Yes, Minister, The Complete Collection

On the day after the General Election, Jim Hacker MP receives the anxiously awaited call from Number 10 Downing Street with his new ministerial appointment. He has landed the job of Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administration and he has revolutionary plans for Open Government.

The Minister has a plan to turn an official visit by the President of Buranda to party political advantage. He wants to move the President's meeting with the Queen to Scotland to coincide with the local elections. The Permanent Secretary dislikes the plan, especially when it precipitates an unforeseen crisis.

Pruning the civil service is a great political platform for the Minister but the idea is deeply upsetting to Sir Humphrey Appleby. He explains that the civil service measures its success by the size of its staff and budget. Perhaps he can find a way to make the Minister abandon the policy.

Jim Hacker is having some problems with decision making at the same time as he sets out to protect people's right to privacy. He meets with stiff resistance from Sir Humphrey and learns that secrecy is as sacred an observance for civil servants as silence is for Trappist monks.

While battling one another on the civil service reduction issue, the Minister and Sir Humphrey learn of a plan that would adversely affect them both. Their own department is now facing closure. They must work together for the first time if they are to prevent it.

Are there occasions when a Minister should be kept in the dark? Sir Humphrey seems to be holding back important information about how the department operates. The question takes on new meaning when the Minister's daughter joins a group protesting his plans for administration of the countryside.

The Minister is puzzled by Sir Humphrey's evasion of questions about a departmental construction project in the Midlands. When the awful truth is revealed, the Minister finds himself implicated as well. Sir Humphrey must try to rescue the project without attracting publicity.

A newly built hospital has a full administrative staff but no patients due to a government imposed reduction in the recruitment of medical staff. For some reason, Sir Humphrey does not want this particular boat rocked. He explains that they should measure success by activity, not by results.

At the Ministry the conflicts of interest continue when the Minister is asked to approve the departmental recommendations for the honours list, and Sir Humphrey tackles government policy on the tuition fees of overseas students. Maybe a boozy dinner will help Jim come to a decision about what he should do.

The Minister is shocked to learn that his department is responsible for supplying all the government's electronic surveillance gear. After all, his campaign was based in part on his opposition to bugging and phone tapping. Jim is later shocked to hear his name is on the International Freedom Army death list.

The British Chemical Corporation, with the backing of Sir Humphrey, intend to produce a dangerous chemical at their Merseyside factory. When the people protest Jim must arrive at an appropriate compromise. Can he find a way to get round Sir Humphrey?

The Minister is upset at rumours of a Cabinet reshuffle. Jim considers a move to work in Europe, something he previously considered nothing more than a gravy train. Sir Humphrey is equally worried because if the Minister should go, there might be a move to have the Permanent Secretary replaced.

The Minister is having a particularly good day and even enjoys media coverage from the BBC on a trip to a children's city farm. However, one must never underestimate the manipulative skill of Sir Humphrey. The key to getting a Minister's signature on an order is to catch him when he's in a hurry.

The conflict between politicians and civil servants takes centre stage when the Minister and Sir Humphrey appear before a select committee scrutinizing the functions of the Department of Administrative Affairs. The Prime Minister wants budget cuts, but Sir Humphrey is against them. Where do Jim's loyalties lie?

The Minister decides there should be more women occupying top jobs in the Civil Service, which raises some eyebrows at the Ministry - particularly those of Sir Humphrey.

In the reorganisation of government administration, the Minister is tasked with reducing local government bureaucracy. During a radio interview, it becomes apparent that he does not realise just how daunting this task will be.

Sir Humphrey wants a local authority disciplined because they have omitted some required paper work. The Minister does not wish to comply, as the local authority is one of the most efficient in the country.

The Minister leads a delegation to the Persian Gulf with Sir Humphrey on hand as his guide, where he learns the difference between a bribe and an 'extra-contractual payment'.

The Minister is given the job of implementing an integrated national transport policy. Sir Humphrey endeavours to protect him from the potential nightmare of such a task.

The Minister is in possession of some embarrassing information on the sale of British arms to Italian terrorists, and it takes all of Sir Humphrey's skill to convince him not to do anything foolish with it.

The Minister is keen to rescue a struggling football club in financial difficulties, but Sir Humphrey believes that subsidies are only for art and culture - not for a form of entertainment that people actually want.