Ordeal by Planning in the Sixties

Abstract

The second period of planning, beginning under a Conservative Government in 1961, has run its course through two Labour Governments to the present day. It is possible to trace with some accuracy the resurgence of central economic planning and indicate at least its proximate causes. The ball seems to have been set rolling by the Federation of British Industries itself.¹ At the end of 1960, the Federation held its annual meeting at Brighton, the central topic of discussion being ‘The Next Five Years’. The conference accepted the report of one of its study groups which claimed that there was

room for a more conscious attempt to assess plans and demands in particular industries for five or even ten years ahead.