Yes Minister And Yes Prime Minister [ 2026 Edition ]

The Architecture of Inaction: An Analysis of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister

II. The Adversarial Relationship: Minister vs. Mandarins

• Sir Humphrey on the Civil Service’s purpose: "The civil service was designed to survive. Its purpose is to outlive its political masters. And, Minister, you are a temporary phenomenon."
• Sir Humphrey on a good policy: "Minister, that policy would be… adventurous. And we are not an adventurous department."
• Sir Humphrey on why Britain can’t fix anything: "Britain has not had a successful revolution since 1688. We don’t know how. We prefer to adapt, to compromise, to slowly decay."
• Bernard on truth: "The truth is, Minister, that in Whitehall, if you want to hide something, you put it in a file. If you want to reveal something, you hold a press conference. The two are never confused."
• Hacker’s ultimate realization: "The higher you climb, the less control you have. The machine runs you."

The European Union:

Sir Humphrey’s explanation of Britain’s role in Europe remains one of the most shared clips in political history.