What Does Jeremy Think?: Jeremy Heywood and the Making of Modern Britain

by Suzanne Heywood

As a young civil servant, Jeremy Heywood’s insightful questioning of the status quo pushed him to the centre of political power in this country for more than 25 years.

He directly served four Prime Ministers in various roles including as the first and only Permanent Secretary of 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Secretary and the Head of the Home Civil Service. He was at the centre of every crisis from the early 1990s until 2018 and most of the key meetings. Invariably, when faced with a new policy initiative a Prime Minister’s first response would be: ‘but what does Jeremy think?’

Jeremy worked up until his death, retiring just a few days before he died from lung cancer in October 2018. This book began as a joint effort between Jeremy and his wife Suzanne – working together in the last months of his life. Suzanne completed the work after his death.

In a time of political uncertainty, this extraordinary book offers an unforgettable and unprecedented insight into political decision-making, crisis management and the extraordinary role of the civil service. It is also a moving celebration of Heywood’s life in the beating heart of UK politics, and a man who for so long was the most powerful non-famous name in Britain.

(Sunday Times Bestseller, February 2021)

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Biography, Memoir

565 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2021

About the author

I grew up sailing around the world on a boat. My father set sail from England in 1976 on the Schooner Wavewalker with my brother, mother and me on board for what was supposed to be a three-year voyage but turned out to be a decade-long trip. While this meant that I saw a huge amount of our planet (though generally only the parts that are near sea level), it also meant that I was isolated as a child and struggled to get any formal education. Somehow, I managed to teach myself by correspondence and won a place to study at university. My book "Wavewalker" tells this story. It is both an adventure story and a coming-of-age story in a world that appeared idyllic but in reality was hugely challenging.

After gaining my degree and PhD I worked for a few years in the UK Treasury and for 17 years at McKinsey and Company, where I specialised in organisation design and strategy. My book, "ReOrg", co-authored with Stephen Heidari-Robinson captured the learnings from this for others to use when redesigning organisations.

In the Treasury I was lucky enough to meet my future husband, Jeremy Heywood, who went on to serve four UK Prime Ministers in various roles including Principal Private Secretary, Permanent Secretary of 10 Downing Street, Cabinet Secretary and the Head of the Civil Service. When he became ill in 2017, he agreed that I could write his biography, "What Does Jeremy Think", which records his extraordinary career. Alongside this I also wrote and published a short biography of his mother, Dr Brenda Swinbank, who was one of the UK's first female Roman archaeologists (“Recollections of a Female Archaeologist: A life of Brenda Swinbank”).

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years politicians often write autobiographies which give you political insight into their time in office. The Whitehall perspective is invariably missing; whilst politicians come and go the civil service is the invisible constant. This book methodically chronicles how Jeremy Heywood worked his way up to become the head of the civil service and cabinet secretary. He undertook the cabinet secretary role until he retired due to ill health shortly before his premature death. The book was largely written by Jeremy’s wife Suzanne drawn from notes and many interviews following his death.

To get the best you may need some political knowledge over the last 30+ years. It is broken down into time segments with a helpful index so you can easily navigate to certain events. Quite correctly, you do not always get the fine detail of how decisions are arrived at. However you understand the ultimate decision making process is made by Ministers. Working as a senior civil servant requires many skills. Putting aside intellect, networking, negotiating, he was particularly adept at offering well-crafted verbal and written advice. Ken Clarke said in a note “I don’t know if you and I are completely agreed; if you have set out my views more clearly than I could do so myself; or if you have subtly influenced my views so that they have changed without my realising it and now coincide with your own”. Read carefully, and you also uncover some “nuggets”. Ed Balls was apparently in line to be Chancellor during a cabinet re shuffle; one assumes not “gangnam style”. The book includes the financial banking crisis, referendum for Scotland’s independence, leaving the EU and supporting the Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition Government. The civil service has to remain impartial, and this was truly tested when supporting a government with ministers split on leaving or remaining in the EU. There is also a good insight into juggling his demanding role with his personal life. Cutting holidays short and contactable 24/7 is certainly not a 9 – 5 job but I sense he enjoyed this.

You are left in no doubt that Jeremy was incredibly proud to have led the civil service – he sought change not least through inclusion, and diversity. Quite telling comments on his impact and legacy came at the memorial service where four former prime ministers – Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Teressa May spoke together with Nick Clegg and former cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell. They were unified in that Jeremy was not a “Sir Humphrey” figure from the 1980s BBC Comedy “Yes Minister”, but hardworking with a brilliant intellect and interpersonal skills driven by genuine sense of duty and service.

The final outcome of Brexit, and the pandemic have been a real challenge for this country and will be for the foreseeable future. As to what “Jeremy would have thought”, you might just need to read the book and reach your own conclusions.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy Heywood was a fine public servant whose early death was a tragedy for his family, the UK civil service and his country. All these features are brought out strongly and movingly in this account of his career by his widow. Much of this book is actually Heywood's own work and its production is described in the closing chapters as Heywood confronted his fatal illness. Thus the book stands as an authentic record of the world at the very top of Government for much of the last thirty years. It will be an invaluable source for historians of recent Administrations.

Like a lot of biographies and autobiographies, the subject is the centre of attention. Here we are told how Jeremy Heywood influenced the key policies and decisions of successive Prime Ministers. One of the strengths of the UK civil service has been its political impartiality and ability to switch from serving a set of politicians from one political party or persuasion to their complete opposite, almost without drawing breath. Heywood exemplified this quality very strongly and was widely respected within the political class for this.

As a piece of writing, this book is enjoyable and well paced, although recounting the pattern of lots of male first names ducking and diving through meetings, encounters in cafes etc. can be a little tedious after a time. I would have wanted a little more about Heywood's early life and background in order to set the scene, because when Suzanne Heywood writes about their relationship, families and his illness, it is done well and sensitively. The final pages of the biography are most moving as Heywood worked right up to the very point when he could physically no longer send a text.

Heywood's world was Whitehall and as a civil service leader, he only really knew the machine from that location. Things are already so different now and the Covid 19 pandemic has, I fear, shown flaws in the civil service operating model (to use the jargon). It is an open question as to whether Heywood would have been able to tackle these issues differently. My sense is that in the evolution of the British administrative state, Heywood will be seen as the end of a tradition, "a grandiose final chord" (as was said of Bismarck). The civil service post Brexit and post Covid 19 pandemic will not be the civil service of Jeremy Heywood.

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book which I am sure will go down as one of the greatest political biographies of the generation. The BBC, quoted in this book, summed up Heywood well as the “most powerful man you’ve never heard of”.

This book is a fitting tribute to a man who never erred from public service, even as he battled with cancer at the end of his life. Indeed, I think nothing summed up his character better than the immense respect which shone through in the speeches made by the Prime Ministers he served at his memorial service.

Indeed, the book itself provides a fascinating insight into some of the most interesting years in British political history from the perspective of the civil service, something which has been lacking until now.

Above all though, the personal anecdotes thrown in throughout show Heywood as a man whose devotion to country and family knew no bounds.

[Glenn Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suzanne Heywood's chapter titles mirror her husband Jeremy's (whose story this is) favourite songs. She resists any temptation to call one of the Brexit chapters 'Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right' or even to include this lyric from the same song: 'I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs.'

This book is a political memoir of Jeremy Heywood's long stint serving four prime ministers as a senior civil servant, and a personal memoir of he and his wife's joint struggle with the cancer that finally ended his life. As political biographies go, Suzanne Heyward's is free of the score-settling and peacockery that often perhaps blights the genre. Its 500-plus pages, dense with the relived policy debates of two decades, might be a shade too wonkish for some, but I enjoyed it.

The more personal parts show in an unintended and unfussy way that Jeremy Heywood was blessed with a wife as gifted and loyal as himself. She keeps herself in the background in this book, but it does lead you to wonder just how many people successfully combine, as she did, being a senior partner at McKinsey with cooking tea and sorting out the children while waiting for a spouse to return home late because he was rescuing the country from a ditch. It's moving, then, to watch her shove aside heaven and earth to prolong her husband's life, even while he resented all treatments as reminders of his sickness and interruptions in his schedule. The result is a book that celebrates life and talent and duty, made my eyes sting a few times, and is quite a lot of fun as well.

Jeremy Hayward's illness happened in parallel with the metastizing populism that overtook and sickened our body politic. Let us hope we can all find a way back to the intellectual brilliance, the compromise, the patience and the moderation that is the best of our country and that he did so much to uphold.

One piece of fluff on the carpet: I read this as an ebook borrowed from the library. It's rather astonishing that the publishers couldn't be bothered to do a proper index. Since there is already an index for the paper copy, this would be about one afternoon's work for an intern. Are the publishers (a) complacent, (b) lazy or (c) inept? Perhaps there is an option (d) somewhere. I wasn't impressed though, in this small way letting down a scrupulous author and (perhaps the publishers remember these) loyal and gentle readers.

[Jonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the reviews have said this is an interesting portrait of nearly 30 years of a rarely seen view from the centre of the British government - albeit one that isn’t (unsurprisingly) that different to that shown by all the memoirs/biographies from politicians covering the same period.

Where it’s most interesting and insightful is as the spouse’s eye view of the level of commitment/toll that it takes to do that: most obviously in terms of the impact on raising a family, but the final chapters where the subject is still working as a means of processing a serious cancer diagnosis are genuinely difficult to read at points. I expect those may be the parts of the book that are seen as most enlightening in the longer term.

[Laura Spira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book about a remarkable man. Suzanne Heywood has written an astonishingly detailed biography which provides an insider's view of the workings of government as well as a touching picture of her husband, who truly exemplified the best of public service. He had a clear vision of the role of the Civil Service, coupled with a fine intellect and enough charm and diplomacy to achieve the compromises necessary to bring together diametrically opposed views to build policy. I was fascinated by the complexity of the organisation of Whitehall itself and the day-to-day challenges of making government work. It's a long book but well worth the effort.

[Cormac Dreelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary history of modern Britain, made personal. Excellent.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Does Jeremy Think starts in September 1992, when the late Head of the British Civil Service, Jeremy Heywood, was then the principal private secretary of Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont. Heywood had his start as an officer in the Health and Safety Executive (where he irritated officials with a paper he'd written that pointed out that there was no correlation between the number of inspections and the factory's level of compliance with health and safety legislation). He moved to the Treasury in 1984, when he realised that HSE was not the place to be for an ambitious civil servant. Still, in the early part of his career, Heywood doubted that he had the "ability or the ruthlessness" to get to the top, nor did he care for the paperwork and engagements one had to attend to at the senior levels. It was only some ten years later that Heywood would decide he was "more minded to play the game to see where it went", even though he wasn't sure he had what it took to reach the top.

Heywood worked directly with 4 prime ministers - Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Teresa May. His biography, which his wife Suzanne Heywood started working on with Jeremy in October 2017 and completed some two years after his death, is therefore not only an account of his life and contributions to the civil service, but also unpacks some of the behind the scenes deliberations and moves of major developments such as the UK's 1992 suspension of its membership of the ERM, the 1998 announcement of a minimum wage, the 2000 fuel shortages, the 2008 global financial crisis, the political transition from the Labour government to the Tory-Lib Dem coalition following the 2010 elections, the 2014 Scottish referendum and, of course, Brexit. Heywood also recounts the numerous clashes between then PM Blair and then Chancellor Gordon Brown. Through the accounts of these developments, What Does Jeremy Think also offers, perhaps, insights to bureaucrats tackling complex policy challenges, managing crises and working with the political leadership of the day.

In some ways, what Heywood describes of the British bureaucracy is not unfamiliar to a bureaucrat anywhere else. Like his accounts of outdated and poorly designed structures or even structures that simply made no sense. For instance, when Heywood (supported by a team of 4 including Suzanne Cook, later Suzanne Heywood) led the Treasury's Fundamental Expenditure Review, he found:

"[M]any teams, like the one we found at the back of the building setting daylight saving times, were doing work it was hard to see fitting into any version of the Treasury's objectives. Some jobs were also missing. For example, no one below Terry [Burns, the permanent secretary of the Treasury] was responsible for making sure the Budget balanced. And there were teams of specialists, including whole divisions of microeconomists, shadowing what everyone else was doing….[some of the question Heywood asked included] Could we live with only one layer of management between the work being done and it going to ministers? And, if the Treasury's structure was flatter, how would gurus be retained, those people who knew a huge amount but were often poor at managing staff?"

Or the general reluctance of bureaucracies to admit that they do not have a handle on things. During the 2000 fuel crisis, as fuel costs escalated in the UK, the Home Office had repeatedly expressed confidence that they had the situation under control, even as lorry drivers and farmers started protesting, to the extent of setting up blockades at oil refineries and depots which in turn led to fuel shortages at petrol stations. Heywood said that "the one thing I've learnt from [this incident was] never again to trust a department when it says it has things under control". This happened again a decade later when it was discovered that "the Civil Service, hampered by its desire to be helpful to the incoming government, hadn't been clear enough about the challenges [of meeting the ambitious timeline for setting up Universal Credit]."

Or the perennial fights within government for resources. When Heywood was working with David Miliband on the Comprehensive Spending Review in 1998, he "initially thought that [being able to go beyond the Conservatives' two year spending ceiling] would make the negotiations between Number 10 and the Treasury easier, but it soon became clear that having more money to allocate was in fact making them harder because there was more to fight over."

In Gus O'Donnell's memorial speech at Heywood's funeral, O'Donnell describes Heywood as a leader who left behind a "Civil Service ranked officially number one in the world." Reading Heywood's descriptions about the politicking, the bickering, the inertia and fear to rock the boat that exists in Whitehall, one wonders if civil servants elsewhere would find this a consolation or a profoundly depressing reality (what hope then is there for the rest of us?).

There are lessons to be gleaned for the bureaucrat who diligently makes their way through the book. Like what it takes to move the machinery of government, to orchestrate things to build alignment across different departments and stakeholders with competing agendas. The staff level huddles to build alignment before the principals meet up: Heywood suggested to Ed Balls, then a special advisor to Chancellor Gordon Brown, that ahead of Brown's bilaterals with Blair it would be helpful for Heywood and Balls to meet to identify the major political judgements required. They established a routine, meeting on Tuesday mornings at Café Churchill in Whitehall (whose description sounds like a dingy caff).

Or when Heywood described his approach for tackling Gordon Brown's priorities, which entailed knowing "who to ring in Whitehall, and often beyond, on each issue and….bring[ing] them together in meetings so they could figure out what needed to change. And when they managed to reach agreement…sum[ming] up their conclusions in a way that left no one in any doubt about the next steps".

When there was an issue to be addressed - say, finding more savings in the defence budget, or figuring out how to reduce British casualties in Afghanistan, or tackling extremism in Birmingham schools - Heywood's typical approach would be to bring the relevant officials together, assemble the known facts by asking questions, "while putting forward possibilities sourced from his network of contacts…rarely impos[ing] solutions in these discussions, believing this would only result in temporary compliance [and instead trying to get] the different sides to stop framing elegant descriptions of the problem - something Whitehall loved doing - and start coming up with practical solutions". In short, "demanding data, asking questions and creating a plan". Heywood often did this informally, although there were more formal structures - notably COBR meetings (so named because they were held in the Cabinet Office's Briefing Room) - to meet the same purpose for crises. Crises which were tackled by pulling together the relevant parts of government in COBR meetings included the 2000 fuel crisis, the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease, and 9-11.

Moreover, Heywood was very clear about what his role was and where he could best bring value to the system. As the Cabinet Secretary, there were many things potentially competing for Heywood's attention. But he stayed out of issues (e.g. the organisation of the London 2012 Olympics) that others were managing to focus on those "where his involvement was needed to unstick a policy discussion, to chase progress or to give the PM a message he didn't want to hear." Heywood described his real goal as not "just to find individual policies [he could] champion…[but] to make the whole of the Civil Service better at creating policy". Hence his excitement over Gus O'Donnell's 2010 creation of the Behavioural Insight Team, his constantly being on the lookout for new ideas from various sources - meetings, dinner parties, "chance conversations in the Cabinet Office's basement café".

There are also such gems as the advice to look out for "smelly rats" - what Gus O'Donnell termed "innocuous-looking proposals - like changing the taxation of Jaffa Cakes to bring them in line with other biscuits - …but which came at a high political cost".

And the accounts of Blair's tactic of making public commitments (without first consulting the relevant department(s)) to spur action, believing that "it was easier to crash through departmental boundaries and to get the system thinking creatively in a crisis, even one that was self-imposed". He used this tactic when he committed in Parliament in May 2002 that by the end of September, the government would have brought the problem of street crime under control. This forced the Home Office, the police and the Delivery Unit to come together to brainstorm possible solutions that might make a difference, from activities like football camps to keep children off the streets, to increasing detection rates by having the police drive victims around to try to spot the perpetrators. Blair deployed this tactic again in Feb 2003 when he announced that the number of asylum seekers would be halved by September that year.

One of the more fascinating aspects of the book for me was when Heywood described the (very) different working styles and preferences of the various PMs and how Heywood tried to make the system work for them (rather than bemoaning how they didn't understand how to work with the bureaucracy). For instance, the "bureaucracy-allergic" Blair had a more informal governance style, preferring to "mull over political strategy in an unstructured way" with his political advisors. Blair also had a habit of writing a note each Sunday evening laying out the things that were on his mind, "including reflections on what had been in the press, how to deliver New Labour's priorities…These streams of consciousness, which sometimes ran ten or more pages, were written out in longhand before being transcribed by one of the garden room team posted at Chequers." Each Monday morning therefore, Heywood's routine would start with joining the Number 10 special advisors to go through the note with Blair and discuss any other topics that came up. He would then minute the conclusions to Whitehall. The "jamboree" of Monday morning meetings also included Blair's meeting with the Dep Secs at 945am followed by a bilateral between Blair and Cabinet Secretary Richard Wilson. While Heywood felt the meetings to be inefficient, "it did mean that by lunchtime, everyone knew what the PM's priorities were for the week ahead and anyone in Whitehall waiting for a signal from Number 10 could get to work."

By contrast, Gordon Brown's preference was for a "smaller, less political and weaker Number 10…with a stronger Cabinet Office and more decisions taken in Cabinet or by formal Cabinet Committees". To increase trust in government, Brown sought to limit prime ministerial power by giving up rights such as the power to declare war, to choose bishops and to control the Civil Service. Yet, Brown appeared unwilling to make decisions that were clearly the prerogative of the Prime Minister to make, resulting in Whitehall becoming "backlogged". It's instructive that Heywood disagreed with criticism of Brown not understanding "what's required to make Number 10 work", given his apparent aversion to traditional policy meetings and preference to develop his thinking through amending draft articles and speeches. Heywood felt that "it was up to [the civil service] to make Number 10 work for the Prime Minister rather than the other way around" and experimented with having the private office feed Brown memos and emails about policy proposals relevant to whatever he was writing, or to insert ideas directly into his drafts. "If something became embedded, they should assume the PM had agreed…and let Whitehall know the decision". While "less efficient than receiving written comments on carefully crafted submissions" and unhelpful if an agency needed to "resolve an urgent agricultural policy question while the PM was drafting a speech on monetary policy", the approach did help reduce the backlog of answered questions.

The subsequent Tory-Lib Dem Coalition government was a test for the British bureaucracy on multiple fronts. For a start, when senior civil servants gathered in mid January 2010 to role play different election outcomes, they couldn't quite figure a way out of the scenario where the PM (Brown) wanted to resign, having lost the election, and a potential coalition that wasn't ready to appoint his successor. Then there was the realisation that despite DPM Nick Clegg's huge brief, the office supporting him was smaller than those of most secretaries of state - "an unintentional oversight that reflected the Civil Service's lack of experience of supporting a coalition government". With a coalition government, the test, as Gus O'Donnell put it to Heywood, was whether "the system could respond at pace to political demands so different to the ones it was receiving before."

What would it mean for the civil service to work through the policies outlined in the Coalition Agreement, to get the Coalition's plans implemented? In the case of Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley's proposed broad and extensive reforms to the NHS, the civil service had strong reservations about the scale of the disruption and the lack of a clear problem statement. They eventually backed down with Heywood commenting "Sometimes you get to a point where you have to stop raising objections. If a minister prioritises a policy and has the PM's backing, then it's the Civil Service's job to make the best of it." Eventually, the legislative amendments to effect the reforms would be approved by Parliament and receive royal assent in March 2012. But Heywood noted that "it had been a long and painful journey to approve a set of reforms for which few people had any enthusiasm….it had been so traumatic….that [Heywood] doubted anyone would propose any significant new health legislation for at least a decade".

Later, when the Coalition started to fray, the Civil Service had to figure out "acceptable technocratic compromises". And in the run up to the general election, when the Coalition parties started to compete with each other, rather than deliver on common commitments, Heywood felt like "he was working for two political parties than for a single government". The Cabinet Office had to issue guidance to address various scenarios and contingencies, such as whether one party had the right to request policy advice from a department in which it had no ministerial representation.

I reckon that a civil servant reading Heywood's biography would have very mixed views. On the one hand, there's the thrill of being in the thick of things, the satisfaction that comes from public service, that feeling that you can truly make a difference, as Heywood felt when he pushed for policy innovations such as social impact bonds and increased funding for adult social care (conducting a review himself with a team of experts in the Cabinet Office when the Treasury refused to budge without a wider review) or worked on less prominent policies which might not happen without his backing. Heywood said "this is why I love this job. Because there's always something we can do. The easiest answer is always, "No Minister - it's not possible" But I prefer, "I think we can do it, Minister, but it's not going to easy and it will require some compromise."

On the other hand, Heywood and his family made huge sacrifices for Heywood to keep up with the demands of the job (although Heywood was more than willing to make this trade off and his wife, Suzanne, was very well aware that for Jeremy, country came first). It wasn't just interrupted family vacations, needing to step away or step out from family celebrations and gatherings. Suzanne Heywood recounts of her pregnancy (which came after 3 failed IVF cycles and one miscarriage), that "while the pregnancy dominated [her] life, for Jeremy it was something he fought to include, almost always turning up late for [their prenatal] classes, sitting on the teacher's doorstep to finish off calls on Railtrack, the Autumn Statement or even asylum." And it was impossible to compete with Jeremy's work - how does one weigh one's personal commitments (and how could Suzanne fight for her own needs) against the needs of the nation? As Heywood told Suzanne as he was battling cancer, " I can't leave the PM in the lurch over Brexit".

There were some lighter, more fun, moments. Like the interesting nuggets about the rituals and routines of senior British civil servants. For instance, each Wednesday evening, Heywood, as PPS to the PM, would have tea with Robin Janvrin, the Queen's PPS, at Buckingham Palace. As PPS to PM, Heywood and his wife would also accompany the PM and his wife on their annual autumn visit to the Queen at Balmoral Castle, where the itinerary would include "watching caber tossing at the Braemar Games, attending a royal barbecue of haggis-stuffed pheasants in a bothy on the Balmoral estate, and joining a service in Craethie Kirk on Sunday morning".

One might wonder how impartial Heywood's biography can be, since it is written by his wife. In a 14 Jan 2022 Guardian article by David Runciman on Dominic Cummings, Runciman writes that Cummings felt that Heywood was vastly overrated: "a genius fixer, not a genius manager" who kept the system running but could not see how the system might need to be overhauled. After all, Heywood was the very epitome of the system. But even if we were to acknowledge that What Does Jeremy Think probably leans towards a more sympathetic portrayal, the fact remains that Heywood must have been a remarkable civil servant to serve four Prime Ministers. Given how heavily contested the UK political landscape is, almost any issue had the potential to blow up and affect perceptions of 10 Downing Street and the government. Not just financial crises and fuel shortages, but also scandals over MP allowances, allegations that a government minister had engaged in sexual misconduct and even heavy snowstorms. In all these cases, Heywood had to figure out the issues and how to sort them out. And when it came to managing truly complex issues without precedent, like Brexit, Heywood described it as follows: "Sometimes our job feels like playing sixteen dimensional chess when you don't know what the solution looks like. But even if we don't know our destination, we can still help the government take the next step, which right now means laying out the possible options".

[Mdaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography was started by Jeremy's wife, with his involvement, before his untimely early death from cancer in November 2018. They began working on it in 2017 when he received a devastating diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer. For some time previously Heywood had been having bouts of ill health which they seem to erroneously think was due to pre-diagnosed colitis. Despite the terminal diagnosis they fought on through chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery to gain more time against the disease, and to write this book.
The biography starts abruptly in 1992 in the thick of his role as principal private secretary to Norman Lamont in the Treasury during the ERM crisis. There is a bewildering avalanche of names and job titles that presume a working knowledge of who they are and what they do. I assume the author wishes the reader to get a feel for the complexity and frenetic pace of the job from the start. However in opening the book this way it loses the personal touch of a biography and takes on the feel of a strict chronology of events. There is no introduction as to how he ended up in the role, other than a remark that he had ambitions to work in the Treasury having joined the civil service as an economist in the Health and Service Executive. The reader isn't even sure what age Jeremy is or how long he has been in the role at this stage. One presumes this will come in a subsequent chapter but the frenetic chronology is retained for the entire book and there are only fleeting references to his upbringing, his background or family; one is left to discern his values and outlook from his enthusiasm for the policies he promoted. Suzanne has sensibly eschewed any retrospective interpretation or evaluation of her husband's career and lets the facts do the talking.
The book would have benefited from a short chapter explaining how the civil service is constituted, what the rules of engagement are for civil servants and politicians, and what it's reporting structure is. Heywood subsequently worked for Prime Ministers Blair, Brown, Cameron and May, while never fulfilling his ambition to head up the Treasury he became the leading civil servant in Britain. During Blair's premiership he briefly worked in investment banking but returned at Gordon Brown's request.
What's clear throughout the story is that Heywood broadly agreed with the policy thrust of all the Government's under which he served and also progressed his own ideas for civil service reform wherever he got the chance. Heywood was very much a man of his times and was an enthusiastic champion of what would be seen as liberal progressive causes. I found it quite revealing how senior civil servants could promote their own agendas. Suzanne notes at one point how Jeremy repackaged an unimplemented policy of Brown's to chime with a policy initiative of the Conservatives which Cameron then adopted.
There are no salacious tales or gossip. The book like the man is the definition of discretion. One can only admire Heywood's dedication to his work. Fourteen hour workdays seemed to be the norm but one is left wondering about the toll on family and relationships. In the most revelatory paragraph in the book Suzanne intimates that the working schedule was causing difficulties in their relationship just before Jeremy's diagnosis. One also has to admire the dedication of the politicians who come across universally as hard working committed individuals who are given little credit by the media or the voters for what they achieve in difficult circumstances. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and perhaps Cameron could have handled Brexit better but even on this Heywood keeps his powder dry. Gordon Brown probably emerges as the most underrated Prime Minister of the modern era. According to Heywood, he championed causes, like third world development, at cabinet and G20 meetings for which there were no votes.
A must read for all civil servants, politicians of all hues and media.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually quite a beautiful and heartfelt read. The wife of this top civil servant ( of whom very few ordinary people like me will have heard ) writes a long and detailed account of his work and family life.

The book starts very dryly .. endless reminders of the crises led by long departed politicians running the show in 1980s and 90s , events i recall but don’t have much interest in or affection for .. slowly morphs into a much more involving account of working in close proximity to the big 4 of recent years - Blair Brown Cameron Clegg May - before exhaustion cancer and illness overtakes him and he is left lying in a hospital in Marylebone , metaphorically clutching an order of the Bath and a Barony of Whitehall whilst his devoted wife watches on grieving from a makeshift bed , his iPhones finally laid to rest .

The story thus glibly summarised is very moving . One gets the firm impression of a truly exceptional bright and fairly ego free soul , who really cares very much about his country and about public service and his wife and family : and who contributed a great deal.

I liked him and I greatly respect what his wife has done for his memory . Rock on Jeremy Heywood

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really important and well pitched account of a pivotal figure in recent British history. Whilst at times I’m sure there is another side to the stories not reflected here there’s clearly no doubt how great JH was. The descriptions of interactions with different ministers are never critical but still manage to get across the differences in their styles and competencies.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly remarkable book - I couldn't put it down, and the last chapter had me in tears.

So few accounts of senior civil servants really get beyond the headlines or fun anecdotes. But Heywood fills that gap, covering key policy and political developments through the twists and turns of the years between 1992-2017.

This is a stellar biography for a number of reasons. Firstly, Heywood is not only an author, but Jeremy Heywood's wife - and therefore has unparalleled access to Jeremy's memory. In fact he was actively involved in the writing process, suggesting areas of focus and key lines of inquiry for her interviews. It is beautiful that working together on the book was clearly not just an act of writing, but a way of processed Jeremy's early death for them both. Heywood also conducted about 200 interviews to aid her writing, which shows in the depth of the story and characters.

Second, Heywood is an actual author which means she writes a damn good book. The style is mesmerising and she knows exactly how to balance the needs to cover diffuse characters, points of view, and policy challenges with the need to have a fast-paced book which is told chronologically, as a story - she doesn't mess around with a thematic approach and knows exactly when to have an aside, or when to tie up a storyline. She also gets the balance perfect between Jeremy's work as a civil servant - which occupies most of the book - and their personal lives. This isn't primarily about their personal lives but Heywood adds just enough to give us a bit of colour, a bit of emotion and authenticity.

In terms of some of the key points of the book, it's clear that Jeremy operated at the cente of government for many years, including with some of the most important characters before and since, like Gus O Donnell, Chris Wormald, Tom Scholar, Sue Gray, and Olly Robins. And it's clear that he was unbelievably committed, that the civil service was a personal calling for him and he sacrificed a great deal for the civil service - one does have to wonder how Suzanne dealt with it all. However I'm not convinced by the notion that one of the reasons British politics went so downhill is because Jeremy's no longer in Whitehall. I probably agree he might have made things smoother for longer, but the complex set of challenges we're seeing are much bigger than Jeremy. That said, Jeremy is clearly one of the singularly most talented individuals at advising politicians, at generating creative policy solutions, and at cultivating agreement and compromise. He also clearly has a remarkable ability to ask probing questions, to find out and solve issues (even among some of his most senior and capable colleagues), and to rapidly identify savings in fully fledged proposals. At the same time, one gets the sense some things were a little neglected as Jeremy focuses on one thing at a time, sometimes having to drop them - although he clearly has things he keeps coming back to. His ability to hold together coalitions and focus in on policy meant he had to get into the details himself on many things, meaning he was less able to orchestrate a large scale operation where the Cab Sec is the leader and the others are doing the detail work. One wonders to what extent this made Whitehall increasingly reliant on one individual and restricted overall bandwidth.

Jeremy also clearly has a set of personal interests which, in my opinion, reveal the impossibility of political neutrality. He repeatedly champions bringing outside experience in, Heathrow expansion, social care reform, cutting defence waste, productivity and growth, tackling 'burning injustices', reforming the civil service, social bonds, research and development, nuclear, and fracking. His perspectives on taxation are never fully revealed but one gets the sense he thinks we should tax harms and reduce tax on entrepreneurship. The sense Suzanne gives is that Jeremy wanted to get Brexit done in the way that best served the PM, but he never got to see it through. His views on the civil service and what it should be are fairly low key - he clearly is more interested in personalities and relationships than structures and systems, believes in an empowered number 10, stands up robustly for the civil service in light of attack, and believes in a more diverse civil service that is more commercial and digital.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this in the way one does when one reads about their own experiences. Some of the events I was close to as they happened in Whitehall and for the most part I enjoyed rereading them.

I wonder, however, if I spotted where the author changed - there is a part of the book where all the Jeremy quotes somehow become more trite, superficial and pointless and effectively Jeremy loses his voice.

I thought the depiction of the Blair Brown governments was particularly interesting - one forgets in these ramshackle times of Tory government that the Labour government was a particularly effective delivery machine, with real focus that made real change happen. Most of that change has been flushed away by years of Tory austerity, a pandemic and a government with no plan for anything. Stumble stumble.

The telling of the 2008 financial crisis gave a side of Gordon Brown that no one now remembers - an amazing piece of international diplomacy and leadership that somehow seems to have passed the commentators by. I remember attending a conference while Blair was PM. He came in, I turned round and there seems to be an armed guard round the perimeter of the QEII theatre or whatever. Blair whined, twisted himself round the lecturn and was totally unmemorable. In the afternoon Brown talked to us, stood on the edge of the stage, no notes, talked from the heart. The audience hung on his every word. Sad that Brown became PM and has been consigned by the commentators as an "also ran".

The total madness of the Lansley health reforms seems to have been toned down , although the reports of Lansley's exchanges with Cameron where Big Dave basically told Lansley he didn't understand anything he said was understatedly powerful.

Where the book came unravelled for me was in a trite comments towards the end, where basically Jeremy is quoted as talking about the lack of diversity in the civil service, that they were all white males. It was trite and superficial. The failing of the civil service at those higher levels isn't about it being white male ... it's about going to the right university, talking like them and being clubbable. Being the sort of person they are. Worse still, in Departments with large "industry" top tiers, it also becomes about obeying orders, even if they're mad ...

We are also shown how, effectively, Jeremy sacrificed his family life for the greater calling of serving Ministers. Well mate, we all did that. Evenings that pass in a blur of the keys on your laptop; weekends consumed by the crisis of the moment; hours, weeks, months, years of work that translate into a few moments of policy history and disappear, and the loss of years with your children, partners, parents, gardens, whatever. And when you step off the conveyor and wonder whether it was worth it, the answer is, no. It never was. All that has happened is that you are an extension of the egos of those in power and their sidekicks ...

Anyway, all in all, a weighty tome that records a time in history and Jeremy Heywood's contribution to it and it was valuable to record. However, I hope those who form a positive opinion of this man who had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time with the right talents will also reflect on the anthill underneath that was just as heroic - those anonymous worker ants in various other government departments - it wasn't made to happen in No 10 or the Cabinet Office ...

[Jakub Dovcik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very particular biography, written by the wife of probably the most essential British civil servant in the past 30 years (well, alongside Gus O'Donnell). It shows the policy backdrop of the well-known political decisions, processes and probably most interestingly, crises - from Black Wednesday, through the Foot and Mouth Disease, the hung parliament and preparations for it in 2010, all the way till Brexit.

It is quite fascinating how elections or even referendums do not actually play that big of a role in the book - the campaign time was Purdah time for civil servants, meaning that although they made preparations for the new government or referendum result, it was so different from what the political people (and thus their biographies) usually focus on. In that way, it is fascinating, to see not just the big political decisions and choices being made, but rather how the implementation worked, how it was played among the senior civil servants and how they, quote opposite to the Sir Humphrey fame, actually tried their best to implement. That was his role and it is presented well - he did not make the big decisions, but rather the more mundane, process-oriented, especially in times of crisis.

It is fascinating to read how Jeremy Heywood personally served so four Prime Ministers (and before that two Chancellors) loyally, creating personal bonds with each of them, yet never being seen as a partisan figure. He was the very essence of Whitehall and it is fascinating to read how especially in his last role as Cabinet Secretary (as well as during his short stint doing reorganisation of the Treasury in the mid-90s where he met his wife who is the author of the book) he deeply cared about the civil service and the individual people who represent it.

It is also an extremely personal book - Suzanne Heywood details their life together (making a note about all the small holidays they managed to squeeze between their demanding work lives), their struggles to conceive and later joys in raising their children. The most memorable and touching parts of the book were the last chapters, where Jeremy had been diagnosed with cancer and later fought it at the same time as he participated in the difficult Brexit negotiations. Won't lie, I was very moved at times.

This was definitely one of the most memorable books I have read in a while. As someone who works as a private secretary to a Prime Minister in a very different context than the British civil service, it was fascinating to read about some similarities, yet so many differences between the lives at the centre of government - and most of the time I was in awe at the professionalism and sense of duty that everyone including Sir Heywood demonstrated.

Jeremy Heywood was the ultimate civil servant, the beating heart of Whitehall, which is best demonstrated in a note Gordon Brown left for David Cameron in 2010: ‘the country is in good hands: Jeremy is running it’.

One is left to wonder how he would have handled the Johnson crises, including Covid and everything else Britain has been fighting since his death.

[David Goll · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir from the most celebrated civil servant of his generation. Written by Jeremy Heywood's wife based on interviews conducted during the last few months of his life.

The incredible thing about Heywood's career was how long he stayed in the rough and tumble of ministerial private office. He effectively skipped the whole section of a traditional, high-flying civil service career where you run progressively larger chunks of operational departments, spending your time worrying about things like procurement and HR. Instead, his career looks more like a series of political appointments, generally working with a small team in HMT or No 10 to drive through priorities or unblock particularly sticky issues. So, despite working across many different administrations and being the consummate impartial operator, he has a very political perspective. You can see why he was valued by so many different elected officials. In many ways, he seems like one of them - an unusually talented and experienced Secretary of State.

It is all very New Labour also, even when he is working with the Conservatives. There is a fundamental, underlying belief that a few extremely smart and hard working people at the centre of government could transform public services for the better. It feels more plausible when he is acting as the sole conduit between HMT and No 10 during the height of the TBGBs or when he is locking world leaders in a room with Gordon Brown in the midst of the financial crisis. But less so in later years when there is an endless stream of anecdotes about Heywood "getting the right people in the room" and "asking penetrating questions" - you have to wonder whether he is really having the impact he thinks he is at this point. And there is no serious reflection about whether the system and his role in it makes sense.

Still, I found the book interesting throughout and works well as a potted history of contemporary UK politics - so would recommend it if that is your bag.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating exploration of daily life at the heart of UK government seen through the eyes of the policy-implementing civil servant. Jeremy Heywood's 25 years inside Downing Street is brilliantly described thanks to his wife's efforts to record his thoughts and memories before his premature death at the age of 56. It should be a 5 star rating but, photos aside, there is no back story on his first 31 years, so though it becomes very clear that he lived out Stephen Covey's 7 habits of highly effective people, there is no context. Clearly an enormous intellect helped, but this was a man with deeply internalised values relating to the way he treated people, about whom his son wrote 'some heroes wear capes - mine wore a cardigan'. There is the lingering frustration of not finding out what made Jeremy so special, though the tributes at the end of the book from 4 prime ministers give a glimpse. The irony is that the author, Suzanne Heywood, has left us a rich legacy of her own childhood in 'Wavewalker'.

[Gaenor Bagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a touching book. Suzanne Haywood has done an excellent job at moving between her own reflections and recollections (obviously very detailed) conveyed to her by Jeremy. I thought the combination worked really well. This is a story of a life dedicated, to be fair almost obsessively, to public service. The historical background is fascinating, as it broadly corresponds to my working life. A lot of people may say this book is very kind to the key political figures, but I felt this was a genuine aspect of Jeremy’s character. He was called to serve without judging and everyone has something to give when you know their full story. What I enjoyed a lot about the book was that it was also a very moving story of a marriage. I hope I could support my husband in his final days in such a furiously compassionate and courageous way.

[CatchingUp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A conscientious public servant who understood the government machinery and the significance of bringing together the right people at the right time to make important decisions and deliver policy to meet overarching PMs vision.

Would have liked to read more about his time at Morgan Stanley, and how his time in the private sector shaped and influenced his thinking when he reentered the CS.

However, the author eloquently and seamlessly captures Jeremy’s thoughts, that at times, it feel like an autobiography.

Regarding the Civil Service - I particularly like the manner in which this book highlights the power struggle between the two heavyweights of modern politics - no 10 and 11.

All in all, I really liked this book, it felt like I went on a complete journey from young Jeremy to seasoned professional, with the end of the book moving me close to tears.

[Fred Frisbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. I think its a pretty amazing portrait of the most important/powerful man most people never heard of.

I did think it was a little depressing comparing careers given his was slightly more important than mine.

However he was clearly a very clever insightful person who was nearly always right about most things. Stories like how he knocked £8bn of HS2 and dealt with all the crises are amazing.

The other bits that were interesting was how hard he worked especially as he got close to death and if that was healthy or not.

Also I thought some of his thinking was maybe a little short term e.g. bailing out banks and he didn't spot to think that maybe the system was broken if it needed someone as remarkable as hin to keep it running

[Teddy Dodger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bits of it are very interesting, bits particularly as Jeremy is courting the author, or is dying, is very moving.

Bits of it are quite funny, in a dark sense, such as Jeremy trying to postpone vital, urgent surgeries around the rigmarole of 2018-era Brexit politics.

But if you're looking for a decent overview of what Jeremy Heywood did (i.e. the structural changes that Heywood made that Dominic Cummings amongst others is critical of) then this isn't the book for you.

But - you do get the impression from this book that Heywood is a good diplomat (i.e. greasing the wheels between deadlocked departments) but not a very good *manager*.

[Keith Johnstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book of the life of a senior civil servant and his commitment to service. Clearly an impressive man who did a lot during very complex and indeed unprecedented times. I couldn’t help but think he could have done more to prepare for the Brexit vote and indeed the possibility of Scottish independence, the lack of preparedness seems to be laid at the feet of ministers which is perhaps partly true but still… I would have also liked to hear more about the immediate team around him who must have contributed to his success

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civil servant at the heart of government from Lamont through to May. Best piece for me was his account of Gordon Brown and team managing the financial crisis. So much going on that it’s hard to follow all the stories. But fascinating window on how policy is created, out of political ambition and crisis, civil service suggesting solutions, negotiating compromises and overseeing implementation. A warm biography by his wife after Jeremy’s tragic early death from cancer.

[Louise Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating look behind the scenes in Whitehall. Occasionally difficult to follow (lots of names to keep track of & initially a lot of info on the economy which was over my head!) but actually didn’t make much difference overall to my enjoyment of it. Highly recommended to anyone interested in British politics.

[John Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insight into government and tenderly crafted by a loving wife, but somehow there was less of what Jeremy really thought - let's face it he is paid not to think but to execute - than I had hoped. That he was respected by so many Prime Ministers shows more than anything what a valuable servant to this country he was.

[Christina Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book. I’d read it for political gossip and to hear about one of the best people ever in my profession and how he did what he did. I wasn’t expecting to become tearful through accounts of ivf and of his illness and death, nor was I expecting to think so much about work life balance, and whether the sacrifice was worth it.

[Alex Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly amazing story of the ultimate civil servant. At its heart it is beautiful story about a husband and father. Jeremy just happened to have a front row seat to some of the key historical moment in modern day. A true inspiration!

[Mr R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat unusual. Biography of senior civil servants are uncommon. Biographies written by spouses also. This us a uniquely personal perspective - which is both a positive and a negative. Ultimately, I would have preferred something more objective and analytical.

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful memoir

Description of a hardworking, dedicated civil servant who pulled together policy until his dad death: tells much about our political system and its isolation from the rest of society.

[Bethany Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great portrait of the pure breadth of one man's contribution, I personally would have benefitted from having some of the lingo and pace tempered for the general reader, but appreciate that this is an ultimately political biography.