Hacker Ministry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hacker Ministry is the fictional British governing administration of the Right Honourable James Hacker, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as portrayed in the classic British sitcom, Yes, Prime Minister.

1 Tenure of government
2 The government
3 James Hacker cabinet
4 Civil Servants
5 Other important individuals
6 Referecnes

[edit] Tenure of government

The tenure of Hacker's government began in the mid 1980s and ended at some unknown point, as there was no firm conclusion to the series. (Hacker was shown becoming Prime Minister in the episode "Party Games", a 1984 Christmas special set over Christmas and New Year at an unknown date; when Yes, Prime Minister began in 1986, he had been P.M. "for three days"; later it was remarked that "you were a back-bench M.P. only five years ago", a comment which is difficult to square with his becoming a minister in an episode broadcast in 1980 (but filmed before the 1979 general election) after some months if not years on the Opposition front bench.

Co-creator and writer Jonathan Lynn relayed this information via e-mail:

"[Hacker could have] won a general election somewhere in that period [the period while the series was being filmed]. He might have been pushed out after that (as Thatcher was), or he might have resigned on grounds of ill-health..."

Paul Eddington, who portrayed Hacker, died in 1995, and Hacker shares the same birth and passing dates. Hacker did assume a position in the House of Lords after his Premiership (as Baron Hacker of Islington), so one can assume that the Prime Minister lost a general election, or resigned as Mr. Lynn suggests, and that his government did not last too long into the 1990s.

As to why the series did not have a firm conclusion, Mr. Lynn noted:

"We [himself and co-writer Antony Jay] never considered how Hacker’s administration might have ended, nor when. We didn’t get that far. We decided to stop when we’d said all that we wanted to say."

[edit] The government

Hacker's party holds a parliamentary majority in the House of Commons. Listed below are the members of Hacker's Cabinet, as much as is disclosed during the airing of the series.

Information is also reaped from the novelisation. It should be noted that information contained in the novelisation does not correspond with the happenings in the television show, perhaps for the sake of continuity (e.g. although there is a new Foreign Secretary in the series, the book notes that the Foreign Secretary from the episode "Party Games" still holds the post).

This list is by no means complete or comprehensive, as the names of those holding many portfolios in Hacker's government were never revealed or discussed. It is somewhat curious that the portfolio of Minister for Administrative Affairs, the focus of Yes, Minister, is not discussed at all in Yes, Prime Minister, nor even who succeeded Hacker in the post.

To this latter point, Mr. Lynn replied:

"Ministries come and go, just like Ministers. Ministries are merged with others, created specially, often completely abolished. You can assume that the Ministry of Administrative Affairs was merged with some other, because its very title indicates a duplication of purpose. Hacker may very likely have merged it with the Cabinet Office, a move that would have delighted Sir Humphrey, now the Cabinet Secretary."

[edit] James Hacker cabinet

The Rt. Hon. James Hacker, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.

Note: persons asterisked (*) indicates they were named only in the novelisation

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service: Rt. Hon. James George Hacker
Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury: Eric Jeffries
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Duncan Short (later replaced by an unnamed minister as seen in the episode, "A Victory for Democracy")
Secretary of State for Defence: Hugh*
Solicitor General: Sir Robin Evans*
Secretary of State for Health: Dr. Peter Thorn, later replaced by Leslie Potts
Secretary of State for Employment: Tom*, later replaced by Dudley Belling, the latter who resigned after his plan to move defense establishments was scotched by Hacker.
Secretary of State for Education and Skills: Henry (the novelisation names him as Patrick Snodgrass)
Minister for Sport: Leslie Potts, who resigned the post to take the Ministry of Health position left by Dr. Thorn, who took a job in Her Majesty's Treasury.
Minister for the Arts: Nick Everitt*
Party Chair: Neil*
Government Chief Whip: Jeffrey Pearson

[edit] Civil Servants

Sir Humphrey Appleby (l), Head of the Home Civil Service with Bernard Woolley, Principal Private Secretary.

Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service: Sir Humphrey Appleby
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister: Bernard Woolley
Press Secretaries: Malcolm Warren and Bill Pritchard
Permanent Secretary of the Treasury: Sir Frank Gordon
Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Sir Richard Wharton
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence: Sir Alan Guthrie*, later replaced by Sir Norman Block
Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Security: Sir Noel Whittington*
Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education and Skills: Sir Giles
Permanent Secretary of the Department of Employment: Sir David*
Foreign Affairs Private Secretary: Peter Gascoigne
Home Affairs Private Secretary: Graham French

[edit] Other important individuals

Chief Political Advisor to the Prime Minister: Dorothy Wainwright
Chief Scientific Advisor: Professor Isaac Rosenblum*
Leader of the Opposition: George Hedley*
Director General of MI5: Sir Geoffrey Hastings
Chief of the Defence Staff: (initially in the book General) Field Marshal Sir Geoffrey Howard
Governor of the Bank of England: Sir Desmond Glazebrook