Bernard is a Great Help | Yes, Prime Minister | BBC Comedy Greats

prime minister i'm doing a paper on this civil service pay claim but if it's really urgent i can give you an immediate response yes please what's your answer i haven't got an answer more a series of questions for me fosa humphrey the claim is clearly self-serving and inappropriate and significant for the questions it leaves unanswered all right find a way all right but i think if you treat this as highly confidential or you'll never catch humphrey out first of all you should ask what deduction traffic george that's for you i think all right me together and bennett uh yes sir humphrey can i just mention one thing yes bennett um there has been movement on one subject a subject on which the civil service hopes there would be no movement the civil service generally hopes there will be no movement on any subject uh yes but what i mean is it's in relation to a subject which is normally holy and exclusively within the control of the civil service that developments have developed you're speaking in riddles bernard oh thank you sir that was not a compliment make yourself clear please i'm sorry so humphrey my lips are sealed uh i am referring confidentially to minutes that i was duty-bound to make of a confidential conversation between the prime minister and one of his confidential advisors which advisor i'm sorry sir humphrey i'm not at liberty to divulge her name thank you bernard and this confidential advice was to do with the financial crisis was it oh no sorry much more important not his silly nuclear strategy much more important i don't mean the civil service pay claim do you advise bernard well i advise you consider your position carefully uh perhaps adopting a more flexible posture while keeping your ear to the ground covering your retreat and watching your rear thank you bernard you've been a great help uh actually so humphrey i haven't told you anything i should hope not bernard that would have been most improper prime minister sir humphries here flexible ah humphrey come in thank you tell me what you think of this oh what do you make of it well it is rather a large document for an instant judgment you only have to read the one-page summary at the top ah well good well well prime minister you placed me in a very difficult position do i have friends now look i realize you have to have loyalty to your colleagues but you also have a broad annoyance to cabinet and its policy i agree you agree yes you agree with me i agree with you i i do i do who do you agree with with you not mr frey no you're not arguing with me no perhaps i haven't made myself quite clear i agree with you well what do you make of that pay claim yeah well it's not excessive in itself but at a time of national stringency it is neither wise nor in the national interest i don't like to criticize my colleague but in my view said frank though no doubt acting from the best of motives should have placed the good of the nation before the narrower sectional interest of civil servants you see this claim raises serious questions it's interesting because i've made a note of some questions too good questions where do they come from occur to me yes well they're very good questions you

Channel: BBC Comedy Greats

Views: 314,626

Keywords: bbc, bbc comedy greats, bbc comedy, comedy greats, british comedy, stand up, Sitcom, Comedian, Comic, Sketch show, yes prime minister, yes minister, bernard, sir humphrey, jim hacker, derek fowlds, nigel hawthorne, paul eddigton, Bernard is a Great Help, Bernard is a Great Help | Yes Prime Minister | BBC Comedy Greats

Id: aRq4hAEF6yM

Length: 4min 20sec (260 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 01 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/marinesciencedude]

Bernard’s lips are sealed over movement regarding the civil service pay claim after the PM’s special advisor suggests a series of very good questions.

[u/Glum-Cryptographer19]

Which is why, in a separate conversation with Hacker, Bernard says

Hacker: If there really were a conflict of interest, which side would the civil service be on? Bernard: The winning side.