Contributions from: Dave Penman, General Secretary, FDA; Steve Barwick, Deputy Director, the Smith Institute; Sir David Normington, former First Civil Service Commissioner; Lord Bob Kerslake, former Head of the Civil Service; Dan Corry, former Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit; Lord Heseltine, former Deputy Prime Minister; Lord Wallace of Saltaire; Sir Martin Donnelly, former Permanent Secretary; Lord Jack McConnell, former First Minister of Scotland; Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister of Scotland; Carwyn Jones AM, former First Minister of Wales; Jill Rutter, Programme Director, Institute for Government; Colin Talbot, Professor of Government, Universities of Cambridge and Manchester
Impartiality, integrity and professionalism are the raison d’etre of the civil service. Our political system has of course changed dramatically, but the same core values continue to define the working relationship between the elected politicians and senior civil servants. Without them the civil service would struggle to maintain the highest standards of public administration. This collection of essays – with contributions from insiders (civil servants and politicians) and outsiders (academics and commentators) – add up to a compelling defence of the importance of impartiality, which has made the UK’s civil service one of the best in the world but which finds itself increasingly under threat.