Stop moaning about Samantha Cameron’s ‘special adviser’ – you try being the PM’s wife for the day

From organising charity receptions in Downing Street to coordinating her personal work, parental responsibilities and state obligations there’s more than a full job of work to do for an assistant 

Oliver Wright
Saturday 09 April 2016 13:31 BST
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David and Samantha Cameron arriving for dinner at a Conservative party fundraiser
David and Samantha Cameron arriving for dinner at a Conservative party fundraiser

The ‘news’ that Samantha Cameron has a new taxpayer-funded ‘special adviser’ to help her plan her official diary and carry out her official duties as wife of the Prime Minister has elicited the usual howls of self-righteous outrage.

It’s a "vanity appointment" says Labour’s Jess Phillips who is always keen to hitch a lift on any passing bandwagon.

"I've just visited my local Jobcentre, which has had a seven-year recruitment freeze," she told The Mirror. "When tough decisions have to be made, I'm not sure the wife of the prime minister needs a special adviser."

Her reaction wasn’t so different from that other Labour bandwagoneer Tom Watson who in 2012 expressed outrage when Mrs Cameron first got help to carry out her official duties.

"The vanity of David Cameron is costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds,” he said at the time.

"It's outrageous that he is creating a royal court while at the same time axing half a million public workers."

Such statements of anger are both unfair and knowingly ignorant of the realities of life for a public figure like Mrs Cameron.

As Westminster insiders (and not stupid people) both Ms Phillips and Mr Watson know all about the public demands on a figure like Mrs Cameron.

From organising charity receptions in Downing Street to coordinating her personal work, parental responsibilities and state obligations as the Prime Minister’s wife there is more than a full job of work to do being a special adviser to Mrs Cameron.

And it is important work. Mrs Cameron is a patron of Save the Children, the respite care charity Revitalise and a quick internet search throws up numerous events and fundraisers that she has presided over at Downing Street – at many of which her husband was not even present.

It was the same with her predecessors. It will be the same with her successors.

So rather than whinge about the relatively small cost of the support Mrs Cameron gets for her official role Labour should see the bigger picture.

There are many legitimate complaints to be made about this Government – but this is not one of them.

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