Labour, Thatcher and the Future of the Civil Service
| DOI | 10.1177/095207679000500105 |
| Date | 01 March 1990 |
| Published date | 01 March 1990 |
| Author | Kevin Theakston |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
44
Labour,
Thatcher
and
the
Future
of
the
Civil
Service
Dr.
Kevin
Theakston
Department
of Politics,
University
of Leeds
This
article
is
primarily
concerned
with
developments
in
the
civil
service
since
1979
and
the
reaction
to
them
of
the
Labour
Party,
placing
the
discussion
in
the
context
of
the
experience
of
the
1974-
79
Labour
government
and
the
long-term
evolution
of
Labour
Party
attitudes
towards
the
bureaucracy
and
the
machinery
of
government.
Three
key
issues
are
examined:
the
debate
about
the
alleged
politicisation
of
the
civil
service
under
Mrs
Thatcher
and
the
need
to
strengthen
the
political
element
in
government
in
relation
to
the
bureaucratic;
official
secrecy
and
the
campaign
for
freedom
of
information
reform;
civil
service
efficiency
and
the
Thatcher
government’s
management
reforms.
Looking
ahead,
the
article
also
tries
to
preview
the
possible
impact
of
an
incoming
Labour
government
on
the
Whitehall
machine.
’It
is
as
if
Labour
in
office
has
now
lost
all
stomach
for
administrative
reform’
declared
Labour
MP
John
Garrett
in
a
parliamentary
debate
on
the
civil
service
held
in
the
dying
months
of
the
Callaghan
government
(HC
Debs.
15
Jan.
1979,
col.
1425).
In
contrast
to
the
technocratic
and
modernising
attitudes
of
the
1960s,
which
inspired
the
appointment
of
the
Fulton
Committee
and
which
led
the
Labour
government
to
accept
its
main
recommendations
in
1968,
Labour
ministers
in
the
1970s
appeared
to
be
firm
supporters
of
the
Whitehall
status
quo.
The
1974-79
Labour
government
had
to
its
credit
the
establishment
of
the
No.
10
Policy
Unit
advising
the
Prime
Minister,
and
the
extension
and
institutionalisation
of
the
practice
of
ministers
bringing
advisers
from
outside
the
civil
service
into
their
departments
(though
the
total
number
of
special
advisers
was
only
around
twenty-five
to
thirty),
but
its
record
in
other
respects
was
disappointing
and
served
only
to
fuel
criticism
inside
and
outside
the
party.
The
government
resisted
growing
parliamentary
demands
for
a
comprehensive
set
of
departmental
select
committees
to
monitor
Whitehall
administration
and
policy-making.
The
party’s
October
1974
manifesto
had
included
a
pledge
to
scrap
the
Official
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