Actor and campaigner Hugh Grant has delivered a declaration of support for civil servants and a vote of no-confidence in politicians following a year of political turmoil.
The Love, Actually star, who played the role of prime minister in Richard Curtis’ 2003 romantic comedy, this week shared a poignant reflection on the collision between comedy and politics on Twitter.
As members of the Royal College of Nursing geared up to strike for the first time, and civil service members of the PCS union intensified their industrial action to secure a cost-of-living pay rise, Grant said he had taken inspiration from TV comedy from 40 years ago.
“I can remember watching Yes, Minister and worrying that the civil service were really running the country,” Grant wrote. “Now it’s our only hope.”
As of today, the tweet has racked up 15,500 likes and been shared 1,400 times.
One response was from a Twitter user who uses the handle @TallyCat and describes themselves as a civil servant.
They wrote: “Proud of the work colleagues do to try and mitigate some of the more harsh and ridiculous policy suggestions. I believe more than ever we are an organisation for the people whilst the government live in la la land. They need to remember they're only there temporarily.”
Another Twitter user who uses the handle @adrians_mole wrote: “Civil servant here. There are lots of us doing our very, very best. Very proud of what we are trying to achieve for the people that need us every day. Solidarity with nurses, carers and all those striking who are at the front line every day.”
Separately, former diplomat-turned-minister Lord David Frost today said secretaries of state were all too often powerless to drive real change in the departments they are tasked with leading.
In an obvious reference to justice secretary Dominic Raab and former home secretary Priti Patel, Frost suggested that most allegations of bullying levied against ministers were a response to “determined ministers with a clear agenda” and come from staff at “visibly poorly run or ineffective” departments.
Five more complaints about Raab's behaviour towards civil servants were made public this week.
Frost used an opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph to call for radical change in the civil service.
“The truth is that our current arrangements are out of date. The Northcote-Trevelyan model for government dates from the Victorian era when departments were a handful of people all drawn from the same small group of society,” he wrote.
“Ministers need to have the ability to run their departments, they need many more political advisers to help get things done, and we must find a way for the upper reaches of the civil service to reflect to a greater extent the politics of the government.
“That way we can end the current malaise and get governments that can actually deliver.”