La déréglementation dans le secteur de la défense en Grande-Bretagne

Abstract

The British defence industry has not been spared the clout of Thatcherite deregulation policies. Dismantling the State-controlled defence sector which successive Labour governments had progressively built up, the Thatcher governments allowed the major defence firms to play their own commercial game. Simultaneously they ended the cosy relationship which had previously existed between procurement officiais at the MoD and defence contractors in the hope of breaking the spiral of escalating costs of weapons programmes. Gradually the "cost plus" System was superseded by the fixed price concept which epitomized the value for money dogma of the period. At the same time the introduction of the market philosophy into the defence sector had to be carefully monitored. Even if defence is no longer a sacred cow of the Tories, experience shows that there are limits to the deregulation of such a critical sector which even the most dedicated free marketeer is bound to take on board.