The Machinery of Government and Policy-Making

Abstract

Who ran the colonial empire? Constitutionally it was the Secretary of State for the Colonies who was answerable to Cabinet in the first instance and ultimately to Parliament. But, however impressive the political authority or departmental ability enjoyed by some Colonial Secretaries, in the examination of imperial policy it is necessary to probe beyond his office and consider inter-departmental relations within Whitehall, the internal organization of the Colonial Office and relations between London and colonial governments. The Colonial Secretary had always had the dual task of upholding HMG’s policy in the colonies and protecting colonial interests from excessive metropolitan demands. Between the wars the Colonial Office was able to operate with minimal contact with other departments; only Palestine, Kenya and the West Indies were sources of occasional embarrassment to the Secretary of State in Cabinet or Parliament. During the 1940s, however, tension between British and colonial interests became more pronounced and there was a corresponding growth in inter-departmental consultation at both official and ministerial levels.KeywordsDual TaskPolitical AuthorityMinimal ContactColonial GovernmentImperial PolicyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.