The History of England

from Celts through 20th century

Archives for the ‘Economy’ Category

A story told by a British farmer

Category: Economy

The corn harvest ofBritainis now in full swing: in the South it is nearing completion; in the North, just starting. With the crops now dead ripe, every hour of dry weather must be seized and the combine harvesters work late into and through the night. The wet spells must be turned to ac­count, drying wet […]



INDUSTRY

Category: Economy

The United Kingdom was the first country in the world to become highly industrialised. Eleven people work in min­ing, manufacturing and building for every one in agricul­ture. The United Kingdomis one of the world’s largest ex­porters of manufactured goods per head of population and the range of its industrial manufactures reflects its position as one […]



“Depressed” and “prosperous” areas in England

Category: Economy

Certain parts ofBritain, known at various times as Spe­cial Areas, Development Areas, Development Districts, etc., have been recognised as being persistently and seriously be­low the national level in economic activity and development. But this is only part of the picture. The very names used are symptomatic of a one-sided approach. The truth is that the […]



NATIONALISATION OF INDUSTRIES AFTER WORLD WAR II

Category: Economy

Nationalisation by itself is not socialism but nationally owned industries operated on the basis of service to the com­munity and not profit for big business can be an important step on the road to socialism. When nationalisation was brought in by the Labour Gov­ernment it was widely welcomed. Why, then, is there such disappointment with […]



Private monopolies bleed the nationalised industries

Category: Economy

Government price policy (operated by Labour and Tory alike) was the main instrument enabling the private monopo­lies to bleed the nationalised industries. There was no re­striction on the prices charged by private industry which has alleged to aim at reaching a profit of from 15 to 20 per cent on net assets. If any firm […]