Governing Britain

Patrick Diamond is Lecturer in Public Policy at Queen Mary, University of London and Gwilym Gibbon Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. He was formerly Head of Policy Planning in 10 Downing Street and Senior Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister. He is the co-author of Beyond New Labour; Social Justice in the Global Age; After the Third Way; and Global Europe, Social Europe.

'This is an excellent account of New Labour's governing philosophy. Patrick Diamond's "four phases of governance reform" are especially insightful in understanding New Labour's management of the state and public services. He rightly highlights deep continuities in respect of England's tradition of centralised politics and policy making, while acknowledging the variations on that theme.' Andrew Adonis Patrick Diamond's informed and perceptive study of changes in the pattern of government under New Labour raises big questions now in the coalition era about the traditional, and enduring, centralist Whitehall model, and about adapting ministerial/civil service relations. He is right that we may be witnessing only an initial phase in the reconstruction of the British state.' Peter Riddell, Director of the Institute for Government 'Patrick Diamond has provided a groundbreaking book. Through detailed research with the key actors, he has provided a sophisticated understanding of how government worked in the Blair and Brown administrations. His analysis undermines many of the myths of the era and provide an incisive insight into how government really works.' Martin Smith, Professor of Politics, University of York

• List of Figures and Tables Glossary of Abbreviations Acknowledgements IntroductionGovernance, Power and Politics in the Contemporary British State Part I: The Theory of Governing Britain1 The British Political Tradition and Whitehall Reform 2 The Westminster Model and the Whitehall Paradigm 3 Interpreting Continuity and Change in the Labour Party’s Statecraft 4 The Core Executive, Governance and Power Part II: The Practice of Governing Britain5 Mapping the Case Studies of the ‘Primeval Policy Soup’ 6 The Centre and Departments in the Policy-making Process 7 Government and Governance: Patterns of Continuity and Change in the Whitehall Paradigm 8 The Role of Tradition and Path Dependency: New in Power 9 Conclusion: Power, Policy and the Modern State Appendix I: Breakdown of Interviewees Appendix II: Policy Governance under New Labour: Delivery Fields in Academies, Family-Nurse Partnerships, and the National Economic Council Appendix III: ‘Renewal and Strategic Audit’: Memorandum to the Prime Minister Appendix IV: New Labour’s Critique of Whitehall and Proposals for Reforming the Centre of Government: Memorandum to the Prime Minister June 2000 Notes Bibliography Index