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Description
When the Conservative Party came to power in 1970 they made it clear that they proposed to pursue a policy of non-intervention in industry; firms that were weak and inefficient were not to expect g...overnment support. Within two years this policy was reversed and the government was bailing out a variety of large firms from shipbuilding to computers. This programme traces the evolution of this change and asks was there a U-turn? If so, why? Government ministers of the period, including Peter Walker, David Howell, Nicholas Ridley, John Davies and Christopher Chataway, give their account of what happened. Some of them supported Prime Minister Heath's change of policy, despite embarrassment; at least one was sacked (Nicholas Ridley) because of opposition to it.
When the Conservative Party came to power in 1970 they made it clear that they proposed to pursue a policy of non-intervention in industry; firms that were weak and inefficient were not to expect g...overnment support. Within two years this policy was reversed and the government was bailing out a variety of large firms from shipbuilding to computers. This programme traces the evolution of this change and asks was there a U-turn? If so, why? Government ministers of the period, including Peter Walker, David Howell, Nicholas Ridley, John Davies and Christopher Chataway, give their account of what happened. Some of them supported Prime Minister Heath's change of policy, despite embarrassment; at least one was sacked (Nicholas Ridley) because of opposition to it.
| Module code and title: | D203, Decision making in Britain |
|---|---|
| Item code: | D203; 08; 1976 |
| First transmission date: | 20-06-1976 |
| Published: | 1976 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:23:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Chris Cuthbertson |
| Contributors: | John Davies; David Howell; Nicholas Ridley; Peter Walker; Brian Widlake |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Change; Evolution; Non-intervention in industry |
| Footage description: | Shot of Edward Heath at Tory Party conference of 1966 talking about free enterprise. Heath outside No.10 after 1970 election win. Widlake comments. Excerpt from speech by Tony Barber at Tory Conference 1970 on government spending. John Davies at same conference - from his lame duck speech. Howell outlines Tory policy on government intervention, expenditure and the tax climate. Peter Walker describes his view on the policies of intervention and the over-emphasis on the 'lame duck' philosophy. Davies looks at the general view on intervention. Brian Widlake looks at all the measures etc. which reveal Tory policy at the time. Davies discusses his attitude on becoming Trade and Industry Secretary and how he saw the problem of dealing with firms in financial difficulties. Widlake lists some of the areas in trouble: computer industry, Rolls Royce and shipbuilding. Nicholas Ridley, an Industry minister at the time, outlines Tory thinking on industrial policy during the 1960s. He comments that there was no real policy statement on intervention, rather on attitude. Chataway, Minister for Industrial Development, also looks at policies of intervention. He feels that Tory ideas have been oversimplified and that practical situations alter hard doctrines. He looks at the Rights of the Industry Bill of 1972. Ridley, who left the government in 1972, describes why he opposed this change in industrial policy. Howell reviews the whole history of the Government's position, and whether there was ever a total non-interventionist policy. Again he stresses that practical problems change established positions. Credits. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT/72213 |
| Production number: | 00525_2275 |
| Videofinder number: | 3406 |
| Available to public: | no |
