Who Runs This Place?
T0
Government has never been more distant from Parliament, or closer to big business. After all the promises of decentralisation, and increased transparency, Whitehall seems to have become more impenetrable, and more decisions than ever are concentrated at No. 10, as the Hutton Inquiry has shown. Will this centralisation pass with Blairism - or have the structures of government been permanently changed and Whitehall irrevocably politicised? Why are we so exercised by Blair's retinue of advisors - and how could they be made more accountable? In a globalised world, is it inevitable that government and corporations will be mutually dependent? Speakers: Peter Hennessey, historian and author of The Secret State; Lord Christopher Haskins, frequent advisor to the government, formerly chairman of Express Northern Foods; Anthony King, professor of British Government at Essex University, who sat on the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and Tony Wright, MP, chairman of the Public Administration Committee. In the chair: Anthony Sampson, whose previous books include The Anatomy of Britain and the authorised biography of Nelson Mandela.
Archive :: talk:S1191442345, venue:V205
Production details
Nash Room