Story: Government and industrial development

After winning the 1984 election, the new Labour government held an economic summit to which industry representatives were invited. The summit was presented by the government as an opportunity to participate in planning development. The opening, shown here, was held in Parliament’s debating chamber. While many of those participating were enthusiastic, some branches of government (notably Treasury) saw the summit as a wasteful excursion into collective decision-making about matters best left to the market.