Yes, Minister

Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister are British sitcoms that were transmitted by the BBC between 1980 and 1988. The setting was, at first, the private office of a government minister and, in the sequel, 10 Downing Street. All 38 episodes were written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn and all but one are 30 minutes in length.

Background

The writers placed Hacker at the centre of the political spectrum, and were careful to identify his party headquarters as Central House (a portmanteau of Conservative Central Office and Labour's Transport House). Despite this, the thrust of the early episodes was in a generally neo-liberal direction. The episode Jobs for the Boys was clear in its rejection of the tripartite form of corporatism that Mrs Thatcher's government was determined to roll back. Antony Jay was personally sympathetic to the economically liberal elements of Thatcherism and served as a part-time speech writer to Nigel Lawson. Jonathan Lynn was, even initially, less sympathetic to Mrs Thatcher and as the decade progressed and Mrs Thatcher's personality came to eclipse the policy agenda, the partnership produced episodes such as Man Overboard, which satirised the Westland affair.

Related Topics:
Portmanteau - Nigel Lawson - Westland affair

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Trollopian style, certain of the minor characters in the series were apparently drawn from identifiable real-world originals. The acerbic nationalised industry chairman, Sir Wally MacFarlane, was an affectionate caricature of Sir Monty Finniston (of British Steel); the Prime Ministerial special advisor on efficiency, Sir Mark Spencer, was a reference to Derek Rayner who joined the first Thatcher Government from the chain store group Marks and Spencer; and the journalists John Pilgrim and Alex Andrews were evident references to John Pilger and Andrew Alexander. Billy Fraser, a tough uncompromising Scottish trade unionist, was based on Jamie Morris, who had led the strike at Westminster Hospital during the Winter of Discontent. By contrast, Hacker's Prime Ministerial special advisor, Dorothy Wainwright, predated the arrival of Sarah Hogg (who bore her some resemblance) as John Major's advisor some years later.

Related Topics:
Trollopian - Nationalised industry - Sir Monty Finniston - British Steel - Thatcher - Marks and Spencer - John Pilger - Winter of Discontent - John Major

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~