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British Productivity Council

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The British Productivity Council ( BPC ) was a body that aimed to increase Britain's industrial efficiency . It was formed in 1953 and superseded the Anglo-American Council on Productivity ( AACP ), which was formed in 1948 and dissolved in 1952. Until 1973, it was funded by the UK government before it was reorganised into smaller Local Productivity Associations and renamed as the British Council of Productivity Associations . The Council was dissolved in 1999.

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58-816: The idea for the Anglo-American Council on Productivity came jointly from Stafford Cripps , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , and Paul G. Hoffman , the Marshall Plan administrator, in July 1948. The AACP operated from August 1948 to June 1952, with a budget of a million pounds, two-thirds of which was provided by the Marshall Plan. In response to a parliamentary question from William Teeling in November 1949, Cripps said that

116-455: A barrister and later Conservative MP, and the former Theresa Potter, the sister of Beatrice Webb and Catherine Courtney . Cripps grew up in a wealthy family and was educated at Winchester College , where the Headmaster described him as "a thoroughly good fellow" and at University College London , where he studied chemistry. He left science for the law, and in 1913 was called to the bar by

174-708: A by-election in January 1931 , and was one of a handful of Labour frontbenchers to retain his seat at the October general election that year . He became a leading spokesman for the left-wing and for co-operation in a Popular Front with Communists before 1939, in which year the Labour Party expelled him. During this time he became intimately involved with Krishna Menon and the India League . During World War II (1939-1945), Cripps served from May 1940 to January 1942 as Ambassador to

232-833: A BPC film on industrial relations , won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Specialised Film in 1960. Sarah Erulkar produced several films for the BPC, including the Training For Industry series in 1959. National Productivity Year was given patronage by the Duke of Edinburgh and was supported by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition at the time, Harold Macmillan and Hugh Gaitskell respectively. A set of commemorative stamps

290-571: A combined unit in order to secure a mandate for radical economic reform, and MacDonald's supporters from the Labour Party formed the National Labour Organisation to support him. While initially against an early election, MacDonald came to endorse the idea in order to take advantage of Labour's unpopularity due to its poor economic record in office. However, the Liberals were sceptical about an election and had to be persuaded. The key issue

348-578: A key figure in forging an alliance between the western powers and the Soviet Union . In 1942, Cripps returned to Britain and made a broadcast about the Soviet war effort. The popular response was phenomenal, and Cripps rapidly became one of the most popular politicians in the country, despite having no party backing. He was appointed a member of the War Cabinet , with the jobs of Lord Privy Seal and Leader of

406-510: A major component of their working class base. By 1930 a number of Catholic bishops had grown increasingly alarmed at the party's stances on Communist Russia , birth control , and especially regarding funding Catholic schools, and the Church began to warn its members against voting Labour. This shift played a major role in Labour's collapse in support in some urban areas. The election was a landslide for

464-575: A much smaller electorate.) However, by far the largest share of the government's seats was won by the Conservatives, and the party's 470 seats also remains the record for the largest share of the total seats in Parliament (76.4%) won by any single party. The victory gave the National Government a clear mandate to enact its policy platform, which the coalition believed would pull the economy out of

522-466: A popular book on productivity by economist Graham Hutton . Initial media coverage was unfavourable and trade union leaders were irritated that they had not been consulted and at the implication that British industry needed American help. Though there is no clear evidence that Britain significantly benefited from the AACP, the exercise was seen as "a great success" by its sponsors, leading to the establishment of

580-467: A request to buy jet designs from Western sources to overcome design difficulties. Stalin is said to have replied: "What fool will sell us his secrets?" However, he gave his assent to the proposal, and Soviet scientists and designers travelled to the United Kingdom to meet Cripps and request the engines. To Stalin's amazement, Cripps and the Labour government were willing to provide technical information on

638-554: A three-party coalition which had been formed two months previously after the collapse of the second Labour government . Journalist Ivor Bulmer-Thomas described the result as "the most astonishing in the history of the British party system". Unable to secure support from his cabinet for his preferred policy responses to the economic and social crises brought about by the Great Depression , Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald split from

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696-481: The House of Lords . In 1936, Labour's National Executive Committee dissociated itself from a speech in which Cripps said he did not "believe it would be a bad thing for the British working class if Germany defeated us". Cripps also opposed British rearmament : Cripps was an early advocate of a united front against the rising threat of fascism and he opposed an appeasement policy towards Nazi Germany . In 1936, he

754-699: The Labour Party and formed a new national government in coalition with the Conservative Party and a number of Liberals . MacDonald subsequently campaigned for a "Doctor's Mandate" to do whatever was necessary to fix the economy, running as the leader of a new party called National Labour within the coalition. Disagreement over whether to join the new government also resulted in the Liberal Party splitting into three separate factions, including one led by former Prime Minister David Lloyd George . Collectively,

812-470: The Marshall Plan as well as from loans. However, the pound had to be devalued in 1949 . Cripps kept the wartime rationing-system in place to hold down consumption during an "age of austerity", promoted exports and maintained full employment with static wages. The public especially respected "his integrity, competence, and Christian principles". Cripps was born in Chelsea , London, the son of Charles Cripps ,

870-662: The Middle Temple . He served in the First World War as a Red Cross ambulance driver in France, and then managed a chemical factory producing armaments. He practised as a barrister during the 1920s, where he specialised in patent cases, and was reported to be the highest paid lawyer in England. He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1927. Cripps was a member of the Church of England and in

928-630: The People's National Party was formed. When Winston Churchill formed his wartime coalition government in 1940 he appointed Cripps Ambassador to the Soviet Union in the view that Cripps, who had Marxist sympathies, could negotiate with Joseph Stalin who had a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . When Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941 , Cripps became

986-598: The Pound Sterling seeing Britain trade its way out of a real risk of fiscal and economic gloom . He was among those who brought about the nationalisation of strategic industries such as coal and steel. Amid financial problems from 1948 to 1949, Cripps maintained a high level of social spending on housing, health, and other welfare services, while also maintaining the location of industry policy. Personal incomes and free time continued to rise, as characterised by cricket and football enjoying unprecedented booms, together with

1044-623: The Rolls-Royce Nene centrifugal-flow jet engine designed by RAF officer Frank Whittle , along with discussions of a licence to manufacture Nene engines. The Nene engine was promptly reverse-engineered and produced in modified form as the Soviet Klimov VK-1 jet engine, later incorporated into the MiG-15 which flew in time to deploy in combat against UN forces in North Korea in 1950, causing

1102-537: The 1920s became a leader in the World Alliance to Promote International Friendship through the Churches, as his father had been. From 1923 to 1929 Cripps was the group's treasurer and its most energetic lecturer. At the end of the 1920s, Cripps moved to the left in his political views, and in 1930 he joined the Labour Party. The next year, he was appointed Solicitor-General in the second Labour government, and received

1160-509: The 1970s. It is the most recent election in which any single party (the Conservatives) received an absolute majority of the votes cast, and the last UK general election not to take place on a Thursday . It was also the last election until 1997 in which any single party won more than 400 seats. After battling with the Great Depression for two years, the Labour government of Ramsay MacDonald

1218-467: The BPC in 1953. The Trades Union Congress "participated wholehartedly" in the BPC, to the criticism of some of its members, such as Les Cannon and Ted Hill , who was disciplined by the TUC for his public opposition to the BPC's productivity campaigns. The BPC's first chair was Peter Bennett , the then-MP for Birmingham Edgbaston , and its first vice-chair was the TUC's Lincoln Evans . The BPC also sponsored

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1276-449: The British black propaganda campaign against Germany. When Cripps discovered details of the German radio work of Sefton Delmer (through the intervention of Richard Crossman ) he wrote to Anthony Eden , then Foreign Secretary: "If this is the sort of thing that is needed to win the war, why, I'd rather lose it." Delmer was defended by Robert Bruce Lockhart who pointed out the need to reach

1334-557: The Cabinet, while being too conservative for Mahatma Gandhi and other Indians leaders. Nonetheless, he kept the trust and friendship of V. K. Krishna Menon , allowing him to retain a role in Indian affairs, including as a member of the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India and, ultimately, in having a voice in the selection of the final Viceroy in 1947. From November 1942 he served as Minister of Aircraft Production , an important post, but one outside

1392-567: The House of Commons , and was considered for a short period after his return from Moscow as a rival to Churchill in his hold on the country. Churchill responded by sending Cripps to India in March 1942. The goal of the Cripps Mission was to negotiate an agreement with the nationalist leaders that would keep India loyal to the British war effort in exchange for self-government after the war. Cripps designed

1450-518: The National Government coalition, which won 67.2% of the popular vote and 518 seats out of 615 in the House of Commons—for both, it stands as the largest share ever secured in a British general election since the passage of the Reform Act 1832 . (The next-best results were both was secured by the Whigs in 1832 , who won 67.01% of the vote and 67.02% of seats under a substantially different electoral system with

1508-469: The National Government was formed. While initially supportive of both the coalition and its protectionist trade policy, he strongly opposed the proposal for an election. He and a third faction of Liberal MPs—the Independent Liberals —also broke away, and ran in the election on an anti-National Government platform. Parliament was dissolved on 7 October. In order to appease the various factions within

1566-632: The UK government had contributed £87,500 to the AACP that year. The council was made of twenty members, twelve British and eight American, meeting in a joint session roughly once a year. British members included representatives from the Trades Union Congress , the Federation of British Industries and the British Employers' Confederation . The AACP commissioned hundreds of reports and We Too Can Prosper ,

1624-557: The USSR , with major responsibility for building rapport with Hitler's greatest foe. Back in London in early 1942, he became a member of the War Cabinet of the wartime coalition . In March 1942, Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent him to India to negotiate with Indian leaders about Indian cooperation in the war effort in exchange for dominion status after the war. Cripps failed in this mission , as his proposals were too radical for Churchill and

1682-431: The coalition its manifesto avoided proposing any specific policy, and instead asked voters for a "Doctor's Mandate" to do whatever was necessary to rescue the economy. Individual candidates were then allowed to state their support for policies such as trade tariffs. Labour campaigned on opposition to public spending cuts, but this was a difficult position to justify when many of the cuts had initially been agreed when Labour

1740-825: The creation of the National Industrial Fuel Efficiency Service. The BPC's chair alternated between a representative of the trade unions and one from the industry . Notable chairpeople and board members include: The BPC started many campaigns, like the National Productivity Year from November 1962 to November 1963, and the Quality and Reliability Year in 1966. It also distributed a publication called Target aimed at educating workers and employers about better workplace practices and adapting to changing markets. The BPC also made educational films such as Views on Trial (1954). Dispute ,

1798-440: The crisis the government was forced to resign. However, MacDonald was encouraged by King George V to form an all-party National Government in coalition with the Conservatives and Liberals in order to break the deadlock. The initial hope was that the coalition government would hold office for only a few weeks in order to address the country's immediate economic crises, then dissolve for a return to ordinary party politics—but when

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1856-495: The doldrums of the Great Depression. MacDonald remained Prime Minister, but the Conservatives were the dominant party within the coalition—National Labour contested only 20 seats, winning 13—and with his increasingly poor health over the course of the parliament he came to be more of a figurehead for the government rather than an active leader. Labour's loss of vote share (a drop of 6.5%) was average by historical standards, but

1914-469: The election as part of the coalition), while the National Liberals —under the leadership of Sir John Simon —remained, willing to support protectionism. While this was happening, former prime minister David Lloyd George was still technically the Liberal Party's leader—however, due to having undergone an operation in early 1931, with a long recuperation, he was unable to take up a ministerial role when

1972-486: The government was forced to remove the pound sterling from the gold standard it became clear that it would require more time in office. Meanwhile, the Labour Party expelled all those who were supporting the government, and MacDonald's decision to lead a Conservative-dominated coalition instead of the party he had co-founded was labelled a "betrayal" by his erstwhile colleagues and supporters. The Conservatives began pressing their partners to fight an election together as

2030-490: The holiday camps, the dance hall, and the cinema. In his last budget as Chancellor (1950), the housebuilding programme was restored to 200,000 per annum (after having previously been reduced due to government austerity measures), income tax was reduced for low-income earners as an overtime incentive, and spending on health, national insurance, and education was increased. During the period Cripps imposed harsh foreign currency restrictions on private and commercial travellers, he

2088-416: The inefficiency of its vote distribution under first-past-the-post meant that the party suffered a net loss of 235 out of 287 seats. This remains Labour's most significant absolute and per capita election loss, and it stood as the record for greatest number of seats lost by any party in a single general election until the Conservatives lost a net of 251 seats under Rishi Sunak in 2024 . This differs from

2146-648: The inner War Cabinet. Cripps rejoined the Labour Party in February 1945, and after the war he served in the 1945-1951 Attlee ministry , first as President of the Board of Trade and between 1947 and 1950 as Chancellor of the Exchequer . Labour Party member and historian Kenneth O. Morgan claimed of his role in the latter position that he was "the real architect of the rapidly improving economic picture and growing affluence from 1952 onwards". The economy improved after 1947, benefiting from American money given through grants from

2204-605: The leader of the Socialist League , which was composed largely of intellectuals and teachers from the Independent Labour Party who rejected its decision to disaffiliate from Labour. The Socialist League put the case for an austere form of democratic socialism . He argued that on taking power the Labour Party should immediately enact an Emergency Powers Act, allowing it to rule by decree and thus "forestall any sabotage by financial interests", and also immediately abolish

2262-631: The loss of several B-29 bombers and cancellation of their daylight bombing missions over North Korea . Also in 1946, Cripps returned to India as part of the Cabinet Mission , which proposed formulae for independence to the Indian leaders. The other two members of the delegation were Lord Pethick-Lawrence , the Secretary of State for India , and A. V. Alexander , the First Lord of the Admiralty . However,

2320-460: The parties forming the National Government won 67% of the popular vote and 554 (90.1%) of 615 seats in the House of Commons . Although the bulk of the National Government's support came from the Conservative Party, which won a majority in its own right with 470 seats, MacDonald remained Prime Minister. The Labour Party suffered its greatest ever defeat—losing four-fifths of its seats, including

2378-457: The policy of "austerity". As an upper-class socialist, he held a puritanical view of society, enforcing rationing with equal severity against all classes. Together with other individuals, he was instrumental in the foundation of the original College of Aeronautics, now Cranfield University , in 1946. The Stafford Cripps Learning and Teaching Centre on Cranfield's campus is named after him. In 1946, Soviet jet engine designers approached Stalin with

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2436-479: The sadist in the German nature. In February 1945, Cripps rejoined the Labour Party. When Labour won the 1945 general election , Clement Attlee appointed Cripps President of the Board of Trade , the second most important economic post in the government. Although still a strong socialist, Cripps had modified his views sufficiently to be able to work with mainstream Labour ministers. In Britain's desperate post-war economic circumstances, Cripps became associated with

2494-465: The seat of leader Arthur Henderson —and became the official opposition with just 52 MPs. The collapse of the Liberals into competing factions also ended their time as a significant force in British politics; the breakaway National Liberals were eventually absorbed into the Conservatives in 1947, while the main Liberal Party would spend the next half-century in the political wilderness until its revival in

2552-593: The solution devised by the three men, known as the Cabinet Mission Plan, was unsatisfactory to the Indian National Congress mainly its principal leaders, and instead of having to hold together the emerging one nation, Indian National Congress leaders travelled further down the road that eventually led to Partition . In 1947, amid a growing economic and political crisis, Cripps tried to persuade Attlee to retire in favour of Ernest Bevin ; however, Bevin

2610-627: The specific proposals himself, but they were too radical for Churchill and the Viceroy, and too conservative for Mahatma Gandhi and the Indians, who demanded immediate independence. No middle way was found and the mission was a failure. In November 1942, Cripps stepped down from being Leader of the House of Commons and was appointed Minister of Aircraft Production , a position outside the War Cabinet in which he served with substantial success until May 1945, when

2668-615: The then customary knighthood . In 1931, Cripps was elected to Parliament in a by-election for Bristol East . As an MP, he was a strong proponent of Marxist social and economic policies, although he had strong faith in evangelical Christianity , and did not subscribe to the Marxist rejection of religion . In the 1931 general election , Cripps was one of only three former Labour ministers to hold his seat, alongside George Lansbury , who subsequently became party leader, and Clement Attlee , deputy leader. In 1932, Cripps helped found and became

2726-451: The wartime coalition ended. A supporter of Air Chief Marshal Harris 's strategic bombing campaign against Germany, Cripps stated in a July 1943 broadcast that "the more we ... can destroy from the air the industrial and transport facilities of the Axis, the weaker will become his resistance. ... The heavier our air attack, the lighter will be the total of our casualties". Cripps was unhappy with

2784-521: Was a vegetarian , certainly for health reasons and possibly also for ethical reasons. "Cripps suffered from recurring illness which was alleviated by nature cure and a vegetarian diet...". His male-line descendants are in remainder to the barony Parmoor . In 1989, a Blue Plaque was unveiled at 32 Elm Park Gardens, Chelsea to mark the site of Cripps' birth. Cripps died of cancer on 21 April 1952 while in Zürich , Switzerland 3 days shy of his 63rd birthday. He

2842-581: Was cremated at Sihlfeld Crematorium in Zürich. His ashes are buried in the churchyard in Sapperton, Gloucestershire , and his wife is buried beside him. 1931 United Kingdom general election Ramsay MacDonald Labour Ramsay MacDonald National The 1931 United Kingdom general election was held on Tuesday, 27 October 1931. It saw a landslide election victory for the National Government ,

2900-682: Was expelled from the Labour Party for his advocacy of a Popular Front with the Communist Party, the Independent Labour Party, the Liberal Party, and anti-appeasement Conservatives . In 1938, Cripps visited Jamaica to investigate violence which took place during mass strikes. During one of the political meetings he spoke at, the audience included the future pioneer of black civil rights in Britain, Billy Strachan , who had been taken by his father to hear Cripps speak. During this same meeting,

2958-478: Was faced with a budget crisis in August 1931. The cabinet deadlocked over its response, with several influential members—such as Arthur Henderson —unwilling to support budget cuts (in particular a cut in the rate of unemployment benefit) which were pressed by the civil service and opposition parties. Crucially, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden refused to consider deficit spending or tariffs as alternative solutions, and without any other options to address

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3016-423: Was in favour of Attlee remaining. Cripps was instead appointed to the new post of Minister for Economic Affairs . Six weeks later Hugh Dalton resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Cripps succeeded him, with the position of Minister for Economic Affairs now merged into the Chancellorship. He increased taxes and continued strategic rationing which muted consumption to boost the balance of trade and stabilise

3074-422: Was in government. By 1931, Labour had lost significant economic credibility due to soaring unemployment—especially in coal, textiles, shipbuilding and steel—and the party's working class base increasingly lost confidence in its ability to solve the most pressing problems facing the country. An additional problem for Labour came from the 2.5 million Irish Catholics in England and Scotland, who had traditionally been

3132-417: Was paying for his grandchildrens' swiss boarding school and for both his daughter's and his own swiss sanitorium. Cripps had suffered for many years from colitis , inflammation of the lower bowel; a condition aggravated by stress. In 1950, his health broke down and he was forced to resign his office in October. He resigned from Parliament the same month, and at the resulting by-election on 30 November he

3190-429: Was released in November 1962 to celebrate it. Its impact was described as "negligible", and it was recorded as beginning "disastrously" with a decline in outputs. Stafford Cripps Sir Richard Stafford Cripps CH QC FRS (24 April 1889 – 21 April 1952) was a British Labour Party politician, barrister , and diplomat . A wealthy lawyer by background, Cripps first entered Parliament at

3248-462: Was succeeded as the MP for Bristol South East by Anthony Wedgwood Benn . Cripps was the sororal nephew of Beatrice Webb and Catherine Courtney . His mother died when he was four years old. His stepmother, Marian Ellis , had a profound influence on him. He was married to Isobel Swithinbank, who became the Honourable Lady Cripps , daughter of Harold William Swithinbank , better known as Dame Isobel Cripps (1891–1979), and had four children Cripps

3306-415: Was the Conservatives' wish to introduce protectionist trade policies: the majority of the Liberals, led by Sir Herbert Samuel , were opposed, considering support for free trade to be a non-negotiable component of the Liberal political tradition. The argument split the party in half: Samuel withdrew the Liberals from the National Government (though continued to lend it their confidence , and still stood in

3364-492: Was the moving force behind a Unity Campaign, involving the Socialist League, the Independent Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain , designed to forge electoral unity against the right. Opposed by the Labour leadership, the Unity Campaign failed in its intentions. Rather than face expulsion from Labour, Cripps dissolved the Socialist League in 1937. Tribune , set up as the campaign's newspaper by Cripps and George Strauss , survived. In early 1939, however, Cripps

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