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Companies, corporations and co-operation

Cars on the production line at the Talbot factory in London in the 1930s.

Cars on the production line at the Talbot factory in London in the 1930s.
©TopFoto

In the early 1920s, the British economy was heavily committed to the older staple products, such as coal, iron and steel and shipbuilding. Structural change was slow and Britain was losing its competitive edge. Manufacturing output reached an all-time low during the depression of 1929-1932 but recovered thereafter.

Related documents

Interwar trends

Committee on Industry and Trade. The Balfour Committee Report. 17 April 1929 (PDF, 4.105 MB)

Committee on Industry and Trade. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 27 March 1929 (PDF, 8.870MB)

Report of the Macmillan Committee on Finance and Industry. Note by the Secretary. 27 June 1931 (PDF, 50.929MB)

Established industries

Future Transport Policy. Memorandum by the Minister of Transport.12 May 1920 (PDF, 8.400 MB)

Transport Policy: Railways. 7 June 1920 (PDF, 10.178 MB)

Railways Bill. Memorandum for the Cabinet by the Minister of Transport. 21 March 1921 (PDF, 18.291MB)

Iron and Steel Trade Reorganisation. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 10 April 1931 (PDF, 0.997 MB)

Reorganisation of the Iron and Steel Industry. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 31 March 1933 (PDF, 6.998 MB)

The Iron and Steel Industry. 5 April 1933 (PDF, 2.966MB)

Cotton Spinning Redundancy Scheme. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 21 January 1935 (PDF, 0.724 MB)

Cotton Spinning Redundancy Scheme. 30 January 1935 (PDF, 4.452MB)

Cotton Spinning Redundancy Scheme. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 7 March 1935 (PDF, 0.565 MB)

The Cotton Spinning Redundancy Scheme. 13 March 1935 (PDF, 4.073MB)

Reorganisation in the Cotton Industry. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 7 July 1937 (PDF, 0.908 MB)

New industries

Report of the Committee appointed to Review the National Problem of the Supply of Electrical Energy. 25 May 1925 (PDF, 13.556 MB)

Electrical Development. 29 July 1925 (PDF, 3.864MB)

Electrical Development Committee. Interim Report. 24 July 1925 (PDF, 0.887MB)

Electrical Development. 22 December 1925 (PDF, 1.076MB)

Electrical Development Committee. Memorandum by the Attorney General. 21 December 1925 (PDF, 7.229 MB)

"London Transport Passenger Bill, 1931. Memorandum by Minister of Transport. 22 September 1931" (PDF, 1.406 MB)

London Transport Passenger Bill. Memorandum by the Minister of Transport. 16 November 1931 (PDF, 6.381 MB)

London Passenger Transport Bill. Memorandum by the Minister of Transport. 24 June 1932 (PDF, 0.384 MB)

London Passenger Transport Bill. Memorandum by the Minister of Transport. 8 July 1932 (PDF, 0.986 MB)

Strategic industry and tariff protection

Safeguarding of Industries Bill. 7 March 1921 (PDF, 1.489MB)

Safeguarding of Industries Bill. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 29 December 1920 (PDF, 6.268MB)

Safeguarding of Industries Bill. Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade. 25 February 1921 (PDF, 4.206MB)

Safeguarding of Industries Bill. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for India. 5 March 1921 (PDF, 0.472MB)

Import of Foreign Goods. Note by the President of the Board of Trade. 19 September 1931 (PDF, 0.418 MB)

Import Duties Bill. Note by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 28 January 1932 (PDF, 2.396MB)

Import Duties. Note by the Secretary. 21 April 1932 (PDF, 0.704 MB)

Search using Rationalisation British Overseas Airways Corporation Safeguarding of Industries Act

Further reading

Middleton, R., Government Versus the Market: the Growth of the Public Sector, Economic Manageement and British Economic Performance, c. 1890-1979 (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1996)
Eichengreen, B., The British Economy between the Wars In Floud, R. and Johnson, P. Eds., The Economic History of Britain since 1700, Vol. 3 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994)
Hannah, L., The Rise of the Corporate Economy ( London: Methuen, 1983)

Content

Companies, corporations and co-operation
Interwar industrial policy
New industry and strategy

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