ABSTRACT
Barber boom, after the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Anthony Barber) pushed measured demand up to record levels. Decline continued after that year and was accelerated by the drought conditions experienced in 1976. Some recovery took place in 1978 and 1979 - greater nationally than in the North West. However, the substantial fall in the economy in 1980 severely affected measured demand. The North West has suffered particularly during the economic recession of the early 1980s. This has resulted in measured demand falling to below the level recorded in 1961.
