BRITAIN'S ADMINISTRATIVE ELITE: PERMANENT SECRETARIES 1900–1986

This article is based upon analysis of biographical data of those men and women who reached the rank of Permanent Secretary in the career civil service between 1900 and 1986. Among other matters, the article gives details of the schools and universities attended by Permanent Secretaries, their age on, and mode of, entry to the civil service, and their career pattern within that service, including the number of departments served in, the age of appointment to the rank of Permanent Secretary, and the length of tenure in that role. The evidence shows that for the present cadre of Permanent Secretaries the route to the top has been characterized by inter-departmental mobility, private office service, and experience in the key central departments of the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.     

PUBLIC SERVICE MODERNIZATION AND TRADE UNION REFORM: TOWARDS MANAGERIAL LED RENEWAL?

It is a curious feature of the debate about the UK Labour government’s modernization agenda that the consequences for trade unions have been almost wholly neglected. Focusing on a case study of UNISON, the public service trade union that is dominant in local government and health, this paper argues that UNISON has emulated key aspects of the modernization agenda, adopting a dual strategy to union renewal. It has attempted to rebuild workplace organization, but has placed strong emphasis on managerial‐led renewal, adopting many components of the target culture. These measures have created tensions within the organization that mirror some of the broader contradictions of the modernization agenda. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these findings for public service union renewal.