The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Dulverton Textiles
Dulverton Textiles in Tatters
From the collection of:
Overview
A textile factory in Dulverton is being forced to close due to the recession brought about by the First World Oil Crisis, putting an end to the post WWII economic boom. The economic downturn combined with industrial strife and electricity shortages led the then Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath to impose a three-day week. British Manufacturing struggled to compete on the world’s markets.
During the mid-70s the miners’ strike combined with high inflation and unemployment set the tone for continued recession. The 1970s recession was said to be a 'stagflation' recession. It was not until 1975 that the economy recovered, however Britain’s economy was still poor and strikes still undermined the manufacturing industries and public sectors. Although Britain did recover slightly the economy suffered another downturn in 1978 into what was became known as the Winter of Discontent.