Yes Minister episode
“Open Government”
Episode title card
Episode no.	Series 1 Episode 1
Guest star(s)	John Nettleton Diana Hoddinott Neil Fitzwiliam
Writer(s)	Antony Jay Jonathan Lynn
Producer	Stuart Allen
Original broadcast	25 February 1980
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
–	“The Official Visit”
List of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister episodes Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom that was first transmitted by BBC television and radio between 1980 and 1984. ... John Nettleton (born 5 February 1929 in London) is a British actor. ... Diana Hoddinott appeared as Annie Hacker, the wife of Jim Hacker, in Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Categories: | | ... Neil Fitzwiliam was an English actor, making several appearances in theatre, film and television productions. ... Sir Antony Rupert Jay CVO (born 20 April 1930) was the co-author, with Jonathan Lynn of the successful British political comedies, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (1980-88). ... Jonathan Lynn (born April 3, 1943), is a British actor and comedy writer. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Official Visit is the second episode of the BBC comedy series Yes Minister and was first broadcast 2 March 1980. ... This is a list of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister episodes. ...

"Open Government" is the first episode of the BBC comedy series Yes Minister, first broadcast 25 February 1980. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom that was first transmitted by BBC television and radio between 1980 and 1984. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Plot

The episode begins with a short pre-title sequence showing Jim Hacker being re-elected as MP for his constituency at the general election. However, his party is now no longer in opposition and the next day he is at home with his wife, Annie, awaiting a phone call from the Prime Minister. He eventually learns that, having previously been the Shadow Minister for Agriculture, he has been given the job of Minister for Administrative Affairs. Jim Hacker, Prime Minister James Jim Hacker is one of the three main characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. ... Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... The Prime Minister is in practice the most important political office in the United Kingdom. ... A Shadow Minister is a member of the opposition party, not in power, who provides a counterpoint to the Minister of the government. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ...

He and his political advisor, Frank Weisel, are driven to Whitehall, where he meets the civil servants responsible for helping him to 'run' the department: Sir Humphrey Appleby (the Permanent Secretary), and Bernard Woolley (his Principal Private Secretary). Whitehall, London, looking south towards the Houses of Parliament. ... The British civil service is the permanent bureaucracy that supports the Government Ministers responsible to the Sovereign and Parliament in administering the United Kingdom. ... Sir Humphrey Appleby, on the left, giving directions to the Minister as usual Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB (April 5, 1929 – December 26, 2001)[1] is one of the three main characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. ... The Permanent Secretary, in most departments officially titled the Permanent Under-Secretary of State (although the full title is rarely used), is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. ... Bernard Woolley in Yes, Prime Minister Bernard Woolley (born September 2, 1937) is one of the three main characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister. ... In the British Civil Service the Principal Private Secretary is the Civil Servant who runs a ministers private office. ...

Hacker is eager to make a big impression and immediately informs Sir Humphrey that he wishes to act on his party's manifesto promise to streamline the department and "cut through the red tape". To that end, the department has already prepared a white paper entitled "Open Government". However, Sir Humphrey is less than keen that Frank Weisel should share the Minister's office space but Hacker intervenes. A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. ... Red tape is a derisive term for regulations that are considered excessive or for bureaucratic procedures that are considered time- and effort-consuming. ... A white paper is an authoritative report; a government report outlining policy; or a document whose purpose is to educate industry customers or collect leads for a company. ...

Away from Hacker's office, Sir Humphrey discusses his new Minister with his own superior, the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Arnold Robinson. They are joined by Bernard, and Sir Humphrey feels that Hacker will become "house-trained in no time". The subject of the "Open Government" policy comes up, and Sir Humphrey remarks that they will have to steer the Minister away from it. Sir Arnold explains to Bernard the law of inverse relevance: "The less you intend to do about something, the more you have to keep talking about it." Bernard learns that just because his Minister asks him to do something, it may not be in the department's best interests to carry out his wishes. Meanwhile, Sir Humphrey arranges for Weisel to discover an invoice for a shipment of computer VDUs that are to be imported from America. In the British Government, the Cabinet Secretary, or more formally Secretary of the Cabinet, is the senior civil servant in charge of the Cabinet Office, a department that provides administrative support to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the government as a whole. ... A computer display is an interface between the computer and the operator. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

When Weisel finds the document, he immediately informs Hacker, who is incensed — particularly since such peripherals are manufactured in his own constituency. However, Sir Humphrey explains that it is impossible to cancel such a contract, so Hacker and Weisel hatch a plan to announce this scandal to the press.

Hacker then receives a minute from 10 Downing Street, informing him that the Prime Minister is about to embark on a trip to the USA. He is intent on securing an Anglo-American trade agreement and it must not be jeopardised. Hacker is panicked. Since a copy of his speech was sent for clearance by the PM in the spirit of open government (at Sir Humphrey's insistence), he is now in trouble. He visits the Prime Minister's office, where he is chastised by the Chief Whip, Vic Gould. It transpires that the speech had not yet been made public (as Sir Humphrey knew all along), and since this now contradicts Hacker's aspirations for more transparency, his commitment to the policy is quietly forgotten. // Overview Number Ten Downing street is the official residence of the First Lord of Her Majesty’s Treasury and Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ...

Paul Eddington playing Jim Hacker in Yes, Prime Minister. ... Sir Nigel Hawthorne, CBE (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was a renowned English actor. ... Derek Fowlds as Bernard in Yes, Prime Minister Derek Fowlds (born 2 September 1937 in Balham, London) is a British actor. ... John Nettleton (born 5 February 1929 in London) is a British actor. ... Diana Hoddinott appeared as Annie Hacker, the wife of Jim Hacker, in Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Categories: | | ... Neil Fitzwiliam was an English actor, making several appearances in theatre, film and television productions. ...

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Trivia

• As this was the pilot episode of Yes Minister, the title sequence and music are substantially different to those used for all other instalments.
• The pilot was produced in 1979 but not transmitted until 1980 in fear that it could influence the results of the 1979 UK General Election.^[1]

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan David Steel BBC Election 1979 Titles The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on May 3, 1979 and is regarded as a pivotal point in 20th century British politics. ...

References