Politics,institutions and the decline of coal mining in North East England

Abstract

The decline of coal mining in North East England and the policy responses to this are reviewed using a tradition of political economy that also draws upon insights from sociology and political science. Coal mining and traditional industries such as steelmaking, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were always closely linked in the North East, and the decline of the latter in the interwar years had a devastating effect on the region's economy. The reasons for this decline and the failure to transfer resources into new sectors can be attributed to the decline of local sources of financing in favour of the City of London and the consequent erosion of direct ties between the local capitalist class and the economic fate of the North East. State funded attempts to regenerate industry in the post-war period had limited success in generating employment but failed to establish networks of businesses capable of generating self-sustaining growth. The devolved but limited powers potentially available to a regional assembly for the North East may offer a way forward.