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Palgrave Macmillan

William Armstrong and British Policy Making

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Kevin Theakston

    1. Sch of Politics & International Studies, University of Leeds Sch of Politics & International Studies, Leeds, United Kingdom

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  2. Philip Connelly

    1. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom

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  • Provides an insight into the career and impact of a key figure in the British Civil Service
  • Presents findings from insider interviews with senior Civil Service figures and family papers
  • Offers a perspective into British policy making and the roots of 21st century Civil Service and public administration

Part of the book series: Understanding Governance (TRG)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 1-11

  3. William Armstrong: Family Background and Education

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 13-44

  4. Climbing the Whitehall Ladder

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 45-95

  5. Head of the Treasury 1962–68

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 97-142

  6. Head of the Home Civil Service 1968–74

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 143-196

  7. ‘Deputy Prime Minister’ Under Heath

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 197-252

  8. The Midland Bank Years

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 253-263

  9. William Armstrong: An Assessment

    • Kevin Theakston, Philip Connelly
    Pages 265-282

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 283-292
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Keywords

About this book

This book offers a detailed account of the life and career of William Armstrong, the most influential civil servant in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, and one of the most powerful and significant Whitehall officials in the post-1945 period. He was at the centre of the British government policy-making machine for over 30 years – the very incarnation of the ‘permanent government’ of the country. He was the indispensable figure at the right hand of successive Chancellors of the Exchequer, and a reforming Head of the Civil Service.  His role and power was such that he was controversially dubbed ‘deputy prime minister’ under Edward Heath. The book also casts light on wider institutional, political and historical issues around the working and reform of the civil service and the government machine, the policy-making process, and the experience in office of Labour and Conservative governments from the 1940s to the 1970s.                    ;;;;;;;;;;;      

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sch of Politics & International Studies, University of Leeds Sch of Politics & International Studies, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Kevin Theakston

  • Tunbridge Wells, Kent, United Kingdom

    Philip Connelly

About the authors

Kevin Theakston is Professor of British Government at the University of Leeds, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has published 12 previous books, including The Labour Party and Whitehall (1992), The Civil Service Since 1945 (1995), Leadership in Whitehall (1999), and After Number 10: Former Prime Ministers in British Politics (2010).  



Philip Connelly spent 18 years with BP, where he held senior appointments in government relations, policy planning and corporate affairs. He was also a Deputy Director of the CBI and UK Director of the British-North American Committee. He published two previous books, The Politics of Scarcity: Resource Conflicts in International Relations (co-author, 1975) and Dealing with Whitehall (1992).                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

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