Richard Crossman
The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6112979 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kevin Theakston (University of Leeds, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 20-40 |
| Publication date | 2003-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Public Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0952-0767 • E-ISSN: 1749-4192 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670301800403 |
| OpenAlex | W2169886354 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 10 |
Richard Crossman's Diaries of a Cabinet Minister (published in three volumes, 1975-77) give a detailed and vivid account of the life of a Cabinet minister and the inner workings of the Whitehall machine and of Harold Wilson's Labour government in the 1960s - coloured, however, by Crossman's own strong personality and opinions. Controversially blowing away conventions of Cabinet secrecy, the diaries paved the way for later moves towards more openness about the process of government. The article shows how the evidence of the diaries served to undermine the simplistic notions of ‘prime ministerial government’ propagated by Crossman and others. Crossman's ambition to write ‘a new Bagehot’ - a classic, landmark and defining book about the British political system - was never fulfilled. Ultimately, Crossman's legacy is that of a gadfly critic and a maverick insider, not a major constitutional thinker
Insider · Openness to experience · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Secrecy · History · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,19 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2014 (10) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |