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'Commanding Heights': Nationalisation and the 1940S Attlee Government 49 / 53 II 60 III 66 IV 68 V Durham E-Theses The labour party and nationalisation from Attlee to Wilson, 1945-1968: beyond the commanding heights Tookey, Mark Edward How to cite: Tookey, Mark Edward (2000) The labour party and nationalisation from Attlee to Wilson, 1945-1968: beyond the commanding heights, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4522/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract The 1964-70 Wilson government has been the subject of intense criticism, yet limited academic study. Attention has focused primarily on its failure to achieve any breakthrough in the application of 'white heat' technology. The effect has been that many important aspects of the government's industrial policies have been ignored. In particular, its commitment to public ownership has received little consideration, despite appearing anomalous compared with the nationalisations of the preceding (and succeeding) Labour governments. Between 1964 and 1970, only iron and steel was brought into public ownership, and that was primarily 'unfinished business' from 1945-51. This thesis determines why the 1964-70 government was so reluctant to use public ownership and, specifically, nationalisation. Firstly, the relationship between public ownership and the Labour party in 1964 is examined. The Attlee government's experiences with nationalisation and the revision of the party's programme during the 1950s are considered, along with the contribution which Wilson made to that revision. The thesis contends that, by 1964, the party's commitment to public ownership was genuinely different from that in 1945. However, it further asserts that the economic analysis on which it was based had already become outdated by 1964, and encumbered the government with an inappropriate ideological framework. Secondly, the recent release of official papers has made possible a detailed consideration of the 1964-70 government's performance. They reveal that the government pursued a more active public ownership policy than is normally considered by historians. In shipbuilding and aerospace partial nationalisations were undertaken, while more generally interventionist frameworks were established. This thesis concludes that such policies were fatally undermined by the over-commitment of Wilson to sterling parity. Coupled with the shortcomings of the party's ideological framework, this explains both why the 1964-70 government's policies appear anomalous, and why the government continues to be severely criticised. The Labour party and nationalisation from Attlee to Wilson, 1945-1968: Beyond the commanding heights Mark Edward Tookey The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including Electronic and the Internet, without the author's prior written consent. All information derived from this thesij must be acknowledged appropriately. This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in History at the University of Durham. The research contained here within was conducted in the Department of History, University of Durham. December, 2000 Ill Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests solely with the author. No quotation from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author and information derived from it should be acknowledged. © Mark Tookey (2000). IV Table of Contents Acknowledgements vi Table of Abbreviations and Conventions viii Introduction 1 / 7 II 16 Chapter One. Nationalisation and the Labour party: The creation of an industrial policy..... 23 / 25 II 28 III 30 IV 34 V. 39 VI 44 Chapter Two. The 'Commanding Heights': Nationalisation and the 1940s Attlee government 49 / 53 II 60 III 66 IV 68 V. 76 VI 84 Chapter Three. Revisionism or rhetoric?: The changing nature of the Labour party's industrial policy from Attlee to Wilson 87 / 95 II 98 III 101 IV 103 V 106 VI 112 VII 115 Chapter Four. Constraints on the Wilson government's economic policies: Unavoidable or self-imposed? 125 / 128 II 132 III 136 IV 138 V. 146 VI 152 VII 155 Chapter Five. The renationalisation of the iron and steel industry: Unfinished business from the 'commanding heights'? 160 / 162 II 165 III 172 IV 180 V. 182 Chapter Six. 'Revisionism' in the Wilson government's industrial policies?: Intervention in the computing, shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing industries 187 / 188 II 194 III 196 IV 203 V. 211 VI 213 VII 219 Chapter Seven. Establishing revisionist frameworks for intervention?: The Industrial Reorganisation Corporation (IRC) and the Industrial Expansion Act. 223 / 226 II 228 III 237 IV 242 V. 246 Conclusion 252 Bibliography 266 VI Acknowledgements A work of this nature can never be considered to have been produced by its author completely 'alone'. A large number of individuals and organisations have provided invaluable support throughout the course of my studies. Although it can only provide a partial reflection of the gratitude which I would like to offer to them all, I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank those who have helped me over the last four years. Thanks must firstly go to the Department of History at the University of Durham for their continued commitment to my academic development since I joined them in October 1993. In particular, my two supervisors, Professors Ranald Michie and Philip Williamson, have supported me and guided me to standards far beyond those I could have attained on my own. The errors that remain in the work are, of course, my responsibility and not theirs. I hope only that the combination of political and economic interests which they have instilled in me is reflected in the finished thesis. I would also like to thank the office staff, Wendy, Tracy and Sue for their administrative help (and patience with the ability of Prof Michie and I to misplace vital forms on a regular basis!). In addition to such help, the sponsorship and support of the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Board has been invaluable. Their preparedness to tolerate long research trips to the Public Record Office in London has been greatly appreciated. During my time at the Record Office I received essential assistance from numerous research room staff and I would like to thank them all, and Dr. Keith Bartlett in particular. Back in Durham, I am grateful to the officers of St. Aidan's vn College for supporting me through their Graduate Studentship programme, especially Robert Williams and Alan Yarwood. In general, I have found the college atmosphere offered by the Senior Common Room in St. Aidan's to be a wonderful location in which to undertake study. The friendships I have formed there are too numerous to mention, but the 'cricket team' - Alan, Rich, Mike, Marcus and Phil - deserve especial mention, along with Flo and Flo and last, but by no means least, my College Tutor, Dr. James Coleman. Finally, thanks have to be expressed to my parents, without whose continual support (and not just financial!) I would not have been able to complete my studies, and Anna Lisa, who has been my companion throughout. Even though she has had more than enough academic work of her own to occupy her time, she has never ceased to find the time to provide encouragement and support when it was needed. It is to her that this thesis is dedicated. vni Table of Abbreviations and Conventions The following abbreviations are used in the thesis: 1. BISF - British Iron and Steel Federation. 2. CBI - Confederation of British Industry. 3. DEA - Department of Economic Affairs. 4. EFT A - European Free Trade Area. 5. FBI - Federation of British Industry. 6. GATT - General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs. 7. IRC - Industrial Reorganisation Corporation. 8. LPACR - Labour party Annual Conference Reports. 9. MinTech - Ministry of Technology. 10. NEC - National Executive Committee of the Labour party. 11. NEDC - National Economic Development Council. 12. NRDC - National Research and Development Corporation. 13. NUM - National Union of Mineworkers. 14. NUR - National Union of Railwaymen. 15. PRO - Public Record Office, Kew, London. 16. TGWU - Transport and General Workers Union. 17. TUC - Trades Union Conference. The following conventions are used in this thesis: 1. The place of publication for published works is London unless otherwise indicated. 2. Governments are referred to in the singular form, e.g. 'the Wilson government' and 'the Attlee government', even if they covered two or more parliaments. 3. In footnotes, published diaries are described by reference only to the author, volume number (if appropriate), page and date, e.g. Grossman, Diaries, ii, p. 42 (19/9/66). 4. In footnotes, papers from the Public Record Office are described without the prefix PRO. All references beginning with AVIA, BT, CAB, EW, FV, PREM and POWE, are documents in the Public Record Office. Introduction The twentieth century has been described by Seldon and Ball as the 'Conservative century'.' It cannot be denied that the Conservative party was more successful in electoral terms and the length of its period in government between 1900 and 1997 greater than any other British political party. Yet a good case can be made for claiming that the last century was 'Labour's century'.^ For while its periods of office were infrequent, and though it was not until 1945 that the party obtained an overall parliamentary majority, from the perspective of the twenty-first century the impact of the Labour party in government has been significant.
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