‘It’s every breath we take here’: Political astuteness and ethics in civil service leadership development

This paper uses survey and interview research with senior civil servants to argue that leadership with political astuteness is a specific contextual requirement for public servants who work closely with politicians. Also important are technical skills, judgement and a sharp sense of ethics and integrity. The ‘fine balance’ of political astuteness and other capabilities are shown in a framework about leading in an ethical way. Implications for the development of civil servants are considered

The impact of open data in the UK: complex, unpredictable, and political

This article examines the democratic impact of the UK coalition government's Transparency Agenda, focusing on the publication of all local government spending over £500 by councils in England. It looks at whether the new data have driven increased democratic accountability, public participation, and information transmission. The evidence suggests that the local government spending data have driven some accountability. However, rather than forging new ‘performance regimes’, creating ‘armchair auditors’, or bringing mass use and involvement, the publication creates a further element of political disruption. Assessment of the use and impact of the new spending data finds it is more complex, more unpredictable, and more political than the rhetoric around Open Data indicates. The danger is that the gap between aims and impact invites disappointment from supporters

Has the Whitehall Model survived?

The expression 'Whitehall Model' has a certain heuristic value for describing four key features of the British civil service, namely political neutrality, generalism, life-long career paths and a strong policy advisory role. This model has been challenged by politicization, changes in career management and recruitment as well as increasing competition from other sources of policy advice. The UK civil service's role in relation to ministers seems to have become increasingly defined in managerial terms and decreasingly as policy advisers, not least because a range of other individuals and bodies (advisers, consultants, think tanks, party research departments) now share this role. While it appears to be enjoying a diminishing policy role, the senior civil service has not, at least so far, managed to occupy the high ground in its managerial role. The biggest change in the model is a collapse of confidence in the civil service, not only among citizens, but also among politicians and civil servants themselves