Dispersion versus decentralisation: British location of industry policies and regional development 1945-60

Scott, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1230-9040 (1997) Dispersion versus decentralisation: British location of industry policies and regional development 1945-60. Economy and Society, 26 (4). pp. 579-598. ISSN 1469-5766 doi: 10.1080/03085149700000030

Abstract/Summary

The 1945 Labour government launched two major location of industry intiatives-Development Area plicy, to maintain full employment in Britain's formerly depressed areas, and the decentralization of London's population and industry, partly via the development of eight London New Towns. Conflict between these policies was inevitable. Despite initial safeguards, the Conservative administrations of the 1950s allowed the industrial needs of the London New Towns to take precedence over those of the Development Areas. Furthermore, while the growth-orientated development objectives and strategy of the London New Towns produced a capital-intensive, mutually reinforcing industrial base of high-tech firms, Development Area policy emphasized short-term employment creation, encouraging the growth of low-wage, labour-intensive ‘overspill’ production. These differences in policy objectives and strategy had important consequences for the relative long-term success of the two initiatives.