Trust in government has hit rock bottom. From Partygateand the chaos of Covid to the Peter Mandelson affair and open fights betweenministers and civil servants, the hidden wiring has been sparking for all tosee. When tragedies like Grenfell or the Post Office scandal occur, governmentsare glacially slow and accountability goes missing. As successive Prime Ministers catastrophicallyfall, many say Britain is broken. Part memoir, part manifesto, Bad Government takesus behind the famous black door of government to reveal why the ship of stateis so hard to steer. As the first female private secretary in No.10, theauthor was the only other woman in the room when Margaret Thatcher resigned. Having shaped reforms under both Thatcher and Blair before working to tacklegender inequalities and deepen government's connection with civil society, shenow offers an unprecedented insider's view of how the system evolved, why it isbreaking and how it can be fixed. Exploring why successive Prime Ministers have failed intheir promises to reset government and rebuild trust, this arresting book drawson compelling personal insights, weaving together forty years of history withthe crises of today. This is a vital look at the urgent need for a differentmodel of government before the electorate loses faith entirely.