George Osborne gave his image adviser a 42% pay rise - while asking public-sector workers to accept pay freeze
The amount of money spent on government spin doctors has risen to £9.2m
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.George Osborne has given his image adviser a promotion and a pay rise of 42 per cent - while asking public-sector workers to accept a pay freeze.
The amount of money spent on government spin doctors has risen to £9.2m in 2014-15, from £8.4m in the preivous financial year.
Details of the cost of special advisers were released by the Cabinet Office on the day Parliament breaks for Christmas, which Labour derided as a "shockingly cynical move".
Tom Watson, Labour's deputy leader, told The Guardian: "David Cameron can’t bury the fact that he’s broken a direct promise he made to reduce the cost of politics and curb the number of special advisers in government."
Traditionally, Cabinet members had two state-funded political aides.
However, the new data shows there are 11 ministers with three or more aides, including Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Home Secretary Theresa May, and Justice Secretary Michael Gove.
Mr Osborne said public sector pay would be capped at a maximum of 1 per cent rise in each year when he announced the Budget in July.
Earlier this year, teachers demanded an end to the public sector pay freeze. They had a pay freeze for the first three years of the Coalition Government, followed by a one per cent rise in the following two years.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments