Ernest Marples
Ernest Marples

Author: David Brandon

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2022-01-12

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 1526760215

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This biography examines the life and career of the conservative politician who led the charge to reshape British Railways in the mid-twentieth century. Ernest Marples was one of the most influential and controversial British politicians of the mid-twentieth century. As the Minister of Transport (1959–1964) he appointed Dr. Beeching chairman of British Railways and commissioned him to produce his infamous “Beeching Report”. Earlier, as Postmaster General (1957–1959), he reformed Post Office accounting systems and launched postcodes and Subscriber Trunk Dialing. Though Marples evaded implicated in the Profumo Affair which rocked the Conservative Party, his political career was over soon afterwards. Questionable business practices, and a 1975 flight to Monaco, drew scrutiny from Inland Revenue. Beeching, unhappy under a Labour government, returned to private industry. This biography of Marples draws on newly-available archives to examine Marples’s career as well as public and private transport policy, the growing power of the pro-road lobby, and the successful campaign to identify personal freedom with driving.

The Motorway Achievement
The Motorway Achievement

Author: Peter Baldwin

Publisher: Thomas Telford

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 996

ISBN-13: 9780727731968

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This volume provides a set of contrasting first hand accounts of the creation of the motorway system, the problems encountered, the solutions adopted and the lessons learned for future motorway development.

Visions of a Digital Nation
Visions of a Digital Nation

Author: Jacob Ward

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2024-02-06

Total Pages: 339

ISBN-13: 0262375532

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Why the privatization of British Telecom signaled a pivotal moment in the rise of neoliberalism, and how it was shaped by the longer development and digitalization of Britain’s telecommunications infrastructure. When Margaret Thatcher sold British Telecom for £3.6 billion in 1984, it became not only, at the time, the largest stock flotation in history, but also a watershed moment in the rise of neoliberalism and deregulation. In Visions of a Digital Nation, Jacob Ward offers an incisive interdisciplinary perspective on how technology prefigured this pivot. Giving due consideration to the politicians, engineers, and managers who paved the way for this historic moment, Ward illustrates how the decision validated the privatization of public utilities and tied digital technology to free market rationales. In this examination of the national and, at times, global history of technology, Ward’s approach is sweeping. Utilizing infrastructure studies, environmental history, and urban and local history, Ward explores Britain’s nationalist and welfarist plans for a digital information utility and shows how these projects contested and adapted to the “market turn” under Margaret Thatcher. Ultimately, Visions of a Digital Nation compellingly argues that politicians did not impose neoliberalism top-down, but that technology, engineers, and managers shaped these politics from the bottom up.

Beeching
Beeching

Author: Anthony Poulton-Smith

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 0752492241

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In 1963 Dr Beeching’s infamous report signalled the end for over 15,000 miles of track, a third of Britain’s stations, and for 70,000 jobs, as well as making irrevocable changes to the way of life of many consumers. Much misery was caused and Beeching’s name was muddied, but in hindsight the report probably did more than any other single factor to preserve the nation’s railway heritage. Without the Beeching cuts, much of the locomotives, stock, tracks, signals and signs would have crumbled, been forgotten or rotted. However, the gentle railway gradients lend themselves perfectly to walkways and cycle paths; buildings have been refurbished; memorabilia now commands prices at auction which would astonish those who painted the metal. And of course, the heritage lines continue to draw many thousands of visitors each year. After the initial shock of the cuts, this fresh appraisal considers these benefits and more, which may not have come about without the Beeching Report.

Driving Spaces
Driving Spaces

Author: Peter Merriman

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-07-22

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 1444355473

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Peter Merriman traces the social and cultural histories and geographies of driving spaces through an examination of the design, construction and use of England’s M1 motorway in the 1950s and 1960s. A first-of-its-kind academic study examining the production and consumption of the landscapes and spaces of a British motorway An interdisciplinary approach, engaging with theoretical and empirical work from sociology, history, cultural studies, anthropology and geography Contains 38 high quality illustrations Based on extensive, original archive work

British Cabinet Ministers
British Cabinet Ministers

Author: Bruce Headey

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-11-01

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1040272037

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First published in 1974, British Cabinet Ministers is about the opportunities and constraints of executive political office. It is mainly based on interviews with fifty contemporary British Ministers and twenty-five senior civil servants. Hitherto political observers have referred simply to ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ Ministers, which begs the question ‘“strong” or “weak” at what?’ Here Ministers are classified into five types—policy initiators, policy selectors, Executive and Ambassador Ministers, and Minimalists—depending on their different approaches to their jobs. The problems Ministers face in achieving their objectives are analysed and case studies are presented of the performance in office of different types of Ministers. In this context, we review the skills and abilities of politicians themselves and the range and quality of advice they can expect to receive in Whitehall. In the final section, the author considers the consequences for British government of the finding that Ministers are better qualified to perform some of their roles than others, and also indicates lines of inquiry that need to be further pursued by students of executive political leadership.

Mud, Sweat & Gears
Mud, Sweat & Gears

Author: Ellie Bennett

Publisher: Summersdale Publishers LTD

Published: 2013-05-01

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 0857656074

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The tale of a scenic cycling trip—including an index of the 50 finest beers tasted on the trip"One more wouldn't hurt," said Mick. I looked at him doubtfully. "I'm not sure. It's gone three o'clock already. What time does it get dark in Cornwall at this time of year?" "Not for ages," said Mick, waving his hand dismissively. "One more and then we'll get on." He headed back to the bar with our empty beer glasses.As Ellie's 50th birthday approaches and her ambitions of a steady income, a successful career, and an ascent of Everest seem as far away as ever, she begins to doubt she's capable of achieving anything at all. So when her best friend Mick suggests a grueling cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats, she takes up the challenge. They opt for the scenic route which takes them along cycle paths, towpaths, and the back roads and byways of Britain, unable to resist sampling local beers in the pubs they pass along the way. But as the pints start to stack up faster than the miles they’re putting under their tires, Ellie wonders if they'll ever make it to the finishing line.

Policy & Management British Civil Servic
Policy & Management British Civil Servic

Author: Geoffrey K. Fry

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-09-25

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1317903897

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A detailed study of the changes which have taken place in the British Civil Service since 1979. It is intended for political and policy scientists, and sociologists.

The Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway

Author: John Palmer

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2021-01-30

Total Pages: 547

ISBN-13: 1526777908

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“Sets out to address what really happened . . . through its LNER days and into British Railways custodianship . . . A well-researched and presented tome.” —Key Model World For generations of railway enthusiasts and more lately for social historians, the life and times of the former Great Central Railway and in particular its extension towards London in the 1890s and closure seventy years later, have generated considerable interest and controversy. Although many books have been written about the Railway, the majority in recent times have concentrated upon providing a photographic record and a nostalgic look in retrospect to what was generally perceived as happier times for the route. None of the books have presented the outcome from thorough research into the business aspects of the Railway and its successive private (LNER) and public (BR) ownerships through war and peace, and times of industrial, social and political change, that influenced and shaped the demand for a railway service. While retaining a strong railway theme throughout, the book identifies the role played by successive governments, the electricity and coal industries and the effect of social change that, together resulted in a case for closure. The content of the book replaces much supposition with fact and places on record what really happened. The final part of the book acknowledges the fine work over half a century of volunteers dedicated to saving a section of the line in Leicestershire. “A valuable addition to the social and political history of railways.” —The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society