Agriculture Act 1947
Encyclopedia
The Agriculture Act 1947 was an Act of Parliament
in the United Kingdom
passed by Clement Attlee
's post-war Labour
government.
The government wanted a positive balance of payments
, to lower the amount of food imported into Britain from dollar countries and to promote the maximum agricultural productivity. The Act gave farmers an assured market and guaranteed prices for their produce, the objective of this being, in the words of the Minister of Agriculture
Tom Williams
, "to promote a healthy and efficient agriculture capable of producing that part of the nation's food which is required from home sources at the lowest price consistent with the provision of adequate remuneration and decent living conditions for farmers and workers, with a reasonable return on capital invested".
The Act was a success: in 1938-1939 the output of agricultural machinery in Britain was valued at £2,500,000 (£1,400,000 of this was exports); in 1951 output was over £100,000,000, half of which was exported. In addition, the legislation provided farmers with a degree of prosperity and security not known since the mid-Nineteenth century, who benefited from the guaranteed price and annual price review introduced under the Act. Guaranteed markets also absorbed agriculture "into an effective system of economic planning".
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
passed by Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
's post-war Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government.
The government wanted a positive balance of payments
Balance of payments
Balance of payments accounts are an accounting record of all monetary transactions between a country and the rest of the world.These transactions include payments for the country's exports and imports of goods, services, financial capital, and financial transfers...
, to lower the amount of food imported into Britain from dollar countries and to promote the maximum agricultural productivity. The Act gave farmers an assured market and guaranteed prices for their produce, the objective of this being, in the words of the Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889...
Tom Williams
Tom Williams, Baron Williams of Barnburgh
"Tom" Williams, Baron Williams of Barnburgh, PC was a British coal miner who became a Labour Party politician.-Career:...
, "to promote a healthy and efficient agriculture capable of producing that part of the nation's food which is required from home sources at the lowest price consistent with the provision of adequate remuneration and decent living conditions for farmers and workers, with a reasonable return on capital invested".
The Act was a success: in 1938-1939 the output of agricultural machinery in Britain was valued at £2,500,000 (£1,400,000 of this was exports); in 1951 output was over £100,000,000, half of which was exported. In addition, the legislation provided farmers with a degree of prosperity and security not known since the mid-Nineteenth century, who benefited from the guaranteed price and annual price review introduced under the Act. Guaranteed markets also absorbed agriculture "into an effective system of economic planning".
Further reading
- Viscount Addison, How the Labour Party has saved Agriculture. The Story of Six Great Years (Labour Party Publications, 1951).