The relationship between Whitehall Civil Servants, Government Ministers and Parliament lies at the heart of British democracy. The book How to be a Civil Servant provides an introduction to the duties, responsibilities and working practices of Whitehall officials. In particular, it contains a clear and accessible summary of the ethical, financial and legal boundaries within which Parliament has said that they must work.

Reviews

Samuel Brittan reviewed How to be a Civil Servant in the Financial Times on 5 October 2000:

"Amid all the talk of spin doctors. it is useful to have a book on the ethos and working rules of the permanent civil servants who are supposed to form the backbone of British government.

For new officials his work will be a useful guide to rules procedures and practices that are otherwise buried in many tomes. But the book will also be consulted by journalists, academics, lobbyists and others."

The online magazine The Source reviewed the book in March 2002:

Martin Stanley’s How to be a Civil Servant [is] a slim purple volume that graces the desk of many an ambitious administrator or baffled bureaucrat ......... Stanley draws extensively on his own experience in the DTI and the Cabinet Office in delivering advice which is near-encyclopaedic, unstuffy and - the ultimate civil service compliment - "sound". He covers the professional environment from the delicate relationship with Minister through to the mysteries of the European Union with a sureness and lightness of touch that makes his book worth a tenner of any underpaid functionary’s money.

Stanley’s book serves two useful purposes. First, it is jammed with the sort of advice that every civil servant wishes they were told on their first day in the job. These are points that seem obvious once on the page - never promise or threaten something you cannot deliver; use clear words so people know what you mean; always think ahead about unwanted consequences before rushing into something - but which, if followed carefully, can do a lot to avoid crises such as "Spingate".

Second, it gets closer than anything else in print to bringing the canon of advice up to date. With passages on the rise of the special adviser, the Human Rights Act, the increasing recourse to the courts to challenge decisions, and the new focus on innovation in policy making, it takes the relationship between the civil service and the Government into the springtime of New Labour.

Public Servant reviewed the second edition in 2004:

"A practical, exploratory guide to working in the civil service, How to be a Civil Servant offers the sort of fundamental advice that many civil servants find themselves wishing they had got their hands on sooner. .....Stanley first began compiling notes on civil service reform, including the resistance to its progress, more than 15 years ago. The result is a civil servant bible that offers advice in three key areas: working with ministers; effective leadership; and operating within a structurally restrictive organisation. The book also gives clear guidance on preparing policy advice, and writing good letters, speeches and answers to parliamentary questions.

The thinking behind his book, he explains, is to illuminate the many rules and conflicts that, if not understood, can inhibit a civil servant's progress. "As I became more senior in the civil service, I got more and more concerned that some of the people working for me didn't understand the basic rules and the best way of doing things," he says. "Whenever I got annoyed about that, it was pointed out to me that it had never been taught or written down anywhere.""