From the archive: Scots industry, 19 June, 1948

Published on 19/06/2012 00:00

SIR Steven Bilsland, president of the Scottish Council (Development and Industry), addressing Dundee Chamber of Commerce yesterday said that while the council worked in close co-operation with the government and government departments, they were no rubber stamp for the government.

If the council was necessary during the war, there was an even greater need for it now. The government had become still more pervasive in all their affairs. Nationalisation had created new problems. Of the government departments affecting trade and industry who had their headquarters in Whitehall it must be said that they often overlooked and failed to appreciate Scottish problems. It was essential for Scotland, which, although only 10 per cent of the population, had a greater interest than that in the heavy industries and in achieving a wider diversification of industry, that Scottish views should be authoritatively presented.