The days of "call me Tony" are just about over and will revert back to the traditional "yes, minister." Blair made a mess of just about everything he touched and even managed to give relaxed interaction a bad rap. For those not familiar with the traditional distance between bureaucrats and politicians, check out the classic BBC show "Yes, Minster" and later "Yes Prime Minister" on YouTube. Does distance really make a difference or is it all about show?
In a return to the Whitehall traditions lampooned in the 1980s television comedy Yes Minister, Britain's most senior mandarin has ordered all civil servants to refer to ministers by their formal titles after the general election.
Sir Gus O'Donnell, the cabinet secretary, has said that new members of the cabinet should be greeted as "secretary of state" when they take up their posts.
Middle ranking and junior ministers will simply be called "minister". Should a minister ask to be called by their first name, they can expect an echo of the response the fictional Jim Hacker received from his permanent secretary in the BBC comedy series. "Yes minister," Sir Humphrey Appleby replied to Hacker's request to call him Jim.
