- Prices Commission
The Prices Commission was set up in the UK under the
Counter-Inflation Act 1973 , alongside the Pay Board, in an attempt to controlinflation . The Conservative government ofEdward Heath , elected at the1970 UK general election , had previously abolished thePrices and Incomes Board in November 1970, shortly after taking power, relying oncompetition to keep prices down. At the same time, theIndustrial Relations Act 1970 was intended to rein in thetrades union s.The Conservative's economic policy was not successful, and the government took a
U-turn . A 90-day freeze of pay and prices (as well as rents and dividends) was introduced on6 November 1972 under theCounter-Inflation (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972 . This was replaced by aPrice and Pay Code , which strictly limited increases, supervised by a new Prices Commission and a Pay Board.The Conservatives were unable to keep power after the inconclusive February 1974 UK general election, and the Pay Board was abolished in July 1974 by the minority Labour government led by
Harold Wilson , but the Prices Commission continued. The scope of its powers were amended by thePrice Commission Act 1977 and thePrice Commission (Amendment) Act 1979 .Controls on prices were abolished soon after the Conservatives under
Margaret Thatcher won the1979 UK general election , and the Counter-Inflation Act 1973 wasrepeal ed by theCompetition Act 1980 .External links
* [http://www.psi.org.uk/publications/archivepdfs/Innovation%20and%20Indust/APPD.pdf Government measures in the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1980] , Appendix D to [http://www.psi.org.uk/publications/publication.asp?publication_id=119 "Innovation and Industrial Strength In the UK, West Germany, United States and Japan"] from the
Policy Studies Institute , 1989 (PDF), ISBN 0-85374-458-0
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