The Intimacy of Power
An insight into private office, Whitehall's most sensitive network
Seiten
2024
Biteback Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-78590-832-3 (ISBN)
Biteback Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-78590-832-3 (ISBN)
A masterful survey of one of the most influential but under-examined roles in politics.
Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes in the
corridors of power during a major crisis or after a ministerial reshuffle? How
do new government ministers get to grips with their portfolios and priorities?
Who guides and supports them? And why, sometimes - during events such as
'Partygate' - do things go wrong?
In this meticulously researched book, former senior civil
servant Alun Evans lifts the lid on a vital but little-known cog in the
machinery of government: private office and the private secretaries who work
within it.
Private secretaries exercise huge influence, and yet most of
us have never heard of them. They are the ones who manage the flow of work, who
whisper quietly in ministers' ears and who have been Prime Ministers' closest, most
trusted and most discreet confidants. At critical moments in our national
history - from the Falklands War to the Westland affair, from Black Wednesday
to the 2008 financial crash, from New Labour to the coalition government - they
have been central but hidden players.
With exceptional access to former Prime Ministers and
decision-makers, Evans explores what private office is and why it matters to British
democracy. He argues that following the egregious constitutional breaches of
Boris Johnson's premiership, private office must once again be taken seriously
so it can return to being the independent junction box of government and a
vital part of the British constitution.
Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes in the
corridors of power during a major crisis or after a ministerial reshuffle? How
do new government ministers get to grips with their portfolios and priorities?
Who guides and supports them? And why, sometimes - during events such as
'Partygate' - do things go wrong?
In this meticulously researched book, former senior civil
servant Alun Evans lifts the lid on a vital but little-known cog in the
machinery of government: private office and the private secretaries who work
within it.
Private secretaries exercise huge influence, and yet most of
us have never heard of them. They are the ones who manage the flow of work, who
whisper quietly in ministers' ears and who have been Prime Ministers' closest, most
trusted and most discreet confidants. At critical moments in our national
history - from the Falklands War to the Westland affair, from Black Wednesday
to the 2008 financial crash, from New Labour to the coalition government - they
have been central but hidden players.
With exceptional access to former Prime Ministers and
decision-makers, Evans explores what private office is and why it matters to British
democracy. He argues that following the egregious constitutional breaches of
Boris Johnson's premiership, private office must once again be taken seriously
so it can return to being the independent junction box of government and a
vital part of the British constitution.
Alun Evans is a political historian. For over thirty years, he was a UK civil servant. Between 1994 and 1998, he served as principal private secretary to three different Cabinet ministers. He subsequently worked at No. 10 for Prime Minister Tony Blair. His final government post was as head of the UK government office for Scotland at the time of the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. From 2015 to 2019, he was chief executive of the British Academy, following which he completed his PhD on the history of private office. Since 2020, he has been a consultant on political strategy, devolution and communications. The Intimacy of Power is his first book.
| Erscheinungsdatum | 25.05.2024 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | London |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung | |
| ISBN-10 | 1-78590-832-4 / 1785908324 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-78590-832-3 / 9781785908323 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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