ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to trace the history of the privatisation programmes of the 1980s and 1990s, discussing the ideological and practical considerations by which the initiatives have been shaped and sustained. It provides an account which explores the matters in terms which supporters of the privatisation cause would recognise. The tensions between the different approaches to the boundary between state and private activity was apparent in many of the industrial privatisation programmes of the 1980s. It has often been argued that British privatisation was a policy which was more stumbled upon than set about with deliberate intent. Without following the deterministic conclusions of the Hirschman thesis, it is possible to detect a strong policy tide which has sustained and extended the reach of the privatisation programme. The claimed benefits of transferring responsibilities from the public to the private sphere include a redefinition of core activities and purposes, together with a reframing of relationships among those most closely involved.
