De haut en bas

A continuation in verse of the statement, ‘The gentleman in Whitehall knows better…’

The gentleman in Whitehall knows better than to say

Precisely what he thinks of this or that;

Indeed, from top to bottom, the accepted Whitehall way

Is to keep one’s thoughts beneath one’s bowler hat.

A shrewd ‘Sir Humphrey’ wins the day

By saying what he has to say

In that adroit, convincing way

Which so befits the polished bureaucrat.

The gentleman in Whitehall is the politician’s bane,

A crafty, cunning, calculating foe,

A servant, civil seemingly, and charming in the main

But full of guile and too much in the know.

He understands how Whitehall ticks

And knows exactly how to fix

What matters most in politics –

The preservation of the status quo.