
Tales of the Unelected
Step inside the real world of politics
In this unique collection of short stories, former special advisor Dan Corry takes you into the hidden Whitehall world of the unelected special advisers, their hopes, dreams, rivalries, compromises as they face the challenge of doing the right thing in a role full of tensions.
About the author

Dan Corry wrote many short stories in his twenties – and had one published as a result of a competition in a PEN New Writing collection. After that his writing energy mostly went into writing reports, speeches and White papers, as well as newspaper articles as he worked in think tanks and then as a special adviser during most of the Labour government 1997-2010.
An economist by profession, he worked in various departments including Business, Education, Treasury and Downing Street. Only recently has he taken up short story writing again. And he is enjoying it! He had one short story published ('Running the Line') but this is his first collection of short stories. He lives in South London and tries to play a bit of jazz saxophone.
About the book
These stories explore many aspects of the role of the political special adviser and the trade-offs that have to be continually made. Conflicts with the civil service; accusations of being the source of leaking; trying to get the politician you work for to up their game; negotiating with No 10; trying to find time with the PM; worrying about physical attacks on your Secretary of State; and all the time trying to keep some semblance of family life intact despite the work pressure. And at the end of it, the lurking question: was it all worth it - did you do enough?

Extract from 'The Speech'

Ian was pretty tired. He’d had to push hard to get that speech in good shape, hard to get Toby in the right place, hard to make it a speech that people might remember. He had had to step on a few toes, tell a few half-truths, and embarrass a few good people.
But that was his job and today it had gone well. On his way home he bought some flowers for his wife, and he sent a thank you text to Sheila at No.10.
And tomorrow, it would start all over again.
Praise and Reviews
“
“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, shadow chancellor and broadcaster.
“
“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.”
Baroness Ayesha Hazarika
Former special adviser, comedian and broadcaster.
“
“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
ITV political editor and author
Praise and Reviews
“
"I did a lot of very enjoyable reading over the break [Xmas 2024] but one particularly enlightening work was a collection of short stories by Dan Corry, a longtime and senior Blair–era special adviser who is still active in government circles, very nicely entitled Tales of the Unelected.
In a series of enjoyable and bite-sized fictional (but almost certainly not that fictional) tales, Corry walks you through the life of a special adviser, or Spad. We see their hopes for their minister, the desperate efforts to retain a family life, the small victories over Downing Street, tussles with the civil service and ever-present paranoia that their boss could be sacked (which means they are too). We hear a lot about Spads. This felt like a wholly convincing account of how it really works."
Robert Shrimsley
Financial Times
Chief Political Commentator January 2nd 2025
Praise and Reviews
“
“Noone has more experience serving as a special adviser than Dan Corry. In 'Tales of the Unelected he puts that experience to good use. By telling the story in the way he does he conveys some important points about how contemporary government works, which also makes for a fun read. Highly recommended.”
Andrew Blick
Professor of Politics and Contemporary History, King’s College London.
Author of ‘People Who Live in the Dark: the history of the special adviser in British politics’.