Introduction

In October 1948, the Labour Party's Sub-Committee on Industries for Nationalisation agreed that the motor industry was unsuitable for nationalisation (Labour Party 1948a, no. 5, p. 2). How and why was this decision made?

As an important industry which occupied a key position in the economy, the motor vehicle industry appeared an obvious candidate for some form of public ownership or control. In 1948 one and a half million people were employed directly and indirectly in the manufacture, selling, maintenance and operation of vehicles, whilst the industry's annual turnover (estimated to be over £500 million) and the amount of raw material it consumed made it one of the five largest industries in the country (Labour Party 1948b, para. 219(1), p. 62). The health of the industry, moreover, had wider repercussions for industry in general, as its products provided transport equipment for industry and in particular for defence since the basic factories of the industry could be expanded at times of international crisis to provide road vehicles, armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft. The industry was also seen to contribute to economic progress and well being through the rapidity and safety with which goods and people could be transported from one place to another. It was with the wide-ranging and important position of the industry in the economy that a consultative report, which provides one of the most comprehensive and balanced surveys of the industry at mid century, was prepared for the Labour Party in May 1948 (Labour Party 1948b).

The starting point was to establish the basic objectives of the industry.