Conservative modernisation, 1960–64: Too little, too late?

Abstract

By the end of the 1950s it had become well‐established in political circles that the British economy's growth performance was lagging behind that of her Western European neighbours. In response, the Conservative government embraced a rhetoric of modernisation, and an extensive agenda of possible policies in pursuit of that objective was created. This agenda covered everything from the need for an end to ‘stop‐go’, the desirability of more competition in the economy, through to a wide range of ‘supply‐side’ measures for improving efficiency. This last category embraced many points that were to figure highly in the Labour government's policies after 1964, such as the transfer of research and development (R&D) resources from civilian to defence uses, the expansion of technical education, encouragement to worker mobility, and higher investment. In many ways, therefore, the intellectual agenda of Labour's modernisation drive was established in Whitehall under the previous government. However, little of this agenda was turned into legislative action by the Conservatives; politically it was a case of ‘too little, too late’.