Overview

First published in 1974, British Cabinet Ministers is about the opportunities and constraints of executive political office. It is mainly based on interviews with fifty contemporary British Ministers and twenty-five senior civil servants. Hitherto political observers have referred simply to ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ Ministers, which begs the question ‘“strong” or “weak” at what?’ Here Ministers are classified into five types—policy initiators, policy selectors, Executive and Ambassador Ministers, and Minimalists—depending on their different approaches to their jobs. The problems Ministers face in achieving their objectives are analysed and case studies are presented of the performance in office of different types of Ministers. In this context, we review the skills and abilities of politicians themselves and the range and quality of advice they can expect to receive in Whitehall. In the final section, the author considers the consequences for British government of the finding that Ministers are better qualified to perform some of their roles than others, and also indicates lines of inquiry that need to be further pursued by students of executive political leadership.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bruce Headey
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.740kg
ISBN:  

9781032946030

ISBN 10:   1032946032
Pages:   316
Publication Date:   01 November 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Part I: The Job of Cabinet Minister 1. Cabinet Ministers and Executive Political Leadership 2. The Demands of the Job 3. A Typology of Cabinet Ministers Part II: Factors Affecting Performance in Office 4. The Skills of Ministers 5. Ministers and Their Departments I: Their Range and Quality of Advice 6. Ministers and Their Departments II: The Expectations of Civil Servants 7. Differences between Departments and Situations 8. Ministerial Policy Objectives Part III: Ministers in Office: Case Studies 9. Policy Initiators: The Key Issues Approach 10. Executive Ministers 11. Ambassador Ministers Part IV: The Consequences of Ministers 12. Selecting Cabinet Ministers: Some International Comparisons 13. The Consequences of Ministers

Reviews

Review of the first publication: ‘Joining an intimate knowledge of British government with a modest, clear, and reasonable borrowing from the insights and methods of the social sciences, Bruce Headey…has written a substantial informative study…’ — Leon D. Epstein, Political Science Quarterly

Author Information

Bruce Headey is a Fellow of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

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