Sir Humphrey Appleby on the Proper Function of Government

From Yes Minister S03E06: "The Whisky Priest"

[@humblescribe8522]

Having worked in the UK civil service, I can confirm that Yes Minister is essentially documentary and not entertainment...

[@hagamapama]

Why can't it be both?

[@richardlloyd2589]

hagamapama Defintiely both. Whitehall farce at its best.!!

[@233kosta]

@@richardlloyd2589 Would you rather have politicians running the place?

[@richardlloyd2589]

233kosta Can’t remember the name of the episode, but they did one on “real democracy. Neither politicians, nor civil servants would be able to ride rough-shod over the electorate.

[@233kosta]

@@richardlloyd2589 More easily enforced if you have a well-armed, politically aware and competent electorate. Britain has none of those. I do believe there was a British man who once said that the people deserve their leaders or something along those lines.

[@Adara007]

Sir Nigel Hawthorne was superb as Humphrey Appleby! When in the 80s during my teens, I wrote to him to express my appreciation for his acting n the role and he wrote back . The letter was typed on type writer and signed by hand. I'd never expected a reply let alone one that was personal, so that made my day and increased my respect for Hawthorne. He was a very kind, intelligent and generous man and a brilliant actor.

[@yuchenglin5799]

Thanks Kybele, you have provided us with a bit of new information about the honourable actor. Just wondering how underrated the comment is.

[@annatamparow4917]

Kybele Kordax One up on you! He was a real gentleman, like Sir Alec Guinness and Sir Derek Jacobi. After having watched The Madness of King George by the then Royal National Theatre, went backstage to have my programme autographed, had brought a gift to thank him for all the wonderful work put in in all five series, next day, a handwritten note of thanks was delivered. He respected all fans!

[@leemav5136]

Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@trooperdgb9722]

So was Paul Eddington. While he was playing Sir Joseph Porter in a 1987 Sydney production of HMS PINAFORE , the officers from HMAS SYDNEY attended the show... were invited backstage, and presented with signed (and personalised) advertising posters from that production.

[@MatthewPegg]

@@trooperdgb9722 And when he did the same show in Brisbane he got his diagnosis of that horrible form of skin cancer which ended his life.

[@iainballas]

"Well, almost all government policy is wrong... but frightfully well carried out!" I love it so much.

[@captainnoob4]

Love it and dread it at the same time.😂

[@airbornebovine]

Disappointed that it cut off one of my favourite lines: Jim: "Would you be surprised say...if an aircraft carrier turned up in the Central African Republic?" Humphrey: "I for one would be very surprised Minister, its a thousand miles inland."

[@tolep]

That was just a silly joke. Didn't fit in this otherwise serious documentary.

[@iandhr1]

"Bernard, I have served eleven governments in the past thirty years. If I had believed in all their policies, I would have been passionately committed to keeping out of the Common Market, and passionately committed to going into it. I would have been utterly convinced of the rightness of nationalising steel. And of denationalising it and renationalising it. On capital punishment, I'd have been a fervent retentionist and an ardent abolitionist. I would've been a Keynesian and a Friedmanite, a grammar school preserver and destroyer, a nationalisation freak and a privatisation maniac; but above all, I would have been a stark, staring, raving schizophrenic." One of the best lines in the series.

[@adelarsen9776]

Vote UKIP

[@taxdyke]

iandhr1 Brilliantly stated!

[@Bobsbud100]

iandhr1 BRILLANT, my Dad use to watch this, God rest his soul.

[@Anolaana]

But "Frightfully well carried out!" (2:55)

[@AmySavage6]

It's also the speech that IMO crystallizes the need for a neutral civil service. It acts as a moderator so our society doesn't follow the swingometer quite so slavishly as our parliaments do. That truly would mean chaos as sir Humphrey often says.

[@christinesavage725]

Question: "Who should lie?" Answer: "Sleeping dogs, Minister." The most clever line uttered by Sir Humphrey!

[@Varvitski]

It's a line that I would like to have had Bernard deliver, to which an amused Humphrey would agree.

[@gerardjagroo]

And most ominous!

[@bronzeblues7795]

Pure gold

[@piotrd.4850]

@@Varvitski Massive win here :D

[@shezh9597]

you probably went to Cambridge

[@beaconterraoneonline]

I’d consider Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister the best television produced.

[@bernardliu8526]

I agree, heartily. This show is perfect in every aspect !

[@jahmulugu4425]

Wait r they two different shows?

[@chyoli6220]

@@jahmulugu4425 Well, "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" is the same show with the same actors. The reason they changed the name of the show is because the Minister became the Prime Minister.

[@paulbrennan7662]

The late lady Margaret Thatcher would agree with you ..She felt that yes Minister was the best show on Television ....

[@jahmulugu4425]

@@chyoli6220 oh wow I get it now! Them a genius!!

[@seamusoflatcap]

One of my favourite bits. "Will I end up as a moral vacuum?" "Oh, I hope so Bernard. If you work hard enough."

[@Herman47]

That last part needs to be emphasized: "only if you work hard enough."

[@dancingdan1994]

It's strange but scenes like this one have taught me more about politics and the workings of governmental organisations than my three years in a political science course

[@temudzjin]

grtyuj That's really sad and hilarious at the same time.

[@jeremytang5116]

Ikr my uni degree for nothing

[@tobyruncorn2]

that is why the study and practice of theatre is so important.

[@inditsnotdenon922]

Uni is waste eh

[@ksec6631]

Well it is arguably the best Politics's Documentary in modern history.

[@emmanuela7528]

“Selling arms to terrorists is wrong…” “…either you sell arms or you don’t. If you sell them, they’ll inevitably end up with people who have the cash to buy them” Humphrey is clear-eyed about how the system works and his role in it. He knows who he is, never pretending to be anything else. Hacker is one of those people who believes he’s fundamentally a good person, holding the “we do bad things for good reasons” angle. Sometimes it’s simple: either you sell arms, or you don’t.

[@Robert-hz9bj]

One thing I liked about this episode was the ending, with Hacker getting very drunk at home and lamenting how he's become a "moral vacuum." Neither he, nor the episode, writes any of this reality off. Hacker comes to understand that he's part of an unjust system, and he doesn't pretend that he is absolved of his participation in it...

[@Pawel_Malecki]

- Humphrey, we're discussing right and wrong. - You may be Minister, but I'm not. It would be a serious misuse of government time. Why no one laughed at this marvellous one?

[@peterchiu1769]

It is too real

[@Jordan-Ramses]

It's a good point. You can discuss good and evil all day long and not get anything done and nobody is better off. He spoke the simple truth that it would be a misuse of government time. Organized religions have talked about good and evil their whole existence and nobody is better for it.

[@quizzical342]

The problem is each line is so perfectly phrased and beautifully delivered - and so quickly, that if you`d taken the time to laugh you`d miss each pearl as it was said.

[@blueberry1874]

like with alan partridge, sometimes the guy who adds in the laughs misses a joke or two

[@TheRivrPrncess]

@@Jordan-Ramses Obviously you have not investigated all organized religions or gotten to know people who truly practice what God and Jesus taught.

[@Kronos921]

Sir Humphrey Appleby - Lawful Neutral Personified.

[@PavarottiAardvark]

He's certainly an interesting character to discuss the alignment system with. I certainly feel he veers into Lawful Evil on several occasions.

[@HaydenLau.]

@@PavarottiAardvark And the minister is Neutral Good

[@brentkeller5209]

@@HaydenLau. Yeah, more neutral who feels he should be NG but frequently does the wrong thing out of fear or greed.

[@motioneccentrica]

@@brentkeller5209 I think the Minister has good ideals, but when push comes to shove he acts in self interest often compromising his ethics. I was once told by a very intelligent man that ethics are meaningless unless put to the test. And whenever the minister is seriously tested he compromises. Sometimes however he wins out over Humphry and I really delight in watching those episodes.

[@mistershadier8577]

Tina Yael Severinovna M. Technically I don’t think I’ve seen him “break” the Law only “bend” it

[@RamblinRick_]

Sir Humphrey's lecture at the end...just wow. So right on the spot for all career civil servants. "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" is a master-level course on western democracies.

[@patbateman2088]

It is so brilliant. I adore how accurately critical it is of government

[@MrBandholm]

Critical but not hateful... And they really made a timeless classic in those two shows!

[@adelarsen9776]

It's a training documentary.

[@johncronin9540]

PraxeoLiberty It is equally critical, if not more so, of the civil service, and bureaucracy in general. The cynic in this scene, after all, is Humphrey, not Hacker.

[@MrBandholm]

Cynic, perhaps... Another word (that I am sure Humphrey would prefer) is realist.

[@horsenuts1831]

Written 40 years ago, and it gets more and more accurate.

[@maxmustermann9587]

It explains the function of civil servants, so it was accurate even 2000 years ago.

[@user-os6fx6mu1e]

Nah ..you just notice it more, as you start indulging in the matters of politics. It is as accurate as it was 30 years ago.

[@Speed001]

Just like the Onion and the Simpsons purportedly.

[@glynbrain1083]

2:48 - "Well, almost all government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out!"

[@RahulKumar-ng2gh]

what's the meaning of second part

[@Codex7777]

It's the civil servants who draft and enact the government's policies. He was essentially praising the civil service. Himself in particular. :)

[@BlackOmegaOne1]

I enjoyed this line because it works on two levels. He's basically saying the civil service does a good job of carrying out government policies, even when they are wrong. But using "frightfully well carried out" adds an extra element suggesting just how terrible the results can be.

[@Johnston212]

@@RahulKumar-ng2gh it means that it is implemented extremely well

[@devonseamoor]

@@RahulKumar-ng2gh I believe that Mark Fentz' comment answers your question.

[@FueledByAdobo03]

Humphrey, we are talking about GOOD AND EVIL. (Humphrey): Ah, Church of England problem!

[@SpectatorAlius]

The irony is that the Church of England hasn't been interested in choosing good over evil in decades!

[@95DarkFire]

@Conrad Wolf Can confirm, lost it.

[@branflakes12341]

That one really got me 😂

@@SpectatorAlius Simply consider divorcefor Henry 8, versus everyone else.

[@barkingdoggai]

The Church of England is the baby of that 400 lb. hog, Henry VIII. They hardly know the difference between good and evil.

[@rfichokeofdestiny]

If you study politics deeply, you’ll come to the disappointing conclusion that most of what Sir Humphrey says is essentially correct-at least within the context of a career bureaucrat. Their job carries the same frustrations as that of the military and police: they’re given tasks that are essentially impossible to carry out in any sane way, along with a long list of contradictory and illogical rules to follow in the process. So they make the best of it.

[@alexanderthegreat445]

He’s also right about government’s purpose. Governments were never designed to carry out good since if that was the case then governments would be ineffective on practical grounds. Practicality must guide governments and the only small justifiable good they can do is the maintenance of order and that sometimes means doing immoral actions.

[@brutusthebear9050]

@@alexanderthegreat445 Depends on what is meant by good. The moral good can be defined only in reference to some object. Good, to whom? Or good, to what? The government should not be making these moral decisions. If the government decides that the rightful beneficiary of the good is the state, then all statist practices are the good. If the good is what is good for the Aryan race, then Hitler was good. Such is the essential issue with legislating morality, especially with the ends justifies the means mentality. He is quite right in saying that there is no difference in the ends and the means. Poor means will always lead to poor ends, regardless of what consequentialists may claim from their ivory towers. The rightful place of government is to act as the monopoly and regulator of the use of retaliatory force. That is to say, they should punish the initiation of force, whether through breaking a contract or actual physical force or otherwise. In the times where retaliatory force is used by a private individual, it must be judged whether or not that force was justified. Anything further than this is the use of force in itself, which is always a problem of ends justifing means.

[@bung_chow]

@@brutusthebear9050 beautifully worded!

[@mrid5850]

@@brutusthebear9050 It also depends on what is meant by poor. Because your statement about consequentialism also works towards intentionalism. Morally righteous actions, can be interpreted as being poor given the context and vice versa. I would, for example, interpret lying as a morally wrongful act. But if the lie is to protect innocent people, I would see the end (protecting innocent people) connected to the means (of lying) to be more substantial than the means itself. I aggree so far as to say that means and ends are inseperable. Means always lead to ends, else they are no means. But I consider the ends to be more significant than means due to their potential to have long lasting impact. Of course I would have to add that there is a certain degree of proportionality connected to this statement. Consequentialism is often misinterpreted as finding it morally neutral (or even good) to burn down an entire village in order to give a child their teddybear back. A true consequentialist would look at the proportionality of their means towards an end. The only problem with this is that the actor is in charge of weighing the two, so it has the potential of becomming misguided when the actors in question are hungry for power/wealth/anything really. But that is more a question of bounded rationality than consequentialism.

[@brutusthebear9050]

@@mrid5850 In your example, you are not the one doing a moral action. You are preventing an immoral action. Morality only pertains to life, and so actions which are divorced from normal reality are not moral issues. In this case, neither lying nor telling the truth is moral. There is no morality in an emergency for the reason I stated above. It is your choice. Lying in normal life is immoral, though, because it is faking reality. If you fake reality, you cannot live your life according to reality. Therefore, Lying is against your life. Therefore, Lying is immoral. If you lie to "gain" a job, then you have faked reality to obtain something you didn't deserve. You may think this is a good thing for you, but you have destroyed your self esteem and have created a situation where you must continue to fake reality. A consequentialist, ironically, would ignore the real consequences of Lying and say that if the lie is beneficial, the ends justify the means. But as in my example, the means are the ends. You fake reality, that is what you have done, and that is the end. Any gain is based on this false reality, and therefore loses its status as a value. Just as stealing cannot be done to gain value, only material. The most common "moral test" which consequentialists love is the trolley problem. The trolley problem is entirely divorced from reality, it is an emergency situation. Therefore, it is not a moral question, but a personal one. There is no good or bad answer to it, because there is no good or bad. It gets a bit more complicated when you add people you value into the mix, in which case you should save the people you value over someone you do not know, but once again this is not moral. I bring this up because it actually is argued as a test of morality, unlike your strange village-burning example.

[@thebeatnumber]

R.I.P Nigel Hawthorne, Paul Eddington and Derek Fowlds who played Sir Humphrey Appleby, Rt. Hon Jim Hacker and Bernard Wolley respectively. Actually hard to believe that the BBC was once capable of producing such brilliance.

[@shyguypro9876]

It’s pretty amazing how they’re able to introduce true moral greyness to Humphrey’s character by the end of the scene despite him seeming so morally abhorrent at the beginning of the scene. He’s a great embodiment of the idea of bureaucracy, both why people hate it and why it is ultimately necessary.

[@ClickBeetleTV]

I have worked in government service most of my life, and Sir Humphrey is absolutely correct that in order to survive a career spanning decades, one needs to be able to dissociate one's personal opinions and beliefs from carrying out the laws of the land and the policies of the duly elected according to the ethics of the profession. It's not easy, but it's necessary to the maintenance of a government that subordinates itself to the will of the electorate.

[@doltBmB]

@@ClickBeetleTV It's amazing how you subhuman insectoids always have hollow lip service to pay to the concept that what you are doing is evil but never are able to produce even the vaguest reason why that evil is actually necessary.

[@FreakyTeeth]

Sir Humpry doesn't give a shit about the electorate. Sir Humphrey's only real loyalty is to making whatever version of the truth that best serves his selfish, vain agenda to appear better than he really is, seem genuine to those who are in positions of actual authority, and Hacker knows it. Hacker has even used it to make Humphrey his bitch on many occasions, and likewise Humphrey has used Hacker's selfish cowardly desire to dodge responsibilities he doesn't genuinely have the spine for accepting, to make Hacker his bitch. Carrying out policy is one thing. Obscuring, distorting and subverting policy out of some selfish, cowardly desire to advance and perserve your own career and those whose hands feed you, is absolute corruption. Would an inquiry have resulted in the government being embarrassed? Perhaps. But it would definitely look bad if the other countries found out that the British were willfully ignoring their enemies getting their hands on their weapons. An inquiry would have proved that the British were being serious about stopping monsters getting their hands on their weapons. The only things that keeping quiet about it would result in, are the monsters being monstrous and the wallets of politicians and greedy industrialists growing fat, and Humphrey would be able to dodge being judged as unable to control Hacker by his selfish, vain peers in the civil service. There's no excuse here, Humphrey is simply a selfish, cowardly, snobbish con-man who doesn't give a damn about serving the country, only his entitled, terrified of losing face and control ego.

[@loone3100]

“We’re talking about good and evil.” “Ah Church of England problem.” LMAO

[@ramansrinivasan8580]

When I saw this episode in 1982/83 I thought it was funny and enacted brilliantly. 40 years later when I saw this clip again, my mind was blown to bits. The utter truth laid bare that Government is not about right or wrong, rather to stay on for as long as possible by any means. If we were to mute the laughter track, it is a seriously brilliant moment of dark comedy, and now in year 2022, almost 40 years later downright scary.

[@wholeNwon]

One desperately wishes to occupy the moral high ground with the Minister. It feels so good. And, yet, the reality is on Humphrey's side.

[@Jordan-Ramses]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Intending well is no guarantee of a good outcome. It's the most well-intentioned laws that have the most harmful effects often. Look at prohibition of alcohol in the US. Or the war on drugs. Every attempt at a Utopia has turned out to be almost the exact opposite. For Mice and Men.

[@rob5918]

@@Jordan-Ramses "It's the most well-intentioned laws that have the most harmful effects often." Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 - Gave local police the right to steal you possessions without evidence, USA PATRIOT Act (2001) - Introduced draconian government powers and removed civil liberties, all under the excuse of "protecting" civilisation. I often wonder how much more protection civilisation can take before it is destroyed.

[@richardlloyd2589]

I’m sure someone (famous) said, “In order to protect it, the truth has to be wrapped up in a tissue of lies.”

[@summersevening]

The reality is selling arms destroys people’s lives, destabilises countries, empowers dictatorships - and from a selfish perspective, backfires on us in the long term.

[@ian_b]

@@summersevening Arms can also protect lives and overpower dictatorships. Without arms from the USA, Europe would have been a stable empire run by Hitler.

[@the-chillian]

Humphrey's last speech tells us exactly why he must regard the means and the ends as identical. The means are exactly his job. The ends? That (in theory) is why there are elections, to choose the people to decide on them. If the civil service were to focus on ends, then there would be no need for the government.

[@albertxiong9631]

ChrisC Or I would say no need for election

[@johncronin9540]

ChrisC Oh, he very much has ends, though he rarely discusses them with the Minister. Those ends are the preservation and increase of the power of the civil service (usually through manipulation of the ministers they are supposed to serve). The only bad ends to Humphrey, as he states in another discussion, are loose ends. Humphrey rather likes Hacker, because he is somewhat hapless, and thus is easily manipulated -- most of the time. Occasionally Hacker does get the best of Humphrey. That tension between elected officials and the civil service is the central theme of both series, and both were brilliantly written and acted. It's a little sad that Nigel Hawthorn got so much acclaim, often at Paul Eddington's expense. (The two often were both nominated for the same awards. Hawthorne won every time). I am not trying to take anything away from Hawthorn's brilliance, with those long monologues. But they would not have been nearly as funny without Eddington's facial reactions as his character tries to figure out just what Humphrey is saying. Eddington was the perfect straight man.

[@the-chillian]

Yes, that's why I said "in theory".

[@JimWhitaker]

@@johncronin9540 And those occasional times when Hacker "wins" are part of the brilliance of the whole two series.

[@justinjozokos1699]

One of the most insightful comments I've read recently

[@arunavio]

The best series of satire and comedy. And all it took was roping in three middle aged men . No slapstick comedy ... no foul language and no obscenity of any kind. Hilarious , funny, Satirical through brilliant scripting.

[@gdj6298]

Three middle-aged men who happened to be brilliant actors.

[@helenheeney2284]

@@gdj6298 couldn't agree more brilliant

[@stylembonkers1094]

No token blacks, women, homosexuals, transgender, Muslims.

[@monabostrom8357]

I remember laughing in all the right places the first time this was aired in my country🇫🇮. Now, it sends chills down my spine.

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

The way you know these conversations are happening in government offices all over the world ever day. And that last speech. It is all a bit chilling.

[@DoubleGauss]

Humphrey is right. His job isn't to make policy or even to believe in them. That's for elected members of govt. Humphrey's job is to implement policy.

[@michaelbootes4822]

D-Gauss to a point but here he’s trying to talk the minister out of moral duty

[@Codex7777]

@Michael Bootes - As humphrey says, "you either sell arms, or you don't..."

[@Herman47]

Are you worried about going to hell, D-Gauss?

[@kascally]

Unfortunately, that can quickly bring you to an 'I as only obeying orders' moment. As Thoreau put it: 'Why has every man a conscience, then?' There are limits and nobody can switch off their capacity to care. Civil servants have committed suicide due to cognitive dissonance and emotional distress.They have leaked information about blatant lies. They have internally crippled projects that they strongly objected to, on every part of the political spectrum.

[@cogidubnus1953]

@@michaelbootes4822 Not really...he's going as far as a loyal civil servant could or should...possibly crossing the line, to warn the minister of the political risk he's assuming...he's actually trying to save his minister's neck...

[@nigeljohnson9820]

Save us from civil servants who embrace an ideology, they become the government within government. Sir Humphrey is right, civil servants have no business making policy just implementing it. Policy is the job of politicians who can be held accountable by the electorate.

[@jalpat2272]

there are good reasons why UK or EU as whole at sorry states today.

[@nigeljohnson9820]

@@jalpat2272 but you have decided to keep the details to yourself. Very wise:-).

[@allisondoak9425]

Stop electing people who can’t write then

[@nigeljohnson9820]

@@allisondoak9425 to whom are you referring. I should point out that Boris Johnson is a journalist, or at least a newspaper columnist. I will admit that our unfortunate involvement with the EU can be traced back to a number of former prime ministers, in particular Edward Heath and John Major both of whom in my opinion grossly mislead the uk electorate about the nature of the organisation the uk was tricked into joining, ably assisted by Tony Blair. It is a great pity for the uk that Charles de Gaulle did not manage to keep Britain out of the common market. Though there may be some truth in the theory, that we joined with the intention of destroying it or at least controlling it.

[@nigeljohnson9820]

@1rst with all this state control language, in sounds as if it has been written by a communist, and that system failed. I think the changes needed should simply address the the more iniquitous practices of the banks and markets. Certainly any laws or rules that stop the uk protecting its home producers and manufactures must be removed or circumvented. Priority must be given to local producers. This is the first step in fighting globalisation, which is the root of most of the worlds problems. The link between what the banks can lend and what they receive from savings must be reestablished. This will significantly reduce the leverage they apply to their assets. Hedge funds should be made illegal or be tightly regulated. It should be also be illegal for speculative investors (vulture funds) to take control of a company using the value of the assets from that company. The uk government must stop the sale of uk assets, infrastructure and critical technology companies. This should be done both in the national interest of defence, but also the economy. Foreign owners should not be allowed to acquire control of any of the UK's means of production. The French protect their interests, so must the uk.

[@WeeWyllie]

I have always seen this series (Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister) as being without peer. And these two extraordinary actors were a major reason for that! But the writers! To make even one episode of this extraordinary series is surely a sublime effort of creativity - basically unequaled by any other pretender. But to make a whole string of 38 of them, each well-nigh perfect, is an achievement of intelligent creativity on the level of Einstein's contribution to physics. Hats off to Jay and Lynn!

[@stephenolan5539]

The writers cheated. They wrote about real events as if they were fiction.

[@exceltraining]

well, WHO should lie ? ......sleeping dogs, minister ? brilliant

[@brandonholmes8485]

What did he mean by that? I didn't get the joke.

[@mistershadier8577]

Brandon Holmes sleeping dogs means leaving things as they are but Humphrey is saying how Hacker should tell the Sleeping Dogs aka leave things as they are or tell someone who won’t change things

[@markywellsboy2182]

"Let sleeping dogs lie" Don't upset the status quo. A very clever and subtle play on words of the phrase.

[@mickytc]

Given the current situation this comment not only aged well it aged like a fine wine.

[@compleategamster3304]

Brandon Holmes its also a favourite phrase of Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain

[@orlandonelthorpe9027]

A comedy that never ages - extraordinarily insightful and totally hilarious

[@faitharnold4643]

Actually, it's a little too close to reality to be funny. Humor requires a certain element of incongruity.

[@orlandonelthorpe9027]

@@faitharnold4643 Hi Faith, you're clearly not British, or you'd understand! 😉

[@Skaitania]

The fine point being: There is an important difference between a government employee and a politician. Sir Humphrey is employed to keep the ship afloat, ensure it doesn't sink in a storm and that everyone on board is fed and safe. The politican has been elected to steer the ship...often into aforementioned storm. Sir Humphrey just attempted some preventative maintenance. Governments come and go, but the system stays the same. And Sir Humphrey IS the system.

[@charliecussans7638]

The deeper question is if that system is worth maintaining.

[@Skaitania]

@@charliecussans7638 Of course. But to stay with the allegory: don't abandon the ship unless you have a new one...or swim really well.

[@jalpat2272]

@@charliecussans7638 and how we guarantee the new system dont create two problems by giving solution for answering previous one question.

[@GradyPhilpott]

In other words, what we Americans now call the "Deep State."

[@GodwynDi]

@@GradyPhilpott Because it stepped away from Humphrey's position of staying apolitical, and starting making judgments on the policy.

[@2escapees1947]

Having worked close to Ministers in the Ministry of Defence I can testify how accourate this programme was all of the time.

[@2escapees1947]

After one paricularly difficult meeting where we had no answers the Minister said “that was a good meeting” when I said we had no answers he said “we came out alive!”

[@ejkalegal3145]

Where are the emergency bunkers located?

[@pooletrainboy]

@@ejkalegal3145 Dunno we flogged them all to the Russians, probably.

[@umedavk2011]

As always - absolutely brilliant. Very few series compare with this one and its follow-on : Yes Prime Minister. I was distraught when Paul Eddington (Minister & PM) died in 1995, and when Nigel Hawthorne (Sir Humphrey) died in 2001. The loss of two magnificent actors. Thank goodness Derek Fowlds (Bernard) is still alive at 79.

[@leopold7562]

Not any more, sadly. Hopefully they are making a new series in heaven.

[@jajones-ford2226]

Derek Fowlds died in January 2020. They are all gone now, but not forgotten.

[@BlastbeatsLOL]

@Paul Mathews Fewer*

[@rey_nemaattori]

"Almost all government policies are wrong, but frightfully well carried out." After living through the pandemic, this rings home truer than I ever could imagined...

[@trustwithin7188]

Definitely 😜

[@RagnellAvalon]

they were well carried-out where you live? They sure weren't here in Australia

[@michaelwilson7924]

@@RagnellAvalon Well carried out according to Public Servants

[@johnarmstrong2679]

What a brilliant show. Loved Humphreys comment "Government is not about good and evil, that's the province of the Church of England "!

[@chrislyne377]

When I was younger I always saw Humphrey as the enemy. As I get older I find I often agree with him...

[@2sridhark]

Ha, ha. "Who should lie?" "Sleeping dogs, Minister"!

[@Alexander.Harrdarrzarr.]

"Well, almost all government policy is wrong, but.......frightfully well carried out". To me, this is the scariest line in cinema that I know of. Delivered expertly as well.

[@1984senna]

Why can't TV shows be this well written anymore?

[@paulprescott7913]

They wont , it might wake the people up.

[@johnbanks4761]

absolutely bloody brilliant, "no minister...home office problem" "who should lie?...sleeping dogs minister?" "tourists?..foreign office problem" the best show ever to show people how government, thinks and acts in democratic country

[@NJGuy1973]

"This is a matter of good and evil!" "Church of England problem."

[@eamonahern7495]

The conclusion of this scene just goes to show how clever the writing really was and how well the actors played their part

[@foobarbazbaa5598]

Almost all government policy is wrong... but frightfully well carried out.

[@James-kd1kp]

Nope, all of it. End governments. End central banks.

[@foobarbazbaa5598]

@@James-kd1kp You're right. If something it not working perfectly best to just pull it up by the roots. Your car breaks down? Scrap it. Leaky roof? Just burn down the house.

[@idleonlooker1078]

Another superb, polished, display by Sir Nigel Hawthorne - one of the greatest performers of the modern era. R.I.P Sir Nigel. 👍

[@ukporkpie7829]

All government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out! Wonderful writing

[@tommurphy4094]

Comedy was never so well written or performed. There was a real pathos, if that’s the correct word, in this scene. The only other thing that comes to mind as being so profound, is the last 10 minutes of the final episode of Blackadder Goes Fourth.

[@JimWhitaker]

Totally agree about both. Particularly Blackadder because it was so different from the whole of the previous work.

[@rickyyoung]

I know it's 'Newer' but the Sherlock and Watson skit from That Mitchell and Webb look kinda hits home

[@abdulsufan3750]

I totally agree..

[@maxmustermann9587]

I think _"Comedy"_ is the wrong term. _Real Life Satire_ is much more fitting.

[@leifvejby8023]

I wouldn't exactly call it comedy - more like documentary, but you are right

[@Isleofskye]

I sooo miss my first job which was in Somerset House in The Strand in The Civil Service from 1971-1973. The highlight of the day was the Biscuit Trolley both in the morning and afternoon breaks. With a long lunchtime, as well we even fitted in a little bit of work to fill in the time between breaks. HALCYON DAYS....

[@yairmottes6622]

@@philsimmons9391 lol :)

[@mscott3918]

I did an internship at a government department in the seventies. Ah yes the tea trolley. It was always a treat when there was jam rolley polley left over from lunch.

[@ravey99]

The genius of this is that it combines comedy and a deadpan seriousness which makes you think and the absence of canned laughter at the moment when Jim Hacker refers to means and ends is simply stunning.

[@RagnellAvalon]

These office scenes were shot in front of a live audience, no canned laughter needed.

[@marvinc9994]

"the absence of canned laughter..." ...is down to the fact that this was shot in front of a live studio audience (as practically all BRITISH comedies are)!

[@ravey99]

Yes, I know that which makes it all the better (coming from an acting background). It doesn't however deter from the professionalism of the cast involved. @@marvinc9994

[@yutehube4468]

When you look back at this it's amazing that it was on the BBC. I think it outfoxed even their filters.

[@williamdonnelly224]

"Almost all government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out." LOL

[@ruberthablackman3949]

One of my favorite scenes and very relevant in today's political climate. The more things change the more they remain the same.

[@johnkealy2238]

Probably the greatest scene from the entire series! It says so much on so many issues!!!

[@mircobars840]

This is, on many levels, a piece of art.

[@rozz6398]

Sir Humphrey Appleby, firmly holding the middle ground!

[@MrBandholm]

You could say, he is holding no ground at all... Because it is not his ground to hold.

[@Mrjmaxted0291]

No he isn't, he's simply abstaining from holding any ground at all.

[@mdhj67]

The honesty is brutal.

[@johnkealy4164]

A fantastic scene and it only gets better the more you watch it!

[@williamdrijver4141]

Superb level of craftsmanship. Best comedy series of the past 50 years!

[@pix046]

Sir Humphrey is a sophist. Actually, what he said at the end made sense. You need an independent civil service.

[@cheeseburger12]

The problem is, a lot of people go into the civil service that aren't actually independent. And when your independent civil service isn't independent...

[@cheeseburger12]

@K. DV No. They are activists. Many...are overtly on the left. Their primary interest is advancing the left's adgenda.

[@cheeseburger12]

@K. DV That's being deliberately obtuse. The point of the civil service is that they would be neutral in carrying out their duties. In practice that's been completely false. they've pretty much been unfireable democrat activists. It's pretty much the spoils system except only for Democrats all the time.

[@cheeseburger12]

@K. DV I'm going to really miss your ignorant babbling nonsense. No, wait. I'm over it.

[@skatemetrix]

I think you may have missed the whole point of Yes Minister- the Civil Service IS independent. It serves its own agenda and no one elses. At least back then in the 70s and 80s it did.

[@charlottesykes8596]

I wasn't even born when this was on TV, but I love it...... always makes me laugh cos it's not to far from the truth it's sad but true 😂

[@DanielWright-np3fq]

This program should be mandatory viewing in schools. It is as timely today as it ever was.

[@johnalexander9288]

In the 80's the show was required viewing for an intro British PoliSci course at the University of Toronto. That's how accurate it was.

[@nothajzl]

-Who should lie? -Sleeping dogs. that's so good 😂😂

[@jajones-ford2226]

This series was ans is,one of the finest and most insightful television programs ever made ! If you want to know how government and the bureaucracy REALLY operate, just watch YES, MINISTER and YES, PRIME MINISTER.

[@davidstevens7018]

Sadly Derek has also passed away but their memories live on in DVD & you tube ; a big thank you for such great acting and humour

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

One of if not the best written sitcoms ever.

[@paullacey3946]

Sir Humphrey, as always, was correct in his final summing up.

[@davidwison9193]

"Oh I hope so Bernard, If you work hard enough!" ---- loved it!!!! Amazing show!

[@lewishorsman2219]

I love watching Bernard during this discussions because he knows exactly what Humphrey is going to say before he says it and knows exactly what Hacker will say in return. Then he plans the conversation so well he can get his perfectly timed quip in there for comedic effect. Truly exceptional screenwriting.

[@curtiscarpenter9881]

Bring this back and it can be understood in every classroom.

[@TheHansoost]

One of the best acted and written programs of all time. Brilliant.

[@peternaylandkust3666]

There is much truth in comedy. Government is not meant to be "moral", nor should its actions be in furtherance of a particular "moral" end. The role of government in society is to further the interests of the citizens, and to protect those same interests. The idea that government derives its authority from the consent of the governed was put forward by John Locke before it was immortalized by Thomas Jefferson. Government cannot proceed from the behest of the citizens and at the same time be the moral arbiter and authority for those same citizens. If government officials decree a position to be the "right" one, and the citizens differ, government would lack the competence to pursue that "right" position; if the citizenry declare a position articulated by government to be "wrong", it is the obligation of government to carry out the wishes of the citizenry, not pursue the "right" position in defiance of those wishes. Thus while Sir Humphrey is presented as cynical and comical, in large measure he is also correct.

[@wholeNwon]

Translated from the Latin.

[@johncronin9540]

Peter Nayland Kust The problem is that the goals Humphrey has in mind often have little to do with the genuine interests of the citizens who elect the government. Humphrey, and most of the civil servants depicted in the two series are not only contemptuous of the citizens, they are even contemptuous of the ministers they are supposed to be serving, holding the firm belief that government is far too important to be entrusted to "mere" elected officials. That theme resonates through the series, where in one episode (a rare time Hacker gets the best of Humphrey) refers to the civil service as the "real opposition", not the minority party in Parliament. The series goes out of its way to never state just which party Hacker belongs to. In the pilot, which opens on election night, with Hacker and other candidates gathered to hear the results of the election, Hacker is wearing a white rosette, a color that is not affiliated with any major power in the U.K. In the episode I mention above, Hacker even seeks the help of his predecessor (and thus a member of the Opposition), and he is only too glad to help Hacker completely outmaneuver Humphrey. (I believe the episode is "Big Brother"). But to return to your main point, government DOES deal with moral issues. It's unavoidable. Even a minimalist view of maintaining order is a moral principle. Those who violate the law can be held accountable. Even the monarch is obliged to obey the law. That concept was brought about in England. One monarch was executed for violating it, and during the time of Locke, another King (James II), was essentially fired, (perhaps I should say "sacked"), and driven into exile. It was those ideas that informed Jefferson (and other American leaders) to follow those same Enlightenment principles in declaring independence, a century later. There are times when zealous citizens overreach in trying to legislate morality, without universal backing. Prohibition is an excellent example of this. Obviously many opposed it, and it's remarkable that 2/3 of both the House and Senate and 3/4 of the states passed it as a Constitutional Amendment. So it had to have broad support, at least for a while. But it actually caused more moral problems than it prevented, and was repealed only about a dozen years later. But we still have laws that have moral bases, such as laws against drunk driving (a law that the Minister once violated, in the bridge between the two series).

[@Grandfinal43]

I mean that is literally your opinion, thats the thing about Political science right and wrong depnd on your belief. Therefore I would argue that Government as an elected representative of the people should also have the view of deciding what is right or wrong. The Libertarian apporaoch for which you seem to suggest is way too simplistic especially for a modern globalised world

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

Peter Nayland Kust but often government is vital in taking the first step forwards, in progressive policies the voting public may disagree with at first but later move with the times (e.g. civil rights for various groups). The point of electing a government is realising that the public is generally to ignorant to solve problems so the government is there to solve problems on their behalf. This is the thing with referendums like Brexit, an ignorant mass can force through something which will have a serious negative impact on a country

[@AximandTheCursed]

The best comedy is usually derived from the truth of life and times. I fear we are delving into the old separation of Church and State argument here, with the Church being considered, somewhat arbitrarily as the moral authority, and the state as the bastion of order that it its supposed to represent. One side judging and condemning, with the the other lawmaking and enforcing. In an ideal situation, that is how the model was supposed to work, but life itself is so rarely cut and dried. Comedy was, and hopefully still is, a check and balance measure against both.

[@kenle2]

Imagine turning the concept of: "I was just following orders" into comedy.

This show is too good to be classified as pure comedy

[@saltcots8985]

One of my favourites scenes in all five series of the programme. And despite the general chicanery of Sir Humphrey, he has a point!

[@krishnanunnimadathil8142]

The philosophical discussion here bears an uncanny resemblance to the conversation between Arjuna (Minister Hacker) and Krishna (Sir Humphrey) in the Bhagavad Gita. Same questions over morality of action, same advice on dispassionate execution, in the interests of - not morality, which changes with the season, but stability, which is the main purpose of civilisation. Nigel Hawthorne, and the rest are just marvellous, even with their timely pauses.

[@foreignofficeclub5815]

These shows were probably the best representation of English politics ever allowed. Still completely relevant today

[@allenjenkins7947]

"Almost all Government policy is wrong, but frightfully well carried out. "

[@stephenphillip5656]

"One man's 'Terrorist' is another man's 'Freedom Fighter' ". It all depends on which side of the argument (or rifle barrel) you view it from.

[@patthonsirilim5739]

i rather not view it from any side all its a never ending question of right and wrong i rather just sell them arms to be honest to both side of the coin

[@jameswatsonatheistgamer]

@@patthonsirilim5739 Exactly. It's good for us. That we sell them our weapons. They are going to do what they plan on doing anyway. So Their money is better in our economy.

[@2adamast]

It was the Reagan years, his Freedom fighters became another president's terrorists.

[@timonsolus]

Indeed. To the German soldiers given the job of maintaining order in occupied France, the ‘Resistance’ were terrorists who were disobeying the last order of their own pre-war government, which was to surrender (cease resistance) to the German army.

[@2adamast]

@@timonsolus It's more complex than that: it's an armistice, thus more a cease fire. And it's not their own pre-war government but a new military junta. For communists and others their status was problematic even if they were not part of the _résistance_

[@markc8956]

"Never set up an inquiry when you don't know what the outcome is going to be"... Boris,is that you?

[@fredrikhelland8194]

Scenes like this one really alludes to Sir Humfrey being the real protagonist of the show. Truly a virtuous civil servant.

[@poispetit997]

this series should be made a world heritage and preserved in every form of media known to humankind.

[@markgigiel2722]

There's more truth in a comedy skit than there is in the real world and government. As an American, I applaud this.

[@paullacey3946]

This was THE best-written comedy show of all time, with THE best casting. I doubt it will ever be bettered.....and without a single knob joke throughout its entire run.

[@piotrd.4850]

Well, wait until SJW revisionists come after it like they came for Doctress Whybother ;)

[@richardharrold9736]

@tugatomsk ironically, I think a SJW version would end up being remarkably similar. Yes Minister is a story of essential human nature, and even if you replace Hacker with the wokest of left-wingers, the civil service never changes.

[@cisium1184]

The best preparation I had for becoming a reporter in Washington was memorizing all the _Yes, Minister_ episodes. Different country and constitution, but all the same rules applied.

[@bluefish704]

These are gold. Pure gold

[@bandiceet]

I remember my father watching Yes, Minister and then Yes, Prime Minister back in the day, when I was to young to understand politics, on any level. Yet, now, a few decades later, I find alot of the commentary made then still stands today.

[@MichaelAndersen_DK]

This is brilliant. Even so many years later. Some of the best lines of sarcasm were in these scripts.

[@viviennepopek]

An absolute gem of a series! Thank you for uploading 💖

[@johkul3840]

Applicable in 2022 still...

[@BarterTom]

"Good is a point of view, Minister."

[@christophertalbot7432]

I hadn't seen this part before; hilarious, but utterly true; every word - don't set up an enquiry unless you already know the answer etc.

[@karanveersingh6367]

"Government health warning on weapons " ha ha ha ha ha

[@colinp2238]

It may yet come to be.

[@paulthompson8996]

"Never set up an enquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be" - governments still follow this today. Cameron's big mistake (from his point of view, not mine) is that he held a referendum on EU membership without knowing for certain what the result would be. That mistake cost him his job.

[@meneither3834]

So basically the goal of an enquiry is to legitimize a decision not to enquire.

[@paulthompson8996]

@@meneither3834 No, I just think that they already know what they want to say when they undertake such enquiries, and they fit the 'evidence' to that rather than the other way round. Also, I think it is worth realising that the people who undertake such enquiries - 'the great and the good' - also want to make a name for themselves, so they try and say something 'controversial' or memorable so that their report will be remembered ie 'The Macpherson report' or 'The Scarman report'. It's like the Windrush scandal. I (and many of my ex-colleagues) could have told you very easily what happened there, it was the inevitable result of putting people that didn't know what they were talking about, and no experience of the job, into senior positions within Immigration Enforcement. It was nothing to do with the government. But, that's not going to get the headlines is it? They had already decided before they started that it was all to do with the 'hostile environment' and anybody who said otherwise would be sidelined. Bear in mind in that example they would have been talking to the very people (ie middle and senior managers within Immigration Enforcement) who caused the problem in the first place. They're hardly like to say that they were the problem are they? Much easier and quicker to blame it all on the government, which is what the enquiry team want to hear anyway.

[@colinp2238]

It's like market research only the surveys that they find agree with their policies are published.

[@stephenphillip5656]

D C's mistake was *thinking* that he knew what the result would be... and using "Project Fear" tactics to try and influence the public's reactions in that referendum. The EU's mistake was throwing D C a few crumbs from their table and telling him it was all a wonderful result of his bargaining powers.

[@colinp2238]

@Boodysaspie If they had not there would have been no referendum. It just shows how far out of touch the Government is with the people it "represents".

[@comictanker]

Never seen this show in my life, but this is one of the most informative clips I’ve ever seen.

[@strafrag1]

Great show & fabulous acting. The episode where Minister appoints a chain smoker to Minister of Health sticks in my mind.

[@johnking5174]

Yes Prime Minister - Series 1, "The Smoke Screen" from January 23rd 1986

[@mili3212]

I'm from India originally but have lived in NYC for most of my life. I have no idea how I encountered this clip but it made me watch the entire Yes, Minister series as well as Yes, Prime Minister. The internet can be a wonderful thing. Even in 2020 this is relevant, not just for a UK audience. There was one line in Yes, Prime Minister where Humphrey is saying that the Soviets could develop a missile defense system that could destroy the existing UK submarine defense system. Jim asks "by when," and Humphrey says "2020," and the audience always laughs. this scene always makes me smile

[@alexhall6375]

It’s so well written and so well acted ... and so timeless

[@mstitek7679]

The older I am, the more I am on Humphrey's side. The idea of government trying to do "good" is actually frightening me.

[@StonyRC]

There is a terrifying logic in what Sir Humphrey says.

[@mistag3860]

Bottom line - there is no cure, running a country cant be completed, like a task, and all paths may run ill, due to nature, other peoples, the utter intransigence of humanity and the general chaos that life is for everyone. Sir humphrey was depressingly right, and we must soldier on. Bae systems still doing awfully well at home and abroad, live long and prosper.

[@lovetippi]

there was a time when acting and writing had magic and depth and actors were wonderfully charming