The Smoke Screen (Yes, Prime Minister)
Encyclopedia
“The Smoke Screen” is the third episode of the BBC
comedy series Yes, Prime Minister
and was first broadcast 23 January 1986.
is meeting with his subordinate Sir Frank Gordon, Permanent Secretary
to the Treasury
. Sir Frank is worried about Jim Hacker’s
proposal to use some of the savings from his “Grand Design” for a £1.5 billion tax cut. They both agree that the whole system of government depends on them controlling the Prime Minister
and the Chancellor
respectively, and ensuring a degree of mistrust between them. Sir Frank points out that the notion of a tax cut is the one thing that unites the politicians and he had great difficulty getting the Chancellor to eventually oppose it. Sir Humphrey advises that low productivity within the economy could be seen to be more important. However, according to Sir Frank it is the fault of the British worker for being “fundamentally lazy". Sir Humphrey then dashes off to catch up with an England
cricket
match.
A drunken Sir Humphrey relaxes in his box at the cricket match, courtesy of the British Tobacco Group. He chats to Gerald, one of BTG’s directors, and asks a favour on behalf of the Royal Opera House
, which needs more funds. Gerald is happy to oblige and mentions that he happens to be meeting the Minister for Sport later that afternoon. Sir Humphrey asks if Dr Peter Thorn, the Minister for Health, will be attending, but Gerald tells him that he has refused, apparently because he has sided with the anti-smoking lobby
.
Sometime later, the PM is in his office, lamenting the Chancellor’s refusal to agree a tax cut. Sir Humphrey explains that the Treasury does not like giving money back out of principle, and he elaborates on this. Traditionally, taxes aren’t raised by measuring the government’s financial needs, but by levying as much as it can before deciding what to spend it on. The Cabinet Secretary
leaves as Hacker has a meeting with Dr Thorn. The latter has come up with a radical plan: he wants to progressively eliminate smoking
by banning all forms of tobacco advertising and implementing steep tax rises over the next five years. He points out the number of lives lost each year to smoking-related illnesses. The PM sympathises but knows that the tobacco tax raises revenue of £4 billion a year and that the Treasury would dismiss Thorn’s proposal. He can’t support Thorn publicly, but nevertheless can see a way of using his scheme to force the Treasury’s hand. For the time being, Hacker asks the Minister to keep pushing the argument and to make some speeches on it.
Sir Humphrey comes back in to enquire about Hacker’s meeting, and laughs at Thorn’s plan. However, he changes tack when the PM tells of his support for it. Sir Humphrey points out that there is a counter-argument for Thorn’s statistics. If those who die of smoking were to live to an advanced age, then it has been proven that they would cost the Treasury more in terms of pensions and benefit payments than it currently pays out in medical expenses. So in financial terms, he argues, it makes sense that they “continue to die at about the present rate”. He also puts the case for tobacco sponsorship of major sporting events. The PM is coincidentally to meet the Minister for Sport that afternoon, and since he is a member of the tobacco lobby, Hacker is suspicious.
Hacker meets Leslie Potts, the Minister for Sport, at the House of Commons
. Potts is a smoker himself and has the cough to prove it. He has got wind of Thorn’s paper and warns the PM that if it progresses any further, it’s not just sporting events that will suffer: there are many marginal seat
s with workers in the tobacco industry. Hacker pointedly asks Potts if he was once a paid consultant to BTG. The Minister admits this, but stresses it has nothing to do with his opposition to the plan.
Sir Humphrey meets with Sir Frank and Sir Ian Whitchurch, Permanent Secretary of the DHSS
. They agree that there is definitely a moral principle involved, but with £4 billion of revenue at stake, morality is a luxury they can ill afford. Sir Humphrey remembers that during Hacker’s time at the DAA, they would both regularly visit events at Lord’s
, Wimbledon
, and Glyndebourne
as guests of BTG. The PM is therefore implicated in receiving a great deal of hospitality at the company’s expense.
Hacker is back in his office and is pleased that everything is going well, but Bernard
asks if he will withdraw his support for Dr Thorn once he gets his tax cut. The PM states that he will simply “rearrange his priorities.” Sir Humphrey joins them and tries his BTG hospitality gambit, but Hacker is unmoved: as he points out, enjoying drinks at the Russian embassy doesn’t make him a spy. Sir Humphrey is now on the ropes and can think of nothing, but when the PM reminds him of his desired tax cut, he begins to take the hint and leaves to make some phone calls.
Meanwhile, Dr Thorn is back to see the PM, brimming with confidence over the amount of support he’s been getting. However, Hacker tells him that the Treasury is causing problems. Thorn counters that he is serious about his proposal and will publicly resign if necessary. While Thorn waits outside, Sir Humphrey comes back in with news that the Treasury can encompass the PM’s tax cut, with the proviso that the anti-smoking policy is shelved. Hacker agrees, but tells him of Thorn’s threat. Sir Humphrey suggests that Thorn be promoted to a vacancy at the Treasury. After Thorn is placated by his rapid elevation (with the promise that his proposal isn’t dropped) the position of Minister for Health is given to Leslie Potts, whose smoker’s cough prevents him from expressing his agreement.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy series Yes, Prime Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
and was first broadcast 23 January 1986.
Plot
Sir Humphrey ApplebyHumphrey Appleby
Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA , is a fictional character from the British television series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. He was played by Sir Nigel Hawthorne. In Yes Minister, he is the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Administrative Affairs...
is meeting with his subordinate Sir Frank Gordon, Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
to the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
. Sir Frank is worried about Jim Hacker’s
James Hacker
James George Hacker, Baron Hacker of Islington, KG, PC, B. Sc. , Hon. D. C. L. was a fictional British politician. He was the Minister of the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs, and later the Prime Minister, in the 1980s British sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister...
proposal to use some of the savings from his “Grand Design” for a £1.5 billion tax cut. They both agree that the whole system of government depends on them controlling the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and the Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
respectively, and ensuring a degree of mistrust between them. Sir Frank points out that the notion of a tax cut is the one thing that unites the politicians and he had great difficulty getting the Chancellor to eventually oppose it. Sir Humphrey advises that low productivity within the economy could be seen to be more important. However, according to Sir Frank it is the fault of the British worker for being “fundamentally lazy". Sir Humphrey then dashes off to catch up with an England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
match.
A drunken Sir Humphrey relaxes in his box at the cricket match, courtesy of the British Tobacco Group. He chats to Gerald, one of BTG’s directors, and asks a favour on behalf of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, which needs more funds. Gerald is happy to oblige and mentions that he happens to be meeting the Minister for Sport later that afternoon. Sir Humphrey asks if Dr Peter Thorn, the Minister for Health, will be attending, but Gerald tells him that he has refused, apparently because he has sided with the anti-smoking lobby
Action on Smoking and Health
Action on Smoking and Health is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups/charities throughout the world which seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaigns for greater restrictions on cigarette and tobacco sales....
.
Sometime later, the PM is in his office, lamenting the Chancellor’s refusal to agree a tax cut. Sir Humphrey explains that the Treasury does not like giving money back out of principle, and he elaborates on this. Traditionally, taxes aren’t raised by measuring the government’s financial needs, but by levying as much as it can before deciding what to spend it on. The Cabinet Secretary
Cabinet Secretary
A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...
leaves as Hacker has a meeting with Dr Thorn. The latter has come up with a radical plan: he wants to progressively eliminate smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
by banning all forms of tobacco advertising and implementing steep tax rises over the next five years. He points out the number of lives lost each year to smoking-related illnesses. The PM sympathises but knows that the tobacco tax raises revenue of £4 billion a year and that the Treasury would dismiss Thorn’s proposal. He can’t support Thorn publicly, but nevertheless can see a way of using his scheme to force the Treasury’s hand. For the time being, Hacker asks the Minister to keep pushing the argument and to make some speeches on it.
Sir Humphrey comes back in to enquire about Hacker’s meeting, and laughs at Thorn’s plan. However, he changes tack when the PM tells of his support for it. Sir Humphrey points out that there is a counter-argument for Thorn’s statistics. If those who die of smoking were to live to an advanced age, then it has been proven that they would cost the Treasury more in terms of pensions and benefit payments than it currently pays out in medical expenses. So in financial terms, he argues, it makes sense that they “continue to die at about the present rate”. He also puts the case for tobacco sponsorship of major sporting events. The PM is coincidentally to meet the Minister for Sport that afternoon, and since he is a member of the tobacco lobby, Hacker is suspicious.
Hacker meets Leslie Potts, the Minister for Sport, at the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. Potts is a smoker himself and has the cough to prove it. He has got wind of Thorn’s paper and warns the PM that if it progresses any further, it’s not just sporting events that will suffer: there are many marginal seat
Marginal seat
A marginal seat, or swing seat, is a constituency held with a particularly small majority in a legislative election, generally conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat....
s with workers in the tobacco industry. Hacker pointedly asks Potts if he was once a paid consultant to BTG. The Minister admits this, but stresses it has nothing to do with his opposition to the plan.
Sir Humphrey meets with Sir Frank and Sir Ian Whitchurch, Permanent Secretary of the DHSS
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Social Services.-History:...
. They agree that there is definitely a moral principle involved, but with £4 billion of revenue at stake, morality is a luxury they can ill afford. Sir Humphrey remembers that during Hacker’s time at the DAA, they would both regularly visit events at Lord’s
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, and Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
as guests of BTG. The PM is therefore implicated in receiving a great deal of hospitality at the company’s expense.
Hacker is back in his office and is pleased that everything is going well, but Bernard
Bernard Woolley
Sir Bernard Woolley GCB is one of the three main fictional characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. He was portrayed by Derek Fowlds.-Character:...
asks if he will withdraw his support for Dr Thorn once he gets his tax cut. The PM states that he will simply “rearrange his priorities.” Sir Humphrey joins them and tries his BTG hospitality gambit, but Hacker is unmoved: as he points out, enjoying drinks at the Russian embassy doesn’t make him a spy. Sir Humphrey is now on the ropes and can think of nothing, but when the PM reminds him of his desired tax cut, he begins to take the hint and leaves to make some phone calls.
Meanwhile, Dr Thorn is back to see the PM, brimming with confidence over the amount of support he’s been getting. However, Hacker tells him that the Treasury is causing problems. Thorn counters that he is serious about his proposal and will publicly resign if necessary. While Thorn waits outside, Sir Humphrey comes back in with news that the Treasury can encompass the PM’s tax cut, with the proviso that the anti-smoking policy is shelved. Hacker agrees, but tells him of Thorn’s threat. Sir Humphrey suggests that Thorn be promoted to a vacancy at the Treasury. After Thorn is placated by his rapid elevation (with the promise that his proposal isn’t dropped) the position of Minister for Health is given to Leslie Potts, whose smoker’s cough prevents him from expressing his agreement.
Episode cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Paul Eddington Paul Eddington Paul Eddington CBE was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s: The Good Life, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:... |
Jim Hacker |
| Nigel Hawthorne Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the... |
Sir Humphrey Appleby |
| Derek Fowlds Derek Fowlds Derek Fowlds is an English actor, known for playing Bernard Woolley in popular British television comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister and Oscar Blaketon in the long-running ITV police drama Heartbeat.... |
Bernard Woolley |
| John Barron John Barron (actor) John Barron was an English actor.-Biography:Born in Marylebone, London, Barron was interested in acting from an early age. For his 18th birthday his godfather paid his entry fee to RADA. After serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, he returned to stage acting... |
Sir Ian Whitchurch |
| Clive Merrison Clive Merrison Clive Merrison is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College.- Television :... |
Dr Peter Thorn |
| Peter Cellier Peter Cellier Peter Cellier is an English actor who has appeared in film, stage and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Sir Frank Gordon in Yes Minister and then Yes, Prime Minister in the 1980s.-Biography:... |
Sir Frank Gordon |
| Bill Wallis Bill Wallis Bill Wallis is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre.... |
Leslie Potts |
| Brian Hawksley | Gerald |