Transitions – preparing for changes of government

Transitions – preparing for changes of government

The transition between different governments can be fraught with difficulty and mistrust as new administrations seek to master the Whitehall machine. This project has looked at the experience of transitions since the 1960s to draw lessons for the future.

In particular, the project examined:

  • The use and value of pre-election contacts between Opposition and the Civil Service;
  • Preparations by opposition parties, and the Civil Service, ahead of general elections;
  • The workings of transitions in practice, both historically in the UK and abroad.


Background

The UK's approach to managing changes in government is often informal and intensely secretive. This means that there is little formal guidance for either opposition parties or senior civil servants on how to handle the process as effectively as possible. This project was designed to rectify those deficiencies by highlighting what has worked in the past and clearly signposting the pitfalls for incoming governments.

Method

The project was comprised of interviews and archival research. It analysed preparations and plans made before the election, and tracks the success of the process across departments and by individual ministers over a number of general and local elections in the past 40 years.

The research also looked at how other countries, such as Australia, Canada and France, handle transitions. Lastly, it examined how transitions are handled in devolved government in Scotland, in local government throughout the UK, and for the Mayor of London.

Outcomes

There were several outputs for this research, reflecting the scope of the issue and its importance:

  • Published report: Transitions - preparing for changes to government; November 2009
  • Briefings and seminars. Work was completed on suggested improvements for pre-election contacts. Further seminars on the problems and possible improvements of the transition process were held for a number of different audiences;
  • Full-length book. Expanding on the historical and political ramifications of our research, the book draws out the issues, building on previous academic work and revealing new insight into the British political system.

Click here for further reading and links to useful organisations.

Research team:
Senior Fellow, Peter Riddell, and Catherine Haddon, Research Fellow
catherine.haddon@instituteforgovernment.org.uk