Conclusion: Learning About Ministerial Leadership

What has looking at ministerial practicePractice taught us about ministerial leadership, how it is performed, within what structures of powerPower relations, and the myths that sustain it? This chapter will attempt to draw together the learning from different chapters, the limitations of the book, posing a question which perhaps goes beyond the scope of this book overall—whether the minister-official relationship can survive in any recognisable form without legislative underpinning—the distinctive contribution I claim the book has made, and the potential for further research.