In the second of a series on nationalisation, we look at the lessons from Clement Attlee’s administration
Will Andy Burnham ‘go big’ in expanding the role of the state?
A prime minister with ambitious plans for state ownership. Private companies that put profits before investment. A country struggling with onerous debts.
The UK in 2026 with a new prime minister weighing up how and what price public utilities can be nationalised? No, this was Clement Attlee’s government in 1945, committed to taking over the commanding heights of the economy at a time when the country was on its uppers.
History shows Andy Burnham would not be the first Labour politician to have plans to nationalise parts of the economy. Nor would he be alone in trying to do so at a time when the public finances are under pressure. The man certain to succeed Sir Keir Starmer thinks – as Attlee did – that state ownership forms part of the solution to Britain’s economic woes.
