ABSTRACT
The cluster of ideas which were of most influence in British economic policy in the post-1945 period took shape in the inter-war years. Such ideas, of course, developed from previous traditions and controversies (Checkland 1983), and they were given particular form by the events of the Second World War. All policies tend to suffer from the problem of time-lapse — they are put into effect by politicians who have been deeply moved by the critical affairs of earlier decades. What is current is seen as some sort of revival of what occurred before, and is seen in terms of rival party ideologies. The task of this chapter is to weave the story of the actual policies pursued around the development of partisan ideologies.
