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British Government in Crisis
By
Sir Christopher Foster
Description
Why are we badly
governed? Why has a system of government - the envy of the world as
recently as the 1970s - developed so many defects? Why is there such
a gulf between political classes, who seem to believe the position
satisfactory or inevitable, and the general public, increasingly
disaffected by politics and government?
This book argues
that the defects are not attributable to one political party. Some
factors are outside politicians\\\' control: the globalization of
economic activity; the changes in international politics after the
end of Soviet Russia; the adverse consequences of more dominating and
competitive media. Some other factors are widely recognized: the
decline of the cabinet and the marginalizing of Parliament; the
influence of spin on our political culture; the increased role of
political and special advisers. But others are not as well
understood. Among them are the decline in the authority of many
ministers, the undermining of the constitutional position and
consequent effectiveness of the civil service, the fragmentation of
government and the public sector into a mass of bodies with complex
but ill-defined relations between them, and the ramifying of a system
of government which, despite its protestations, is less interested in
delivering results than managing news.
The book traces
these developments, especially over the last 25 years, but most
intensively since 1997. It looks to a major change in the ways of
government. It doubts whether a change of prime minister or party
would remove current defects. It considers other possible
alternatives, particularly a constitutional change to a
\\\'presidential\\\' system of government, or the introduction of a legal
constitution. It concludes by arguing that, although venturing in new
and untried directions might seem attractive, improvement - radical
improvement - of the system we have is more likely to achieve better
government and restore public confidence.
Sir Christopher
Foster taught at Oxford and LSE before moving into the City where he
advised government on transport and privatization. He has been on the
board of the Post Office and Railtrack, and has worked for several
government Commissions.
Contents
Introduction :
what has gone wrong? 1
1 Parliament 7
2 The
constitution acquires a third element : the civil service 20
3 Decision-making
: the exercise of ministerial power 33
4 Laws that
work 46
5 Cabinet tries
to cope 60
6 Overload and
gridlock : the old regime\\\'s decline 73
7 Margaret
Thatcher 89
8 The
poll-tax 101
9 Major : the
counter-revolution that failed 111
10 The House of
Commons : less representative, less effective 127
11 The spread of
grass-roots anarchy 141
12 Blair\\\'s
cabinet : monarchy returns 159
13 The excesses
of news management 176
14 Ministers\\\'
diminished standing 191
15 Civil service
: end of Northcote-Trevelyan 207
16 Nadir of
government : the railways 223
17 Summarising
the revolution 238
18 Resilience or
a third presidency? 251
19 A more legal
constitution 263
20 Restoration 278
Conclusion :
where do we go from here? 289
App The author\\\'s
relevant experience 299
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