Yes, Minister TV - Arthur Henderson - Robert Peel - Dispatches TV - Adam Curtis TV - William Lamb -
I’d prefer to call you minister, Minister. Yes, Minister s1e1: Open Government, Bernard, BBC 1980
Don’t you realise what would happen if we allowed the minister to run the department? Yes, Minister s1e6: The Right to Know
On occasion there are some things it is better for a minister not to know. ibid.
You are not here to run this department. ibid.
Perhaps there are some things it is better for a minister not to know. ibid. Sir Humphrey to Jim, with Bernard
Freedom is indivisible; ministers are expendable. Yes, Minister: The Death List s2e3, Jim to Sir Humphrey, BBC 1981
I know just the sort of minister you mean. Political jellyfish. Terrified of taking any decision that might upset someone. After all, every decision upsets someone. Doesn’t it? Good government is doing what’s right, not just doing what’s popular. Yes, Minister s2e4: The Greasy Pole, Jim to Sir Humphrey
Oh, Minister, why must you always be so concerned with climbing the greasy pole? ibid. Sir Humphrey to Jim
Our minister is very average. Yes, Minister s2e6: The Quality of Life, Sir Humphrey to banker
You know why he’s called a minister of the Crown, don’t you? He’s always talking through the top of his head. Or the back of it. ibid.
The Sun specifically asked if you could be photographed amongst the donkeys. ibid.
Jim: What idiot authorised that?
Bernard: You did, Minister. ibid.
Once something goes wrong the minister’s first instincts is to rat on his department. Yes, Minister: A Question of Loyalty s2e7, Sir Humphrey to Bernard
She was assuming there was some moral basis for your activities. Yes, Minister s3e1: Equal Opportunities, Annie to Jim
The first forty-eight hours decide whether a minister is going to run his office or whether his office is going to run him. Arthur Henderson, Labour politician
As Minister of the Crown … I reserve to myself, distinctly and unequivocally, the right of adapting my conduct to the exigency of the moment, and to the wants of the country. Robert Peel, House of Commons 30th Mary 1829
Paul has joined the three largest donors ... He will be our undercover donor ... Around £50,000 to each party. Dispatches: How to Buy a Meeting With a Minister, Channel 4 2015
New Labour: they gave power away to the banks and the markets. And in the management of society New Labour turned to the mathematical systems that John Major had brought in but on a scale never seen before. They believed that people actually behaved in the way described by the simplified economic model. Performance targets and incentives would be set for everything and everyone. Even cabinet ministers would have to perfect their performance targets or be punished. Adam Curtis, The Trap II: The Lonely Robot, BBC 2007
God help the minister that meddles with art! William Lamb, Lord Melbourne, 1779-1848