New development: Is this really the ‘end of the generalist’?

The Civil Service generalist has been a persistent feature of the British public administration landscape for a long time. This article examines the generalist’s origins and the recurring reform agendas that have attempted to reverse this trend. It analyses key Civil Service reform programmes to provide insights for those connected to, or with an interest in, contemporary efforts to professionalise policy making and the policy advisory function in the UK Government. This article will show that moving beyond generalism is a significant challenge requiring a fundamental rebalancing of priorities at all levels. The overriding objective is to foreground history in an accessible way, so these lessons need not be relearned.