Nick Tiratsoo - Reconstruction, Affluence and Labour Politics: Coventry, 1945-1960

Volume 41

NICK TIRATSOO

First published in 1990 by Routledge

This edition first published in 2019

by Routledge

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1990 Nick Tiratsoo

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ISBN: 978-1-138-32435-0 (Set)

ISBN: 978-0-429-43443-3 (Set) (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-32634-7 (Volume 41) (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-429-44987-1 (Volume 41) (ebk)

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The Reconstruction of Coventry 19451960

N. Tiratsoo

London and New York

First published 1990

by Routledge

11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

a division of Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc.

29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

1990 Nick Tiratsoo

Typeset in 10/12pt Times by

Megaron, Cardiff, Wales

Printed in Great Britain by

Biddles Ltd, Guildford, Surrey

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Tiratsoo, Nick

Reconstruction, affluence and Labour politics : Coventry, 19451960.

1. West Midlands (Metropolitan County). Coventry. Local government, history

I. Title II. Series

352.042498

ISBN 0-415-04877-X

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Tiratsoo, Nick, 1952

Reconstruction, affluence and Labour politics: Coventry, 1945-1960 / Nick Tiratsoo.

p. cm.(Britain in the twentieth century)

ISBN 0-415-04877-X: $30.00

1. Coventry (England)Politics and government.

2. Coventry (England)Economic conditions.

3. Reconstruction (19391951)EnglandCoventry.

I. Title II. Series

DA690.C75T57 1990

942.498dc20

The research on which this work is based was compiled during 19868 while I was Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Social History, University of Warwick. I am indebted to the Volkswagenwerk Stiftung (which supported me financially), Professor D. Petzina and the staff of the Centre for making this opportunity possible. I would particularly like to thank Dr Tony Mason of the Centre for his kindness and intellectual advice during my years at Warwick.

Secondly, I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the considerable help I have received from various archivists, notably David Rimmer and the staff at the Coventry Record Office, Richard Storey and the staff at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick, and the librarians who deal with Local Studies at the Coventry City Library.

Thirdly, I am grateful to a number of organisations for permission to quote from their archives, and wish to record my particular appreciation of the privileges granted to me in this connection by, amongst others, Alvis, the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, Coventry City Council, Coventry Labour Party, the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust and A. H. Realisations Ltd.

Finally, I would like to thank all those individuals who have advised me on different aspects of post-war history especially Louise Campbell, Steve Fielding, John Gold, Richard Hyman, Junichi Hasegawa, David Thoms and Jim Tomlinson. I owe a more general debt to Pat Thane who gave encouragement and good counsel during the preparation of the manuscript.

Few places in Britain felt the impact of the Second World War as vividly or as consistently as Coventry. An important engineering centre, with a history of motor vehicle production, the city found itself from the first caught up in the armaments drive. Such specialisation in turn inevitably brought considerable attention from the German air force, with the raids of 1940 and 1941 destroying much of the urban areas inner core. The central aim of the chapters that follow is to describe how Coventry recovered from these experiences, and subsequently emerged in the 1950s not only as a nationally known boom town, but also as an exemplar of a new type of city, in tune with the demands of a modern, more democratic and equitable age. In particular, this means giving considerable attention to the plans and policies of Coventrys Labour party, since it was this body, using its continuing domination of the city Council, that was most involved in attempting to shape the various facets of reconstruction physical, social and economic. But emphasis will also be placed on the context within which this shaping took place, and on the incentives and constraints which encouraged or retarded the achievement of the Labour partys vision. Reference will be made, for example, to the web of connections which linked the city to the variety of interested government departments in London. On the other hand, it will also be necessary to explore Labours relationship with the local electorate, and especially the growing disenchantment with the party which began to threaten its dominance during the 1950s.