I explained that I did understand. But I asked her if she was saying that governing Britain is unimportant.
‘No,’ she said, ‘it’s very important. It’s just that I haven’t met anyone who’s doing it.’
She added that she’d had enough of the pointless intrigue. I asked what she had in mind. ‘Your using me as a Trojan Horse, for instance. And they probably told you that the unions wouldn’t wear it if you promoted me.’
I was staggered. Had there been a leak? I asked her how she knew.
She was delighted. She grinned from ear to ear. ‘Oh, I didn’t know. I just know how things are done here.’
We both stared at Humphrey, who had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.
I made one last effort to persuade her to change her mind. ‘Look here, Sarah,’ I said sternly, ‘you don’t seem to appreciate that I’ve fought quite a battle for you.’
Suddenly her eyes blazed. For the first time I recognised the toughness that had brought her to near the top. And the sense of style and dignity. I realised that I’d said something awfully wrong.
‘Oh, have you?’ she asked. ‘Well, I didn’t ask you to fight a battle for me. I’m not pleased at the idea of being part of a twenty-five per cent quota. Women are not inferior beings, and I don’t enjoy being patronised. I’m afraid you’re as paternalist and chauvinist as the rest of them. I’m going somewhere where I shall be accepted as an equal, on my own merits, as a person.’
I was speechless. Clearly I’d offended her. And I suddenly realised that you can’t win.
‘May I go now?’
There was, of course, no reason to keep her sitting there. I apologised for offending her, though I couldn’t see how I’d done it.
‘No,’ she said, in a kindly way. ‘And thank you — I know you both mean well.’ And off she went, leaving two very puzzled and deflated chaps.
‘Women!’ I said.
‘Yes Minister,’ murmured Humphrey, nodding sadly as if to say ‘I told you so!’
[This was not quite the end of the matter. Recently published papers revealed that Hacker fought on for his twenty-five per cent quota for some considerable time — some weeks, anyway. And, as Sir Harold Wilson once said, a week is a long time in politics.
Sir Humphrey’s ingenuity rose to the occasion. He warned Hacker that the Race Relations Board had heard on the grapevine of his proposed quota for women. He told Hacker that if there was to be any affirmative action within the Civil Service, there must also be a quota of blacks within the Civil Service. Sir Humphrey explained that there was a principle at stake.
Hacker was less than enthusiastic about this new principle. He was certainly not a racist, but he could see clearly that whereas a quota for women was a vote-winner, a quota for blacks was in all probability a vote-loser.
Some days later Hacker raised what he called ‘this whole business of minority groups — women, blacks, trades unionists and so forth’.
Sir Humphrey explained to Hacker that women and trades unionists were not minority groups, even though they share the same paranoia which is the hallmark of any minority group.
So finally Hacker proposed what Appleby had always proposed: namely, that they start by creating equal opportunities for both women and blacks. In the recruitment grades.
And they drew up terms of reference for an interdepartmental committee to report on methods of choosing the right individuals to be civil servants, to report four years hence. By which time Hacker would certainly no longer be the Minister — Ed.]
