The decline of the British tyre industry: An evaluation of the policies of the Tyre Industry Sector Working Party

The Labour Government of 1974-79 formulated the Industrial Strategy to transform Britain's industrial performance. Sector Working parties were established to assist companies to become more efficient. The paper examines the policy response of the Tyre Industry Sector Working Party (SWP) to overcapacity and declining competitiveness in the British tyre industry. Policy solutions focused on implementing 'efficiency dialogues' to increase output and efficiency underpinned by job security. Discussions on strategic issues were constrained by the oligopolistic structure of the industry. This restricted the work of the SWP to communication and employee involvement. It confirms the difficulty of reforming the existing institutional arrangements to legitimise company-level interventions.