Back to the Future: Rediscovering the Lost Arts of the Victorian Mandarin

Under the conventions of the Westminster system, civil service mandarins of the twentieth century were expected to be discrete, impartial and anonymous as they unobtrusively carried on the business of government. Times have changed. The pressures of modern governance and a 24/7 media cycle are pulling contemporary public service leaders further into the public limelight, leading to concerns that they may become politicised. This article draws on an older civil service leadership tradition from the Victorian era, as embodied in the person of Charles Trevelyan, to argue that robust public engagement by mandarins need not lead to their politicisation.