Changing Patterns of Governance in the United Kingdom : Reinventing Whitehall?

Annotation. This is the first comprehensive examination of the changing relations between ministers and civil servants since 1979. Based on an original account of power within central government and drawing on evidence compiled from over one hundred and fifty interviews, this book provides unprecedented insight into the world of Whitehall. As well as exploring the impact of eighteen years of Conservative government, the authors also examine the external pressures exerted by factors such as the European Union. They conclude by arguing that, despite recent claims about the end of the Whitehall model, many of the old features of the British system remain. Indeed, March, Richards and Smith demonstrate that departments continue to be key institutions in the policymaking process Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-13 Culture and Power in Whitehall....Pages 14-42 Structural Change in Central Government....Pages 43-68 Departmental Cultures....Pages 69-100 Departments and the Core Executive....Pages 101-131 Reassessing the Role of Departmental Cabinet Ministers....Pages 132-154 The Changing Relations between Ministers and Civil Servants....Pages 155-180 The Departments’ Relations Outside the Core Executive....Pages 181-208 The Role of Europe....Pages 209-231 Assessing the Differentiated Polity Model: towards an Asymmetric Power Model....Pages 232-250 Back Matter....Pages 251-276