2025-12-21
We were introduced in the '80s to the ways and wiles of the Civil Service, with Jim Hacker as the hapless minister corralled into compliance by the genial Sir Humphrey Appleby (GCB KBE MBO) whose "Yes Minister" invariably meant "No Minister".
But of course time and tide wait for no man and things have evidently advanced considerably today, quite beyond the simple subterfuges that oiled (or crunched) the wheels in those heady times. Today, it seems that the bureaucrat would get the uncompliant minister sacked, whereas most reasonable voters would rightly expect the minister to sack the uncompliant bureaucrat.
Still, I'm sure that this story is simply for entertainment purposes (as was the "Yes Minister" sitcom of those innocent days) - after all, could a government really be effective if it actually worked like this in reality?
