The Nationalisation of British Transport: The Early History of the British Transport Commission, 1948–53

202 Pages·1987·19.324 MB·English

by  Michael R. Bonavia (auth.)

THE NATIONALISATION OF BRITISH TRANSPORT
The N ationalisation of
British Transport
The Early History of the
British Transport Commission, 1948-53
Michael R. Bonavia
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-08795-2 ISBN 978-1-349-08793-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-08793-8
©Michael R. Bonavia, 1987
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1987 978-0-333-41900-7
All rights reserved. For information, write:
Scholarly & Reference Division,
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1987
ISBN 978-0-312-55961-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bonavia, Michael Robert.
The nationalisation of British transport.
Bibliography: p.
1. British Transport Commission. 2. Transportation
and state-Great Britain. 3. Government ownership
Great Britain. I. Title
HE243.B6 1987 380.5'068 86-11815
ISBN 978-0-312-55961-8
To Kethi
Contents
Introduction: Sources and Acknowledgements ix
1 Setting the Scene 1
2 Drafting the Bill 3
3 Consultation and Opposition 22
4 The Bill in Parliament 30
5 Creating the Organisation 38
6 The Commission at Work 60
7 The Creation of British Road Services 74
8 The Problems of the Railways 83
9 The Bus Groups 89
10 Towards Integration 94
11 The Ports and the Canals 105
12 London Transport 114
13 The Hotels and Rail Catering 124
14 Labour Relations 130
15 User Protection: The Consultative Committees 138
16 The Financial Results 144
17 Reversing Direction: The 1953 Act 151
18 The Lessons Learnt? 163
Notes and References 168
Index 188
Introduction: Sources and
Acknowledgements
Historians have paid much attention to the achievements of the
Labour government led by Clement Atlee between 1945 and 1951 -
the establishment of the welfare state, the virtual dismantling of the
British Empire, and the nationalisation programme which led to the
mixed economy of public and private enterprise. But insufficient
notice has been taken of the extraordinary concept of a single
corporation exercising a monopoly of all public inland transport, the
British Transport Commission, probably because-unlike most of the
creations of the Attlee government-it never fully functioned as it was
intended to do, and was finally abolished after only fifteen years of
chequered existence.
The Commission's origins are a complex story, as are the reasons
for its ultimate disappearance. Historians have certainly dealt with
various aspects of the transport scene since 1945, generally concen
trating upon the position of the railways; but there has hitherto been
no adequate account of the BTC based on the archives of the
government and of the Commission itself. This study has drawn
largely upon the Ministry of Transport and Cabinet papers in the
Public Record Office as well as those of the Commission.
I was one of the first ex-railway officers to be recruited to the
headquarters staff of the BTC and, with a few intervening years spent
in British Railways, remained in touch with the centre until the
Commission's demise. After retirement in 1974 it was my ambition to
write a full history of the circumstances of transport nationalisation
and the early history of the BTC. The opportunity came when
Professor T. C. Barker, Professor of Economic History in the Univer
sity of London, warmly supported such a project and sponsored it
with the (then) Social Science Research Council, now the Economic
and Social Research Council, and the London School of Economics.
The SSRC agreed to fund the research, which was located in the LSE
and lasted for three years, leading to the production of this book. I am
deeply grateful to the Council.
The study has thrown light upon the attitudes towards the prob
lems of transport of politicians and civil servants, often at variance
ix
X Introduction
with transport managers, transport trade unions and sometimes also
transport users' organisations. It shows why the concept of transport
'integration' was impossible of achievement and led to the ultimate
demise of the BTC; but also that, within this huge and unwieldy
structure, there were some dedicated individuals who were able, in
limited areas, to achieve some notable successes, the results of which
are still apparent in those sectors of nationalised transport that have
been selected for 'privatisation', especially road haulage and the
ports.
It will be observed, perhaps with surprise but I hope not disap
pointment, that although the main line railways comprised about
three-quarters of the Commission's undertaking in 1948, and two
thirds in 1953, the chapter devoted to them is short in comparison
with those dealing with other components of the BTC.
The reason is that, unlike the other Executives, the history of the
Railway Executive is authoritatively covered in Dr T. R. Gourvish's
official history of British Railways since nationalisation. Shorter
studies of the Executive's work are also contained in my own books,
The Birth of British Rail (London, 1979) and British Rail: the First 25
Years (Newton Abbot, 1981). My aim in compiling the present history
has been essentially to describe that extraordinary body, the British
Transport Commission, in its original constitution, and the work of
those of its Executives that has hitherto not been sufficiently studied
or appreciated.
In addition to the narrative of events, I have attempted pen
portraits of some of the leading personalities involved, and with
whom I was acquainted, in ways that I hope will not give offence. And
in the final chapter I have offered a subjective view of the Commis
sion, attempting to find reasons for its failure and to assess the extent
to which the lessons of the period from 1948 to 1953 have been learnt
by governments, the transport industry and by the trade unions.
SOURCES
The recent availability, under the thirty years' rule, of Government
papers in the Public Record Office covering the period leading up to
the Transport Act, 1947, and the early years of the BTC, has been a
major factor in enabling this book to be written. Second only in
importance to the files of the Ministry of Transport and the Cabinet
Office are the archives of the Commission itself now in the custody of
Introduction xi
the British Railways Board. Other primary sources include the
archives of the London Passenger Transport Board and the Road
Transport and Road Haulage Executives, as well as those of the
Docks and Inland Waterways Executive. The archives of the Railway
Executive are unfortunately no longer in existence; but the gap here is
partly filled by the BTC archives and by the personal papers of Sir
John Elliot, Chairman of the Executive in 1951-53, kindly made
available to me by Sir John, and of the late Mr David Blee, Member
of the Executive, 1948-53 (all in the Public Record Office). Other
important primary sources have included the private papers of Lord
Hurcomb, Chairman of the BTC, 1948-53, and the unpublished
diaries of Professor James Meade, at the relevant period an economist
working in the Cabinet Office, and of Lord Dalton, the two latter in
the keeping of the British Library of Political and Economic Science.
A wealth of material has been provided from a detailed history of
nationalised road transport (still unpublished) by Mr G. W. Quick
Smith.
The many helpful and illuminating letters I have received are too
numerous to be listed in full; but special mention must be made of an
invaluable paper entitled 'Personal Notes' by MrS. S. Wilson, who as
an Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Transport in 1945 was
deputed to oversee the detailed drafting of the transport nationalisa
tion Bill and its passage through Parliament. His penetrating com
ments on personalities as well as his analysis of actions and motives
have been invaluable.
The most important secondary source has been the Annual Reports
and Accounts of the Commission from 1948 to 1953, substantial
volumes containing an enormous amount of information. Next in
importance comes Sir Norman Chester's massive study The Nationali
sation of British Industry, 1945-50, though of course transport is only
one component in that great work. Various economic and transport
historians have dealt with one or other aspect of this period; it would
be difficult and perhaps invidious to attempt a bibliography.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and certainly foremost comes my debt to Professor T. C. Barker.
His interest in the project has been unflagging and his detailed
comments and criticisms have contributed greatly to any merit this
work may have, though the responsibility for any errors remains
mine.
xii Introduction
My warm thanks are due to Dr Patience Champion, my Research
Assistant, whose work in unearthing original material was invaluable,
as were her comments and painstaking checking.
The Department of Transport has been most helpful and co
operative throughout, particularly in granting me access to certain
files still officially closed in the Public Record Office. Much courteous
assistance was forthcoming from the staffs of the Public Record
Office, the British Library of Political and Economic Science, the
Guildhall Library (where it is an especial pleasure to work), the
Modern Records Centre of the University of Warwick, and the
University of London Library. I am greatly indebted to the British
Railways Board for access to the BTC archives and I must particu
larly mention the trouble taken to assist me by the Chief Secretary's
Department. I am also grateful to the British Transport Docks Board
and to the Archive department of the former Greater London
Council, as I am to the National Freight Consortium Ltd, for access to
their records.
Individuals consulted have, I am afraid, been too numerous to
name in total and I apologise for some omissions; but special thanks
are due to Mrs Teona Champkins for access to the late Lord
Hurcomb's papers; to Mr Miles Beevor and Mr A. F. R. Carling; to
Professor James Meade; to Mr John Hibbs; to Mr G. W. Quick Smith
and Mr J. L. Willoughby; to Mr G. R. Hayes; to Mr Michael Robbins
(for much improving the chapter on London Transport); also to
Messrs W. E. G. Hewings, P. E. Garbutt and E. R. Ellen.
My debt to Mr S. S. Wilson is far greater than the reference to his
'Personal Notes' might indicate. I am also most grateful to the
National Union of Railwaymen and the Transport Salaried Staffs
Association for access to archive material, and to Lord Wilson of
Rievaulx for assistance in studying his two important unpublished
papers on transport policy for the trade unions.
Publication of this study has been made possible by generous grants
made by two Publication Funds within the University of London: the
Isobel Thornley Bequest and the Twenty Seven Foundation. To the
Trustees of both these bodies my grateful thanks are due.
Lastly, but by no means least, my sincere appreciation and thanks
are due to Mrs Anne Haynes, who uncomplainingly deciphered my
often illegible manuscripts and miraculously contrived rapidly to
produce elegant and accurate typescripts.
Lucky indeed is the author who finds such an amanuensis!
MICHAEL R. BONA VIA