Power to the People (Yes, Prime Minister)
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| Yes, Prime Minister episode | |
|---|---|
| “Power to the People” | |
| Episode no. | Series 2 Episode 5 |
| Guest star(s) | Gwen Taylor Deborah Norton John Nettleton Diana Hoddinott |
| Writer(s) | Antony Jay Jonathan Lynn |
| Producer | Sydney Lotterby |
| Original broadcast | 7 January 1988 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| “A Conflict of Interest” | “The Patron of the Arts” |
"Power to the People" is the thirteenth episode of the BBC comedy series Yes, Prime Minister and was first broadcast 7 January 1988.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Not for the first time, Jim Hacker is experiencing problems with local government. He bemoans the fact that councillors are elected by 25% of the population, who base their choice on the performance of the national government, and, once installed, spend four years on a "subsidised ego trip". During this time, the Prime Minister argues, everything they do is counterproductive and he gets the blame for it. One such local representative who is causing him particular grief is Agnes Moorhouse, the leader of Houndsworth Council. She is refusing to abide by the law and provide her residents with an efficient police force on the grounds that 50% of officers are not black. Hacker needs her to toe the line, but as it can't be a political confrontation, he suggests that one of his officials should deal with it. Since Sir Humphrey Appleby is in charge of co-ordinating the security services, the PM gives him the job — and he is alarmed at the prospect.
Sir Humphrey meets with Ms Moorhouse in the Cabinet Office, and his fears are justified. She is extremely combative and more than a match for the Cabinet Secretary's usually suave modus operandi. The councillor has strongly held views on how Britain should be run, which are contrary to everything that Sir Humphrey holds sacred. They include the abolition of Parliament, the courts and the monarchy, and radical reforms to alleviate poverty. She pointedly asks Sir Humphrey the costs of certain everyday items, which he struggles to answer. She suggests that part of his substantial salary goes towards helping the needy, and he is speechless.
Hacker is in his upstairs flat in 10 Downing Street with his wife, Annie. He invites over Dorothy Wainwright, his political advisor, as he wishes to hear her views on local government. She counsels a scheme recently put forward by a Professor Marriott, which would give power back to the people by making town halls genuinely accountable. This involves making each councillor responsible for just 200 local residents, which would then lead to a large local council that would report to a smaller executive committee. Councillors would then be in close contact with those that voted for them — and would have to listen to their concerns. The PM is enthused and wishes to proceed with the plan, calling it "Hacker's Reform Bill".
Bernard Woolley visits Sir Humphrey, who wants to know his feelings on Professor Marriott's proposal. Initially, Bernard is all in favour, but his superior soon provides a counter-argument. He maintains that once you start taking power away from the right people (civil servants) it can only go to the wrong people (politicians). Furthermore, they will want more of it, eventually leading to regional government. This would be very damaging to the civil service, as the "months of fruitful work" that its officials currently undertake to arrive at "a mature and responsible conclusion" would be reduced to a decision taken over the course of a couple of meetings by "complete amateurs". Bernard remarks that such persons have every right to power in a democracy, but the Cabinet Secretary points out that this is a British democracy, which apparently makes all the difference. In other words, there is a system: "a civilised, aristocratic government machine, tempered by occasional general elections."
Sir Humphrey partakes of a drink with his predecessor, Sir Arnold Robinson, and confesses his fears over Marriott's scheme. Sir Arnold notes that the only thing that drives politicians is their need to be re-elected, and for that they need publicity, fame and glory — all supplied by the civil service. Therefore, one system cannot be reformed without the other. He suggests that Sir Humphrey makes the PM aware of the personal dangers should he continue with the proposal.
Back in the Cabinet Office, Sir Humphrey has a second rendezvous with Agnes Moorhouse. He informs her of Hacker's plan for reforming local government, and she is shocked, as she believes that ordinary people are "simple" and would not vote for her policies. She and Sir Humphrey are now of one mind: the PM must be stopped. Sir Humphrey promises to help as long as she drops her objections to a local police force.
At Sir Humphrey's insistence, Hacker meets with Professor Marriott, who expands on his original plan. He now proposes that each MP should be obligated to only 500 constituents, thus allowing them true independence from the party machine and enforcing proper accountability. This means that government legislation would only be enacted if voted for by a genuine majority, free of the Whips. Sir Humphrey tells the PM that it would be the most courageous policy he has ever proposed ("courageous" being his most damning epithet: "'controversial' will lose you votes; 'courageous' will lose you the election"). Hacker bids Professor Marriott a swift farewell. There is still the question of Agnes Moorhouse, and Sir Humphrey reassures the PM (in a typically loquacious speech) that they have come to an agreement.
[edit] Episode cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Paul Eddington | Jim Hacker |
| Nigel Hawthorne | Sir Humphrey Appleby |
| Derek Fowlds | Bernard Woolley |
| Gwen Taylor | Councillor Agnes Moorhouse |
| Deborah Norton | Dorothy Wainwright |
| John Nettleton | Sir Arnold Robinson |
| Diana Hoddinott | Annie Hacker |
| Jonathan Adams | Professor Marriott |
| Miranda Forbes | Secretary |
[edit] Quotes
| “ | Sir Humphrey: Tell me er... Agnes, this policy of yours of... er... of only allowing free-range eggs to be sold in your borough, how does this help poverty?
Agnes Moorhouse: Animals have rights too, you know. A battery chicken's life isn't worth living. Would you want to spend your life packed in with six hundred other desperate, squawking, smelly creatures, unable to breathe fresh air, unable to move, unable to stretch, unable to think? Sir Humphrey: Certainly not, that is why I never stood for Parliament. |
” |
| “ | Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, I have had another word with her. To put it simply, Prime Minister, certain informal discussions took place involving a full and frank exchange of views, after which there arose a series of proposals which on examination proved to indicate certain promising lines of enquiry, which when pursued led to the realisation that the alternative courses of action might in fact, in certain circumstances, be susceptible of discreet modification, leading to a reappraisal of the original areas of difference and pointing a way to encouraging possibilities of compromise and cooperation which if bilaterally implemented with appropriate give and take on both sides might, if the climate were right, have a reasonable possibility at the end of the day of leading rightly or wrongly to a mutually satisfactory resolution. Hacker: What the hell are you talking about? |
” |
| “ | Agnes Moorhouse: You're a great loss to the militant revolution, Humphrey. Sir Humphrey: And you, my dear Agnes, are a great loss to the Civil Service. |
” |
| “ | Sir Humphrey: Bernard, do you know what happens when the right people don't have power? The wrong people get it; politicians, counsellors, ordinary voters. Bernard: Well shouldn't they have power in a democracy? |
” |
[edit] Continuity
- Hacker's first brush with the pitfalls of local government reform occurred in the Yes Minister episode "The Challenge".
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