The politics of industrial change: government involvement in the U.K. shipbuilding industry 1959-73

Abstract

This study uses a policy analysis approach to examine the development of government policy towards the UK shipbuilding industry in the period 1959-73 as a case study of government involvement in an industry undergoing change. The focus is primarily at the UK level and policy towards individual yards is considered within this national context.
In addition to examining the formulation of policies, the study analyses the political aspects of implementing them. After describing the main influences on the industry and outlining government policy before 1959, the study discusses in detail the development of government policy between 1959 to 1973. A short chapter describes subsequent developments up to the introduction of legislation to nationalise the industry. The role of information in the policy process relevant to shipbuilding and the institutional framework of government policy are analysed in detail. The concluding chapter discusses the effect of shipbuilding policy on relationships between government and industry, the extent to which governments can make an industry competitive, the relevance of models of policy making and the general implications of the study for government involvement in industrial change.