excellent stories which open up the world of the SPAD in a highly compelling way - scenes focusing on the the complex world of Whitehall negotiation alternate with vignettes of the life of families under pressure. Makes ‘The Thick of It’ look thin and topples ‘House of Cards’ with its closely observed tone of realism.