Product details
- ISBN 9781837360505
- Publication Date: 16 Jun 2026
- Publisher: Biteback Publishing
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Trust in government has hit rock bottom. From Partygate and the chaos of Covid to the Peter Mandelson affair and open fights between ministers and civil servants, the hidden wiring has been sparking for all to see. When tragedies like Grenfell or the Post Office scandal occur, governments are glacially slow and accountability goes missing. As successive Prime Ministers catastrophically fall, many say Britain is broken.
Part memoir, part manifesto, Bad Government takes us behind the famous black door of government to reveal why the ship of state is so hard to steer.
As the first female private secretary in No.10, the author was the only other woman in the room when Margaret Thatcher resigned. Having shaped reforms under both Thatcher and Blair before working to tackle gender inequalities and deepen government's connection with civil society, she now offers an unprecedented insider's view of how the system evolved, why it is breaking and how it can be fixed.
Exploring why successive Prime Ministers have failed in their promises to reset government and rebuild trust, this arresting book draws on compelling personal insights, weaving together forty years of history with the crises of today.
This is a vital look at the urgent need for a different model of government before the electorate loses faith entirely.
Caroline Slocock was the first female private secretary at No. 10 and was private secretary (home affairs) to Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1989 and 1991.
After leaving No. 10, she worked to change the culture and working practices of the Treasury, which many women saw as a barrier to their advancement, and went on to reform the public expenditure system and public services. At the Department for Education, she oversaw a national expansion of childcare and nursery education. Between 2002 and 2007, she was the chief executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the statutory body that promoted equal opportunities for women and men, and helped achieve significant advances, though many challenges remain.
After leaving government, she set up and led a think tank and a leadership network dedicated to improving services and strengthening communities. She is the author of many publications on this theme and is a regular commentator in the media.
