The Westminster Model and the ‘Indivisibility of the Political and Administrative Elite’ : A Convenient Myth Whose Time Is Up?

This article argues that the principle of indivisibility in the relationship between political and administrative elites acted as a central convention of the Westminster system for much of the twentieth century. It explores how in more recent decades this principle has been challenged by the shift to a principal-agent approach. It considers the extent to which this shift diminishes the traditional Westminster understanding of the minister-civil servant relationship as one based on a symbiotic interdependent partnership. In its place has emerged a more universal command and control relationship which is seen as necessary to meet the demands of modern accountability and transparency. Such a change has fundamentally altered a long-established power-bargain between ministers and civil servants and undermined a core tenet of the Westminster Model.