By contrast, Clegg's agreed role within the Coalition puts him at the centre of power as far as constitutional matters are concerned. Having lost the referendum on the Alternative Vote, Clegg retains a hope of forcing constitutional changes which will assure his party a blocking power over British politics in the future. This will happen if the projected reforms of the House of Lords — to be elected by proportional representation according to the Coalition Agreement-reach the statute book. It is to Clegg that the Committee on Standards in Public Life answers; hence the slant of the report on party funding. There may be a temptation for Team Cameron to rely on the reluctance of current members of the House of Lords to vote for their own demise. But it is dangerous to rely on members of the Lords themselves to block the projected reform. On a related topic,  a recent posting on the website of the Constitution Unit at University College London proclaims proudly that the Liberal Democrats have been granted an extra £500,000 pounds worth of special advisers (Spads) as the result of a research project carried out by the unit with funding from the Nuffield Foundation. The UCL unit is itself an influential part of the civil service-Lib Dem nexus.

The behaviour of Liam Fox's informal adviser Adam Werrity was a godsend to the civil service. It permitted the Cabinet Secretary to preach to Conservative ministers, some of whom have turned to unofficial advisers because they have been unable to trust their officials and have had too few Spads. The paradox is that the Cabinet Secretary has been no slouch in consulting outsiders — especially at the Institute for Government and the Constitution Unit — on politically sensitive matters. If anyone has been stretching the limits of constitutional propriety, some would argue it has been O'Donnell himself. O'Donnell quietly published the Cabinet Manual — his pet constitutional reform project formulated in consultation with these two outside bodies — when Conservative ministers were feeling bruised by the Defence Secretary's resignation over Werrity. Margaret Thatcher's former adviser, Lord Powell, went as far as to report to the Lords Constitution Committee the view that the Cabinet Manual was, in part, a "civil service power grab". O'Donnell's stated preference in 2010 for a coalition came in for particular criticism.  

There is, of course, the underlying question of why so many top civil servants are closer to Clegg than to Cameron and why they would be happier with a Lib-Lab coalition. The answer is partly cultural. Over a considerable period of time, the Conservatives have tended to be uninterested in matters of constitutional reform and have unwisely failed to participate in intellectual discussions within think-tanks and universities. There is a broader and deeper problem. Political parties need roots. After the Second World War, the Tory Party not only had a far higher membership than Labour, it enjoyed widespread support within key social institutions. The Church of England was known as "the Conservative Party at prayer" — difficult to imagine today. Judges tended to express traditional views. During the Thatcher era, the Tories enjoyed prolonged political success but neglected their roots. The consequences are seen today. Another reason why civil servants tend to be hostile to the Conservatives is because they are part of the state apparatus and have an institutional interest in big government (whether in the UK or EU).

Whatever the reason, Cameron cannot afford to surrender the Whitehall machine either to the civil service or to Nick Clegg.