Richard Crossman, the Civil Service, and the Case of the Disappearing Pension

Abstract

Richard Crossman - a member of Harold Wilson’. Cabinet from 1964-1970 - wrote widely about the relationship between ministers and the civil service, and, with particular reference to his famous Diaries of a Cabinet Minister, he continues to be cited as an influential figure who questioned the veracity of the traditional model of public administration. This article will move beyond an examination of Crossman’. own words, and a case will be considered, involving Crossman, where it appears that officials did play a large role in changing existing party policy. However, this case study - which draws heavily on archive material - will not be taken from Crossman’. time at the Ministry of Housing (1964-1966), where his bruising battles with ‘the Dame’ have become political folklore, but rather from a later period in which Crossman believed he had largely mastered the civil service