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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Rosevear, Stephen Title: Regional policy and the British motor vehicle industry 1945-64 : a study in selective intervention and the economics of industrial location. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Regional policy and the British motor vehicle industry 1945-64: a study in selective intervention and the economics of industrial location Stephen Rosevear A thesis submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Ph.D. in the Faculty of Arts, Department of Historical Studies, November 1998. Abstract This thesis examines the wartime planning and postwar administration of regional policy and its relationship with the British motor industiy. It presents a three part analysis, based on government papers and business records. Part One consists of two chapters which explore the intellectual and industrial context of UK regional policy. Chapter Two focuses on the nature and character of potential policy responses. Chapter Three centres on the motor industry, and explains the economic importance of the sector. Part Two deals with policy execution. It covers the period from 1945 to 1964, and examines the political and administrative background to intervention. It argues that the extent and radicalism of British regional policy from 1945-51 has been exaggerated, and suggests that a fundamental revolution in intervention did not occur until the 1 960s. This revolution centred on the Board of Trade's acceptance of coercion as a legitimate policy tool. The discussion uses examples from the motor industry to illustrate policy evolution, and deals with a wave of expansion which saw new factories established in Development Areas during 1960. Part Three attempts to analyse the effects of this relocation on motor finns. The analysis suggests that relocation increased production costs, although there was compensation through regional development incentives and lower labour costs. It is suggested that previous studies have underestimated the role of financial incentives in redressing transport costs. Finally, Chapter Eight examines labour relations in the new plants. It finds that Development Areas were more prone to strikes than core manufacturing regions. An important contributing factor was management's experiments with new forms of work discipline. While recogrnsing that there was a regional element involved in disruption, the analysis argues that labour difficulties should be reinterpreted as part of an industry-wide crisis affecting organisational change. 2 Acknowledgements Many people have contributed to this project. I would not have been able to begin my research without the generous backing of a University of Bristol postgraduate scholarship. Vital financial support was also given by a grant from William Ashworth's bequest to Bristol University, and monies from the Michael Postan travel scholarship. Acknowledgements are also due to the archivists and librarians who made data collection such a pleasure. In particular I would like to thank Richard Storey and his staff at the Modern Record Centre, the hard-pressed workers at the Public Record Office in Kew and their colleagues at the Scottish Record Office in Edinburgh. In all cases, their patience was exemplary. I have also benefited from the advice and comments of many friends, conference delegates and students. Some of my greatest debts are owed to Professor Bernard Alford, Steve Broadberry, Keith Cowling, Nick Crafts, Peter Law, Rodney Lowe, Carlo Morrelli, Graham Robson, Neil Rollings, Peter Scott, Nick Tiratsoo and Jim Tomlinson, who all offered valuable comments. Finally, I owe a special thanks to my advisor, Roger Middleton. Throughout the research he offered the encouragement and support which kept my project alive. His comments were always helpful, and he struck the right balance between encouragement and hard-edged criticism. 3 Author's Declaration This is to confirm that this thesis is the author's own work completed under the supervision of the Department of Historical Studies, University of Bristol. The views expressed in the dissertation are the views of the author, and in no way reflect the views of the University of Bristol. Stephen Rosevear 4 Contents List of Figures 8 List of Tables 9 Abbreviations 11 1 INTRODUCTION 12 1.1 Research Issues 12 1.2 The British 'Regional Problem' 13 1.3 Structure of the Study 18 1.4 Implications 23 PART I REGIONAL POLICY CONTEXT 25 2 The Intellectual Context 26 2.1 Introduction 26 2.2 Two Concepts of Regional Policy 26 2.3 Regional Policy Tools 33 2.4 British Regional Policy: a comparative analysis 38 2.5 Conclusion 47 3 The Industrial Context 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 The Economic Significance of the Motor Industry 49 3.3 Long Run Trends 58 3.4 Demand Factors 69 3.5 Supply Factors 75 3.6 Conclusion 82 PART IL REGIONAL POLICY EXECUTION 83 4 Labour's Regional Policy 1945-51: a Question of 84 Efficiency 4.1 Introduction 84 4.2 Reviewing Policy 85 4.3 Applying Policy (1) 1945-49 90 4.4 Applying Policy (2) 1949-51 106 4.5 Policy Developments 112 4.6 Conclusion 114 5 5 Conservative Regional Policy 1951-58: a Question of Ideology 116 5.1 Introduction 116 5.2 Reviewing Policy 117 5.3 Applying Policy 125 5.4 Policy Developments 138 5.5 Conclusion 141 6 Conservative Regional Policy 1959-64: a Question of 142 Expediency 6.1 Introduction 142 6.2 Reviewing Policy 143 6.3 Applying Policy 156 6.4 Policy Developments 185 6.5 Conclusion 191 PART ifi REGIONAL POLICY ASSESSMENT 193 7 Motor Industry Cost Analysis 194 7.1 Introduction 194 7.2 Industry Cost Structure 195 7.3 Spatial Cost Profile 197 7.4 Output Calculations 202 7.5 Transportation and Related Costs 206 7.6 Labour Costs 216 7.7 Financial Incentives 222 7.8 Summary 227 8 Labour and Industrial Location 231 8.1 Introduction 231 8.2 The Labour Function (1) Quality 232 8.3 The Labour Function (2) Strikes 242 8.4 The Costs of Industrial Action 256 8.5 Towards an Explanation 263 8.6 Conclusion 272 9 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 273 9.1 Introduction 273 9.2 Industry and the State 273 9.3 Motives and Processes 274 9.4 Expectations 275 6 9.5 The Right Sites? 276 9.6 Consequences 277 9.7 Reflections 277 Appendix - British Motor Industry Statistics 279 Al .1 Introduction 279 Manuscript References 297 Conservative Party Archives 297 Modern Record Centre 297 Public Record Office 299 Scottish Record Office 306 Bibliography 308 7 List of Figures - 1.1 British Motor Assembly Plants, 1965 21 29 2.1 Pred's Behavioural Matrix 3.1 Gross Output of the Motor Industry as a Percentage of Total 51 Manufacturing Output 3.2 Capital Expenditure in the Motor Industry as a Percentage of Capital Expenditure in Manufacturing Industry 52 55 3.3 Employment and the Motor Industry 58 3.4 UK Motor Vehicle Production, 1908-9 1 Car Production by Principal Nations, 1940-92 64 3.5 3.6 Variations from the Long Term Trend Growth of New Registrations, 1949-70 71 4.1 Distribution of Industry Committee Structure, 1947 94 105 4.2 Committee on Research into Industrial Location 5.1 Industrial and Manufacturing Division 6: Internal Organisation, 1952 139 Monthly Regional Unemployment Rates, 1956-60 144 6.1 Factory Building Approvals, 1952-65 154 6.2 6.3 Percentage of Building Projects Refused an IDC in the South East Region, 1956-77 158 6.4 Profile of Average Refused Project, 1956-76 158 7.1 Spatial Cost Profile 198 199 7.2 Spatial Cost Curve 248 8.1 Strike Frequency, Motor Vehicles, 1946-59 8.2 Days Lost per 1,000 Workers, Scottish and British Industry, 249 1955-59 8.3 Days Lost Per Employee: Percentage Deviation from 252 Traditional Manufacturing Regions List of Tables 1.1 Regional Unemployment Rates, 1929-88 14 2.1 Microeconomic Regional Policy Tools 36 2.2 The Main Instruments in UK Regional Policy, 1928-83 42 3.1 Requirements per £100 of Final Output by the Motor and Cycle Industry, 1954 53 3.2 Employment in the Merseyside Motor Industry, 1984 56 3.3 Model 'T' - Production and (Current) Prices, 1908-14 60 3.4 Motor Industry Profile, 1922-24 65 3.5 British Vehicle Production Shares, 1929, 1939 65 3.6 Strike Activity in Motor Manufacturing, 1949-73 78 4.1 The Board of Trade's Postwar Policy Portfolio 89 4.2 Postwar Building in the Development Areas 91 4.3 Shadow Factory Employment in Coventry, August 1943 97 4.4 The Board