ABSTRACT
Edward Heath ran his government in part in conscious reaction to the management of his immediate predecessor, Harold Wilson. Such a reaction is certainly evident in Heath's Number 10. A combination of an office and a home, Number 10's operation is a blend of the most traditional and apolitical parts of the British state with the idiosyncratic personal and political tastes of its occupants. As British government lacks a transition period, Prime Ministers arrive at Number 10 in a flurry of packing cases, often while the previous occupant is still in the process of departing. The structure of the system of ministerial 'special advisers' was beginning to emerge during the Heath government. Donald Maitland, with the new, upgraded title of Chief Press Secretary, was a civil servant much to Edward Heath's taste. Relations at Number 10 were more harmonious, demarcation between government and party matters more meticulously followed, and professionalism more to the fore.
