Some Economic Benefits of the Reforms

Abstract

Parliament legislates, but some statutes quickly become dead letters while others have a significant and immediate effect on social and economic behaviour. In chapter 6 it was shown that the Trade Union Act 1984 quickly led to pre-strike and other ballots becoming universal. But how have the Tory employment reforms affected the economy? Is it possible to detect a positive connection between the reforms and the major improvement in labour productivity which occurred in the 1980s? In this chapter it will be argued that such a connection did exist, and the way in which legislative and policy changes have revolutionised working practices in three sectors of the economy, namely coal-mining, the national newspapers and the docks, will be examined. Also, the government’s attempt to reform the legal profession will be assessed.

For many years now, newspapers have been produced in conditions which combined a protection racket with a lunatic asylum. Bernard Levin, The Times, 3 February 1986