Idylls of the Constitution

Continuity and chance have been our themes. But which is which and is either improvement? And, more important, can there be improvement? There has been no shortage of brave new styles, white-hot technological revolutions, and new looks in British government. We began our research against the soot-caked façade of Whitehall; as we finish, the black smudgy face has been sandblasted into its original, pristine appearance. Even the Treasury building in Great George Street looks brighter. Fresh bodies — or a whited sepulchre? Inside the ‘with it’ post-Fulton Civil Service Department, the ancient varnished panelling of the old Admiralty Building has been overlaid with plum and white trim. Beyond the brilliant, plastic reception area and its crimson furniture lie ministers’ offices straight out of Habitat’s catalogue, magenta chairs like quicksand and tables which defy anyone to sit around them. It is change of a sort, but what does it signify? Is PAR just a new bit of plum and white trim on the old ways, CPRS another piece of mod administrative furniture which no one can figure out how to use? For show or for real can the constitution accommodate these and other strange growths on the body politic?

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