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The Failure of the Heath Government pp 37–54Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The U-Turn over industry policy

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Abstract

One of the tenets of Conservative philosophy on returning to power in 1970 was that less government interference with market forces would help to restore competition and profitability to British industry after the years of inefficient socialist planning and indiscriminately wasteful subsidies. The 1970 manifesto stated that:

Competitive free enterprise ensures choice for the consumer. Profitable free enterprise provides the resources for both capital investment and higher wages. We will pursue a vigorous competition policy. We will check any abuse of dominant power or monopoly, strengthening and reforming the machinery which exists.

Finally once a decision is made, once a policy is established, the Prime Minister and his colleagues should have the courage to stick to it. Nothing has done Britain more harm than the endless backing and filling which we have seen in recent years … Courage and intellectual honesty are essential qualities in politics, and in the interest of our country it is high time that we saw them again.

So it will not be enough for a Conservative Government to make a fresh start with new policies. We must create a new way of running our national affairs. This means sweeping away the trivialities and the gimmicks which now dominate the political scene. It means dealing honestly and openly with the House of Commons, with the press and with the public.’

Edward Heath in the foreword to the 1970 Conservative Party Manifesto

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St Hugh’s College, Oxford, UK

    Martin Holmes (Lecturer in Politics)

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  1. Martin Holmes
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© 1997 Martin Holmes

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Holmes, M. (1997). The U-Turn over industry policy. In: The Failure of the Heath Government. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230376113_3

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