ExtractThe relationship between government and industry is a complex but important one. It is complex because of the large number of topics requiring decisions by government, of which industrial issues are comparatively few. It is important because a strong industry provides employment, tax revenues and balance of payments contributions. My own experience of the relationship has been very mixed, and I propose to examine what seem to me to be the principal difficulties. To aid this I have illustrated the argument by a case study, the nationalisation and privatisation of the electricity supply industry. That process has been described in Chapter 8, and makes sorry reading, but I want to ask how it went wrong and what can be done to avoid a repetition in the future. The serious situation which exists now places the nation at risk of supply interruptions in gas supply from overseas. Responsibility for this situation,...