The Long March Through Whitehall: A Comment on Lowe and Pemberton, The Official History of the British Civil Service, Volume II: 1982–1997

The Thatcher-Major ‘permanent revolution’ massively changed the British civil service and Whitehall. The political clout provided by strong prime ministerial backing was a key factor in sustaining the momentum of change over the 1980s and 1990s. The process of change developed piecemeal, in a step-by-step and, in some ways, even haphazard fashion, with ‘New Right’ ideology just one factor. Economic and financial constraints were important in driving and sustaining the Whitehall efficiency drives and managerial reforms of the period. Support from managerially minded insiders and skilful prime ministerial businessmen advisers brought in from outside were also crucial. In contrast, the Johnson government's approach to civil service reform may be self-defeating if it creates too much instability and needless strife, rather than building on ideas and building up support at different levels from within Whitehall itself.