The Library

The Labour Government, the Treasury and the £6 pay policy of July 1975

Tools

Rogers, Christopher James. (2010) The Labour Government, the Treasury and the £6 pay policy of July 1975. British Politics, Vol.5 (No.2). pp. 224-236. ISSN 1746-918X

PDF
WRAP_Rogers_100211-6_pay_policy_british_politics_31-09-2009.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Download (266Kb)

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/bp.2009.29

Abstract

The 1974-79 Labour Government was elected in a climate of opinion that was fiercely opposed to government intervention in the wage determination process, and was committed to the principles of free collective bargaining in its manifestoes. However, by December 1974 the Treasury was advocating a formal incomes policy, and by July 1975 the government had introduced a £6 flat rate pay norm. With reference to archival sources, the paper demonstrates that TUC and Labour Party opposition to incomes policy was reconciled with the Treasury's advocacy by limiting the Bank of England‟s intervention in the foreign exchange market when sterling came under pressure. This both helped to achieve the Treasury's objective of improving the competitiveness of British industry, and acted as a catalyst for the introduction of incomes policy because the slide could be attributed to a lack of market confidence in British counter-inflation policy.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1964-1979, Great Britain -- Economic policy -- 1964-1979, Wage-price policy -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century, Foreign exchange -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century
Journal or Publication Title:	British Politics
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
ISSN:	1746-918X
Official Date:	June 2010
Volume:	Vol.5
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 224-236
Identification Number:	10.1057/bp.2009.29
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
References:	Bank of England (1975) Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, 15:3, London: Bank of England Buller, J. and Flinders, M. (2005) „The Domestic Origins of Depoliticisation in the Area of British Economic Policy‟ British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 7:4, 526-543 Burk, K. and Cairncross, A. (1992) ‘Goodbye Great Britain’: The 1976 IMF Crisis, New Haven and London: Yale University Press Burnham, P. (2001) „New Labour and the politics of depoliticisation‟ British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 3:2, 127-149 Central Statistical Office (1976) Economic Trends, Annual Supplement, No. 2, London: HMSO Central Statistical Office (1977) Economic Trends, 277, London: HMSO Coates, D. (1980) Labour in Power?: A Study of the Labour Government 1974-1979, London and New York: Longman Dell, E. (1996) The Chancellors: A History of the Chancellors of the Exchequer 1945-1990, London: Harper Collins Donoughue, B. (1987) Prime Minister: The Conduct of Policy under Harold Wilson & James Callaghan, London: Jonathan Cape Flinders, M. and Buller, J. (2006) „Depoliticisation: Principles, Tactics and Tools‟ British Politics, 1:3, 293-318 Harmon, M. D. (1997) The British Labour Government and the 1976 IMF Crisis, Macmillan: Basingstoke Healey, D. (2006) The Time of My Life, London: Politicos Koelble, T. A. (1987) „Trade Unionists, Party Activists and Politicians: The Struggle for Power Over Party Rules in the British Labour Party and the West German Social Democratic Party‟ Comparative Politics, 19:3, 253-266 Tarling, R. and Wilkinson, F. (1977) „The Social Contract: post-war incomes policies and their inflationary impact‟ Cambridge Journal of Economics, 1:4, 395-414 TNA CAB 128/56, Meetings, 1-30 TNA CAB 128/57, Meetings, 31-56 TNA PREM 16/342, ECONOMIC POLICY. Economic strategy: policy on pay and prices; Social Contract and pay; TUC (Trades Union Congress) initiative; part 7 TNA PREM 16/343, ECONOMIC POLICY. Economic strategy: pay policy; financial sanctions; counter-inflation policy; part 8 TNA T 277/3053, Policy Co-ordinating Committee, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: papers 1-4 (1974): papers 1-20 (1975) TNA T 277/3054, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: papers 21-39 TNA T 277/3055, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: papers 40-60 TNA T 277/3056, Policy Co-ordinating Committee: papers 61-79 TNA T 338/314, Prices and incomes policy TNA T 354/416, International Monetary Fund (IMF): applications for drawings by UK; letter of intent TNA T 358/207, UK interest rates strategy and management of the Sterling Exchange Rate TNA T 358/208, , UK interest rates strategy and management of the Sterling Exchange Rate TNA T 358/209, UK interest rates strategy and management of the Sterling Exchange Rate TUC / Labour Party Liaison Committee (1973) „Economic Policy and the Cost of Living‟ Report of the 105th Annual Trades Unions Congress, London: TUC, pp. 313-315 Wass, D. (2008) Decline to Fall: The Making of British Macro-Economic Policy and the 1976 IMF Crisis, Oxford: Oxford University Press Watson, M. and Hay, C. (2003) „The Discourse of globalisation and the logic of no alternative: rendering the contingent necessary in the political economy of New Labour‟, Policy & Politics 31:3, 289-305
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/4278