The Public Service Ethos in the British Civil Service: An Historical Institutional Analysis

Abstract

This articler traces the origins, development and decline of the public service ethos in the British civil service and the extent to which it has been supplanted by a new set of values, beliefs and institutional relationships since the 1980s. The modem civil service dates from the mid- nineteenth century and has evolved to meet the changing needs of the state as it has moved from a regulatory to a social service to a welfare state and now to an enabling state over the last 150 years. Some periods were significant for step changes in the structure and role of the service but these have been interspersed with longer periods of incremental change. By the 1920s the service was underpinned with an ethical framework or public service ethos, which both attracted and guided civil servants and shaped the public's expectations of their behaviour. It also contributed to its high international standing and the respect of governments of all political parties and the public. During the 1960s, however, criticisms of the service increased and by the 1980s the public service ethos had become an issue as a series of events called into question the impartiality and integrity of senior civil servants. This article explores the origins and content of the ethos and the extent to which it has been replaced by a new set of values consistent with the new role of the state associated with public management reforms and governance.