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THE MANAGBMENT of RECONSTRUCTION with Particular Reference to the House Building Programme 1942-9

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THE MANAGBMENT of RECONSTRUCTION with Particular Reference to the House Building Programme 1942-9 University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 1982 THE MANAGBMENT OF RECONSTRUCTION with particular reference to the house building programme 1942-9 Gilliatt, Stephen Edward http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/2148 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. THE MANAGBMENT OF RECONSTRUCTION with particular reference to the housebuilding programme 1942-9. Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Sussex for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Stephen Edward Gilliatt B,A.(Hons.) November 1982. PLYMOUTH POIVTECHNIC I :B:tAaY Accn 5500116 Class. No. T 3^3-^ C-iL Cr.r.t! Stephen E. Gilliatt : The Management of Reconstruction with particular reference to the housebuilding programme 1942-9. ABSTRACT. Despite extensive writing on Social Democracy in Britain, largely in the form of histories of the Labour Party and marxist state theory, few studies have undertaken, in depth, an empirical analysis of a particular period of social democracy as government, and even fewer using the extensive documentation available in the Public Archives. Theories of the role of the state and those that manage it are often based on abstract, essentially deductive reasoning and over-influenced by a hostile attitude to their object of analysis. Such approaches have resulted in a neglect of the scope for discretionary behaviour in the management of the capitalist state by reducing it to that required for system maintenance. The aim of this thesis has been to examine the nature of any such revealed discretion by opening up and 'dissecting' the black box of policymaking through a detailed examination of a government programme considered vital to the continuing relationship between politicians and the labour movement. Analysis was made of attempts to insulate and protect the programme from forces and interests that could be expected, on a purely deductive reading, to interfere with its success. Crucial in this respect was the way in which policies or programmes were related in an environment, often conceived as one where imperatives* stemming from the constraints of the international market, reduce or remove the degree of discretion and compel adjustment in domestic policy. The closing chapters outlined the key features of the discretionary behaviour apprehended in the study- Much of the conjunctural possibility of social democratic management was seen to lie in a series of 'policy spaces' achieved through a mix of admin• istrative control and negotiation. Some of the contradictions and resulting costs of such a strategy were also revealed: the short term horizon in investment planning, known euphemistically at the time as 'make do and mend", leading to a neglect of long run and progressive accumulation. PREFACE I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Alan Cawson and Dr. Keith Middlemas for all the help and advice they have contributed. Other members of the Department of Comparative Political Studies particularly Teddy Brett were also kind enough to offer criticisms and suggestions during formal seminars and informal discussions and this proved an important stimulus. Much of the primary source material for this thesis has been derived from the archives of the Public Record Office. I should like to acknowledge the friendly and diligent support of the staff who made every effort to maiximize the use of my time at Kew. The library staff at Sussex University also offered invaluable assistance in the pursuit of incomplete and often obscure references. From September 1979 I have been a member of the Department of Social and Political Studies at Plymouth Polytechnic and I am grateful for the support of colleagues in allowing me to complete this thesis. My parents have also recently offered much needed encouragement without which the completion date would have been further delayed. Special thanks must go to my ex-wife Valerie whose patience and understanding in the early stages of this enterprise will not be forgotten. The manuscript was typed by Cynthia Dunn whose forebearance and skill has enabled references to be presented in the preferred form. Unfortunately any mistakes which remain are my responsibili ty. TABLE OF CONTENTS page no. CHAPTER I. The Framework for Analysis. 6. - 34 CHAPTER II. The Acceptance of Social 35 - 74 Reconstruction. CHAPTER III Reconstruction and the determination 75 - 153 of Priorities - formation of the Housing Programme. CHAPTER IV The Setting of Constraints - 154 208 Reconstruction and the Debate on Trade. CHAPTER V. Planning and Co-ordination - 209 - 261 Machinery and Assumptions. CHAPTER VI. The Convertibility Crisis. 262 294 CHAPTER VII. Adjusting the Cuts* 295 352 CHAPTER VIII The Placing of Investment. 353 388 CHAPTER IX. Social Democracy and the Management 389 426 of the State : A Conclusion. APPENDIX I Number of Houses completed in 427 England and Wales between 1st January 1919 and 31st March 1940. APPENDIX II Number of New Permanent Dwellings, 428 those provided by means other than new building and temporary prefabricated houses provided in Great Britain from 1945 to 1952. APPENDIX III U.K. Balance of Payments 1946-51. 429 BIBLIOGRAPHY 430 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations occur in the text and in source material detailed in references. CAB Cabinet Papers and minutes of Cabinet meetings and prefix for Cabinet Committees. GMND Commaind Papers of H.M. Government. ECA European Co-operation Administration of the United States. EPB Economic Planning Board. EWO Essential Work Order. FBI Federation of British Industries. H.C. DEB House of Commons Debates (Hansard). HLG Papers of the Ministry of Health (later Ministry of Housing and Local Government). IMF International Monetary Fund. INF Papers of the Ministry of Information. LP Lord President's Committee (of the Cabinet). LPCR Labour Party Conference Reports. MEP Ministerial Committee on Economic Planning (of the Cabinet). NEC National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. NEBTE National Federation of Building Trade Employers. NFRHB National Federation of Registered Housebuilde r s. NHS National Health Service. PLP Parliamentary Labour Party PRO Public Records Office. S.C- Official Steering Committee on Economic Development LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS continued T Treasury Papers. TUC Trade Union Congress (and by extension to its General Council). WORKS Papers of the Ministry of Works. TABLES page no. 1. Available building labour force : planned Allocation of building work - Year 1. 105 2. Demands and Planned ceilings for labour in key building sectors^ March 1947. 257 3. Gross Investment in the U.K. for 1948. 321 4. Estimated Gross Investment in Plant, Machinery and Vehicles for 1948. 325 5. Specialized Plant and Machinery Production for 1948. 325 6. Estimated Scale of required Investment. 366 7. Estimated Distribution of Gross Fixed Investment in the U.K. 1947-9, (principal sectors). 371 8. Estimates of Total Resources Available for use at Home 1937-48. 373 9. Analysis of Total Investment at 1947 factor cost. 374 10. Estimates of Net Investment 1946-50 at prices of 1945/6. 376 FIGURES 1. Distribution of the building labour force. 103 CHAPTER I. The Framework for Analysis IiNTRODUCTION This research is devoted to an investigation of the planning and execution of British post war social and economic recon• struction, with particular reference to the housebuilding programme up to 1949. It concentrates on central government's allocation and control of resources in a period when equipped with a set of administrative powers, and an economic theory inherited from and tested in the war and retained for the peace. As a formative part of its history, this post war experience will contribute towards an understanding of the characteristic features of social democratic management. While being aware that this period possesses unique features absent or present in lesser degrees the further one moves from the 1940's, it is judged by the writer that, concentrated in these years is a sufficient aggregation of different problems auid policy making responses to enable an evaluation of the nature of that management. The focus on housing results from the apparent duality in social democratic practice where allegiance to constituency results in the construction of social programmes (the micro level), while at the same time attempting to influence the totality of relations known as the economy (the macrolevel). Housebuilding is judged to be especially revealing insofar as it illustrates the conflict resulting from interdependencies between the two sectors of policy making and thus provides significant material for an analysis of the allocative questions that con• stitute major problems for social democracy. 8 SECTION I:BRITISH SOCIAL DEMOCRACY;THE EXISTING ANALYSIS Much of the existing literature on British sociaLL democracy centres on Party and faction and lacks detailed analysis of what is done with government office. A large part of it has under• taken the discovery of basic antecedents. There are studies which have looked at the integration of Labour into an already institutionalized Party system. The development begins
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