Conclusions

In the introduction it was argued that business-government relations in Britain have not been mutually productive. A central theme of this book has been that the economic power of business in Britain is not matched by a capacity for developing a coherent political viewpoint and articulating it to government. Business is capable, through the economic power it is able to exert in product markets, labour markets etc., of exerting a considerable influence over people’s everyday lives. Politicians must pay attention to the requirements of business, if they wish to gain re-election as the result of being able to claim that they have managed the economy with a tolerable measure of success. As the politics of production occupies a less central place on the political stage, and as issues related to the politics of collective consumption become more important, politicians also face demands to regulate business in areas such as environmental protection (pollution, packaging etc.) and consumer safety. The central problem then becomes, can a political bargain be constructed with capital which is acceptable to politicians, voters and business persons, and which channels the energies of business without curbing them?