Welsh Labour spin doctor bill in the millions

A Freedom of Information request has revealed the Labour Government spend a million pounds a year of taxpayer money on press officers.

The figures, obtained by the Welsh Conservatives, show £1,002,995 of public cash is being spent on staff to communicate what Labour ministers are up to, but did not hold historical information, leaving the public in the dark about whether the cost and numbers have increased in recent years.

The £1m of taxpayer money is spent on 24 members of staff, including a Head of News at the helm, earning around £70,000. That puts the average salary for a full-time staff member at £44,000, nearly enough to fund two new nurses.

The total matches the £1,100,923 expenditure on special advisors – up £200k since the start of the pandemic – bringing the total spend on Labour spin to over £2 million per year.

It was revealed too in 2020 that Wales’ Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have spent in excess of £8m on PR and staffing costs over four years, with the PCC for South Wales nearly doubling their staffing budget.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS said:

“Given the Labour Government mainly just parrot the same old line that Westminster is to blame for the world’s ills, even in devolved areas, I’m surprised to see such a sky-high bill for its spin doctors.

“The public know and understand that staff are needed to communicate new rules and laws that come in from devolved government, but that does not mean ministers should build such an expensive team and charging it to the public, all a time when the cost-of-living is on the up.

“Then again, these are the same people that want to flood Cardiff Bay with more politicians so they don’t have to work as hard.”