Abstract
Britain is a country with a long tradition of centralised government. Some of the public offices of central government have been in existence for centuries. For example, the first Lord Chancellor was appointed by Edward the Confessor, the Exchequer developed in the twelfth century and the office of Lord President of the Council dates from 1497. Some of the Departments of central government are now over 200 years old. For example, two of the most prestigious Departments were established in 1782 when George III created a Department for Foreign Affairs and a Department for Home and Colonial Affairs (now the Home Office).
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Further Reading
Birch, A. H., Representative and Responsible Government (London: Allen and Unwin, 1964).
Brown, R. G. S. and Steel, D. R., The Administrative Process in Britain, 2nd edn (London: Methuen, 1979).
Bruce-Gardyne, J. and Lawson, N., The Power Game (London: Macmillan, 1976).
Henderson, N., The Private Office (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984).
Kaufman, G., How to be a Minister (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1980).
Marshall, G., Constitutional Conventions (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986).
Parris, H., Constitutional Bureaucracy (London: Allen & Unwin, 1969).
Pollitt, C., Manipulating the Machine (London: Allen & Unwin, 1984).
Theakston, K., Junior Ministers in British Government (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1987).
Copyright information
© 1991 F. N. Forman
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Forman, F.N. (1991). Ministers and Departments. In: Mastering British politics. Macmillan Master Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11203-6_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11203-6_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-51253-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-11203-6
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