Changes

==Portrayal of the British Government==

==Portrayal of the British Government==

Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.  

Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.  

Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants. A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate.

Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants. A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Later in the series, Hacker is told "they are on our side", and Hacker clarifies that he meant the Americans, adding that: "for a moment, I thought you meant the Foreign Office". Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate, and went as far as to write a script for the programme.

== External links ==

== External links ==