ABSTRACT
The election of a Labour government in June 1929 seemingly paved the way for a more forward policy on rationalization. British socialism had originated as a vague ethical doctrine steeped in nineteenth-century liberalism. This intellectual underpinning still cast a long shadow on policy deliberations in 1920s. While paying lip service to the principle of improving general industrial efficiency, like the Stanley Baldwin administration before it, Labour saw the staple trades as most important factor in export and employment situation. And one of the government's first acts was to establish enquiries into both steel and cotton. The Labour government did have an important impact on the organization and conduct of the coal industry. The cartel scheme proposed in 1929 to pay for the cut to miners' hours was duly given statutory force under the 1930 Coal Mines Act. It was apparent during 1930 that many ministers sympathized with the principle of the state playing a bigger role in the rationalization process.
