A HANDBOOK ON ADVISING, BRIEFING & DRAFTING 5
Acknowledgements
In these matters, as in
everythingelse,we’reall
standingoneachother’s
shoulders. Many colleagues,
knowingly or not, have
contributed to this handbook.
Many of the ideas that follow
have been stolen shamelessly
over the years from friends and
colleagues of all kinds: civil
servants, ministers, MPs and
political scientists or observers.
These include, in no sort of
order at all:
Max Atkinson, Susan Jones,
Alan Wren, Hugh Lennon,
Andrew Wyatt, John Fuller,
John Cannon, Graham Davey,
Joe Kennedy, Amanda Bausor,
Lois Lightfoot, David Revolta,
Clare Shaw, Derek Cannons,
Trevor Tucknutt, Alyson Fender,
Martyn Waring, the late Peter
Morrison, Geoffrey Holland,
Roger Dawe, Barry Sutlieff,
Barnaby Shaw, Michael Howard,
Anne-Marie Lawlor, David
Blunkett, Margaret Hodge,
Nigel Forman, Jeremy Corbyn,
Michael Meacher, Terry Burns,
Peter Hennessy, Dennis
Kavanagh, Dicky Bird, Sean Lusk,
Paul Grant, Jane Foulsham,
Heather Todd, Michael Partridge,
Tony Shaw, Helena Charlton,
Francis Coxhead, Zoe McNeill-
Ritchie, Richard Jackson,
Chris Carr, Michael Duggett and
Brian Whalley.
Some of them – Sean Lusk, David
Revolta, Richard Jackson, Chris
Carr, Anne-Marie Lawlor,
Michael Meacher, Sir Michael
Partridge and Paul Grant – read
the original book in draft and
made helpful and encouraging
suggestions.
When Working with Ministers
first appeared in 2004 the United
Kingdom had not experienced
coalition government since July
1945, e-mail was far from
universal, Facebook was unheard
of and tweets concerned only
sparrows. This new edition
required revision to encapsulate
the changes of the last decade.