Can the British plan?

'Can the British plan? Sometimes it seems unlikely. Across the world we see grand designs and visionary projects: new airport terminals, nuclear power stations, high-speed railways, and glittering buildings. It all seems an unattainable goal on Britain's small and crowded island; and yet perhaps this is too pessimistic. For the British have always planned, and much of what we have today is the result of past plans, successfully implemented...'

This is the synopsis of 'Great British Plans' by Ian Wray that Sam Stafford cannily pilfers for the introduction to this episode in which Sam discusses the book with both Ian and his daughter, and past 50 Shades contributor, Katie Wray (@kluw).

The book takes in London's squares, Milton Keynes, 'HS1', the motorways and the secret first electronic computers. Sam, Ian and Katie's conversation takes in the glorious revolution, black swans, lawyers, lobbyists and mavericks.

'Great British Plans' can be heartily recommended to students of history and as well as students of town planning. The relationship between planning and politics is a path well-trodden, but perhaps less well appreciated is the relationship between planning and the culture, the institutions and, indeed, the institutional culture of this scepted isle. It is easy to see how electoral priorities drive short-term political decision-making, but the book explores the factors at play, or more often in fact not at play, in longer-term political decision making, which will be of interest to anybody interested in why change happens, or more often in fact, why change does not happen.

Great British Plans.

https://www.routledge.com/Great-British-Plans-Who-made-them-and-how-they-worked/Wray/p/book/9780415711425

Some accompanying listening.

Ian's band’s lockdown version of Blue Skies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP-KkkoE4mM&ab_channel=OutoftheBlueJazzOrchestra