While ministers and civil servants clash publicly, the issues that matter to voters – housing, health and social care, the cost of living, climate change – go unaddressed. When tragedies like Grenfell or the Post Office scandal occur, accountability is nowhere to be found. Part memoir, part manifesto, Bad Government takes us behind the famous black door to reveal why the ship of state is so hard to steer. As the first female private secretary in No. 10, the author was the only other woman in the room when Margaret Thatcher resigned. Having shaped reforms under both Thatcher and Blair before working to deepen government’s connection with civil society, she now offers an unprecedented insider’s view of how the system evolved – and why it is breaking. Exploring why successive Prime Ministers have failed in their promises to reset government and rebuild trust, this arresting book draws on compelling personal insights into the functioning of No. 10, weaving together thirty years of history with the crises of today. This is a vital look at the urgent need for a different model of government before the electorate loses faith entirely.