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The Hole in the Centre: A Comment on Lowe and Pemberton, The Official History of the British Civil Service, Volume II : 1982–1997
Author(s) -
Rutter Jill
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/1467-923x.12971
Subject(s) - cabinet (room) , charter , civil service , prime minister , public administration , law , prime (order theory) , political science , service (business) , sociology , management , history , public service , politics , economics , economy , archaeology , mathematics , combinatorics
This article looks at Prime Ministers’ attempts to reform their operation in Number Ten and their relationship with the Cabinet Office in response to frustrations they encounter trying to drive their policy agenda from the centre. Prime Ministers have developed new institutions to bolster their meagre resources in Number Ten. There is particular focus on the experience of John Major in trying to push his Citizen's Charter. It notes how resistant departments were to many of the changes. Finally the article discusses recent changes in Boris Johnson's Number Ten that marked the brief tenure of Dominic Cummings and his clear centralising mission.