Sustaining the Westminster Model: A Case Study of the Transition in Power between Political Parties in British Government

In: Parliamentary affairs: a journal of comparative politics, Volume 62, Issue 1, p. 108-128

Abstract

The 1997 change in government was always going to be a challenge for Whitehall and the incoming Labour opposition. It was in the interest of both sets of actors to seek to maintain the image of the 'seamless web of government' and so sustain the Westminster model. This article examines how the transition was handled, in the light of the revision to the existing 'Douglas Home rules' and analyses its effectiveness. It draws on extensive interviews conducted by the author with key actors involved in the exercise and identifies a number of lessons drawn from 1997 to improve future transitions. Adapted from the source document.