59-556: Banner Lane was the site of a wartime shadow factory in Coventry , England , run by Standard Motor Company and dedicated to making Bristol Hercules aero engines. The war-surplus plant was taken over by Standard in 1946 to make Ferguson tractors and it was made Standard's registered office. After the 1959 sale of Standard's part-ownership of the tractor partnership to Massey Ferguson , it became Massey Ferguson's base for tractor-building operations until production ceased in 2002 and
118-574: A greater or lesser degree (for instance Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster or Lord Privy Seal ). The government is sometimes referred to by the metonym " Westminster " or " Whitehall ", as many of its offices are situated there. These metonyms are used especially by members of the Scottish Government , Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to differentiate their government from His Majesty's Government. The United Kingdom
177-694: A knockout blow on sources of essential supplies, even at the cost of some duplication, by building new satellite plants which would also draw labour from congested as well as distressed areas. There were still areas of severe unemployment. In parallel with the Shadow Factory scheme, the London Aircraft Production Group (LAPG) was formed in 1940 by combining management of factories and workshops of Chrysler at Kew , Duple , Express Motor & Bodyworks , Park Royal Coachworks and London Transport . The major activity of
236-543: A lack of progress in re-arming the Royal Air Force , the result of obstruction by William Morris, Lord Nuffield . Swinton's civil servants approached their new boss, Sir Kingsley Wood, and showed him a series of informal questions that they had asked since 1935 on the subject, such as those posed to Morris Motors with regard to aircraft engine production capability at its Cowley plant in Oxford . As it turned out,
295-482: A member of either House of Parliament. In practice, however, the convention is that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. In recent years such ministers have been appointed to the House of Lords. The government is required by convention and for practical reasons to maintain
354-412: A new House of Commons, unless the prime minister advises the monarch to dissolve Parliament , in which case an election may be held sooner. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons, usually by possessing a majority of MPs. Under the uncodified British constitution , executive authority lies with
413-564: A school. A Massey Ferguson memorial to the tractor production facility has been erected on the site. Banner Lane is the eponym of Banner Lane Ltd, an Executive Search firm founded at the site in 2020. The recruitment company is based in Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom and specialises in recruiting SC and DV cleared jobs within the UK Defence and Security sector. Shadow factory British shadow factories were
472-604: A substantial grant from the government, the Sovereign Support Grant , and Queen Elizabeth II's inheritance from her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , was exempt from inheritance tax . In addition to legislative powers, His Majesty's Government has substantial influence over local authorities and other bodies set up by it, through financial powers and grants. Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing benefits and council tax benefits, are funded or substantially part-funded by
531-726: A substantial management fee, in parallel under direct control of the motor industry business along with distributed facilities. General Erhard Milch , chief administrator of the Luftwaffe , was in Britain in the autumn of 1937 inspecting new shadow factories in Birmingham and Coventry , RAF aeroplanes and airfields. Up until the middle of 1938, the Air Ministry had been headed by Lord Swinton. He had been forced by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to resign his position due to
590-424: Is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch (that is, the king or queen who is the head of state at any given time) does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament. This constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with Magna Carta in 1215. Since
649-603: Is not vital. A government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the responsible house . The prime minister is held to account during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject. There are also departmental questions when ministers answer questions relating to their specific departmental brief. Unlike PMQs, both
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#1732794320649708-546: The Bristol Mercury engine. By January 1938 two of those shadow factories were producing complete airframes. In July 1938 the first bomber completely built in a shadow factory (Austin's) was flown in front of Sir Kingsley Wood, Secretary of State for Air. It was said eight shadow factories constructing aircraft components were in production in or near Coventry in February 1940. As the scheme progressed, and after
767-531: The Castle Bromwich Factory and promising a thousand Spitfires by June 1940 but, after two years, management was so poor that when June 1940 arrived not one Spitfire had been produced there. Castle Bromwich was withdrawn from Nuffield by Lord Beaverbrook . the Minister of Aircraft Production , and placed under the wing of Vickers-Supermarine . The plan had two parts: Under the plan, there
826-483: The Greater London Authority disputed. Similarly, the monarch is immune from criminal prosecution and may only be sued with his permission (this is known as sovereign immunity ). The sovereign, by law, is not required to pay income tax, but Queen Elizabeth II voluntarily paid it from 1993 until the end of her reign in 2022, and also paid local rates voluntarily. However, the monarchy also received
885-652: The Banner Lane plant costing £36,000 per annum. The intention was to build up to 500 tractors per day for which Standard would receive a fee for each one produced, and from mid-1946 until the end of 1947 over 20,800 new tractors had been built. At the height of production over 6,000 people were employed, and in 10 years more than 500,000 Ferguson TE tractors had been produced at Banner Lane. Disagreements between Standard and Ferguson culminated in Standard breaking all connections with both Ferguson and tractor production in
944-690: The Catalogue below: Government of the United Kingdom King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The government of
1003-511: The Crown, who may use them without having to obtain the consent of Parliament. The prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch. What is said in these meetings is strictly private; however, they generally involve government and political matters which the monarch has a "right and a duty" to comment on. Such comments are non-binding however and the King must ultimately abide by decisions of
1062-669: The European Parliament are immune from prosecution in EU states under any circumstance. As a consequence, neither EU bodies nor diplomats have to pay taxes, since it would not be possible to prosecute them for tax evasion. When the UK was a member of the EU, this caused a dispute when the US ambassador to the UK claimed that London's congestion charge was a tax, and not a charge (despite the name), and therefore he did not have to pay it—a claim
1121-581: The LAPG was delivered in 1941 and the last, named London Pride , in April 1945. The shadow factory proposals and implementation, particularly its rigidity when bombed, meant that other key areas of military production prepared their own dispersal factory plans: When the Birmingham Small Arms plant at Small Heath , the sole producer of service rifle barrels and main aircraft machine guns ,
1180-514: The London Aircraft Production Group was published in March 1945: This includes LAPG members with factories at Preston, Speke and Stockport. from May 1941 they took responsibility for final erection followed by the test flight and their first aircraft was airborne before the end of 1941. They were allotted their own aerodromes instead of sending aircraft to the Handley Page aerodrome. At peak
1239-515: The Minister for Production, stated in Parliament that there were "in round figures" 175 firms managing agency schemes or shadow factories. Information concerning the shadow factory plan and shadow factories can be found among the following records and descriptive series list code headings held by The National Archives . For the full set of references (including German shadow factories ) see
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#17327943206491298-580: The United Kingdom , officially His Majesty's Government , abbreviated to HM Government , is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The government is led by the prime minister (currently Keir Starmer since 5 July 2024) who selects all the other ministers . The country has had a Labour government since 2024. The prime minister Keir Starmer and his most senior ministers belong to
1357-440: The cabinet ministers for the department and junior ministers within the department may answer on behalf of the government, depending on the topic of the question. During debates on legislation proposed by the government, ministers—usually with departmental responsibility for the bill —will lead the debate for the government and respond to points made by MPs or Lords. Committees of both the House of Commons and House of Lords hold
1416-411: The charity commissions) are legally more or less independent of the government, and government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown under common law or granted and limited by act of Parliament. Both substantive and procedural limitations are enforceable in the courts by judicial review . Nevertheless, magistrates and mayors can still be arrested and put on trial for corruption, and
1475-436: The confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's budgets) and to pass primary legislation . By convention, if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a general election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay,
1534-534: The death of Austin in 1941, the Directorate of Air Ministry Factories, under the auspices of the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), gradually took charge of the construction of the buildings required for aircraft production. In early 1943 the functions of the directorate of Air Ministry Factories were transferred to the Ministry of Works . There were three waves of construction of shadow factories and only
1593-409: The exchequer to be a member of the House of Lords was Lord Denman , who served for one month in 1834. The British monarch is the head of state and the sovereign , but not the head of government . The monarch takes little direct part in governing the country and remains neutral in political affairs. However, the authority of the state that is vested in the sovereign, known as the Crown , remains
1652-532: The government has powers to insert commissioners into a local authority to oversee its work, and to issue directives that must be obeyed by the local authority if the local authority is not abiding by its statutory obligations. By contrast, as in European Union (EU) member states, EU officials cannot be prosecuted for any actions carried out in pursuit of their official duties, and foreign country diplomats (though not their employees) and foreign members of
1711-766: The government on the statement. When the government instead chooses to make announcements first outside Parliament, it is often the subject of significant criticism from MPs and the speaker of the House of Commons . The prime minister is based at 10 Downing Street in Westminster , London. Cabinet meetings also take place here. Most government departments have their headquarters nearby in Whitehall . The government's powers include general executive and statutory powers , delegated legislation , and numerous powers of appointment and patronage. However, some powerful officials and bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities , and
1770-485: The government to account, scrutinise its work and examine in detail proposals for legislation. Ministers appear before committees to give evidence and answer questions. Government ministers are also required by convention and the Ministerial Code , when Parliament is sitting, to make major statements regarding government policy or issues of national importance to Parliament. This allows MPs or Lords to question
1829-519: The government. Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to, the following: While no formal documents set out the prerogatives, the government published the above list in October 2003 to increase transparency, as some of the powers exercised in the name of the monarch are part of the royal prerogative . However, the complete extent of the royal prerogative powers has never been fully set out, as many of them originated in ancient custom and
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1888-414: The group involved 41 factories and dispersal units, 660 subcontractors and more than 51,000 employees, Ultimately output rose to 200 Halifaxes a month and the group provided something like 40 per cent of the nation's heavy bomber output. Halifax bombers dropped more than 200,000 tons of bombs. Sir Frederick Handley Page 's "thank you" to these "daughter" firms was a luncheon at The Dorchester at which
1947-532: The group was the production of Handley Page Halifax bombers for the Royal Air Force , ammunition, gun parts, armoured vehicles and spare parts for vehicles. The group was led by London Transport from its works at Chiswick and Aldenham and the new De Havilland factory at Leavesden, Hertfordshire , which had a large purpose-built factory and airfield (construction of both was authorised on 10 January 1940) for production, assembly and flight testing of completed Halifax bombers. The following list of eight members of
2006-486: The head of each firm received a silver model of a Halifax bomber and representative workmen received scrolls of commendation. Due to the high priority placed on aircraft production, large numbers of workers were drafted with little experience or training in aircraft production, with over half the workforce eventually being female. At its peak the LAPG included 41 factories or sites, 600 sub-contractors and 51,000 employees, producing one aircraft an hour. The first Halifax from
2065-754: The initiative (most of the facilities to be developed were alongside existing motor vehicle factories), and the technical liaison with the aircraft industry to Charles Bruce-Gardner . He also handed the delivery of the key new factory in Castle Bromwich , that was contracted to deliver 1,000 new Supermarine Spitfires to the RAF by the end of 1940, to Lord Nuffield, though in May 1940 the responsibility had to be taken from Nuffield and given to Vickers. The buildings were sheds up to 2,000 feet (610 m) long lit either by glazed roofs or " north-lit ". Office accommodation
2124-401: The last tractor, number 3,307,996 was completed. The factory continued some operations into 2003 though, finishing partially complete tractors, as well as providing gearboxes and other machined parts to Beauvais whilst they prepared for production of the existing 4300 series which would continue there until 2004. This final Banner Lane-designed tractor series was then succeeded in the same year by
2183-480: The location of a further shadow factory nearby, included the Bristol Beaufighter and De Havilland Mosquito twin-engined fighter bombers together with a variety of other matériel . After the war the shadow factory was no longer required by Bristol . However, discussions between Standard and Harry Ferguson in 1945 to build Ferguson tractors in the UK resulted in Standard signing a 10-year lease for
2242-570: The majority for export; however, increasing numbers of Massey Ferguson tractors were being built elsewhere, most notably at Beauvais in France. In order to rationalise production it was decided that either Beauvais or Banner Lane would be shut down, but pressure from the French Government and workers made Beauvais the more difficult of the two to close, sealing Banner Lane's fate. The tractors production line closed on Christmas Eve 2002 when
2301-481: The new 5400 series and lesser known Finnish-built 4400 series (Badge engineered Valtra A series). The enormous task of decommissioning, demolition of the plant and site clearance ended with the demolition of the 16-storey tower block on 8 July 2012 using high-explosive charges. and a housing development called Bannerbrook Park now occupies the site on which it has been planned to build the region of 1,000 new homes, together with an entire infrastructure including shops and
2360-584: The outcome of the Shadow Scheme , a plan devised in 1935 and developed by the British government in the buildup to World War II to try to meet the urgent need for more aircraft using technology transfer from the motor industry to implement additional manufacturing capacity. The term 'shadow' was not intended to mean secrecy, but rather the protected environment they would receive by being staffed by all levels of skilled motor industry people alongside (in
2419-563: The parts being produced at Rover 's shadow factory at Acocks Green , the Hercules engines were complex machines of 38.7 litres (2,360 cu in ) capacity having 14 cylinders in two radial rows using sleeve valves rather than poppet valves , and with an output of 1,290–1,735 horsepower (960–1,294 kW ) depending on the application. When production ended in 1945 more than 20,000 Hercules engines were built. Other wartime products managed by Standard but made at Canley ,
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2478-433: The period of absolute monarchy , or were modified by later constitutional practice. As of 2019, there are around 120 government ministers supported by 560,000 civil servants and other staff working in the 24 ministerial departments and their executive agencies . There are also an additional 20 non-ministerial departments with a range of further responsibilities. In theory, a government minister does not have to be
2537-601: The scheme in May 1938, on his appointment as Secretary of State for Air in place of Lord Swinton . Many more factories were built as part of the dispersal scheme designed to reduce the risk of a total collapse of production if what would otherwise be a major facility were bombed, though these were not shadow factories. It was impossible for these facilities to be secret, though they were camouflaged after hostilities began. They were war materiel production facilities built in "the shadow" of motor industry plants to facilitate technology transfer to aircraft construction and run, for
2596-537: The shadow of) their own similar motor industry operations. A directorate of Aeronautical Production was formed in March 1936 with responsibility for the manufacture of airframes as well as engines, associated equipment and armaments. The project was headed by Herbert Austin and developed by the Air Ministry under the internal project name of the Shadow Scheme. Sir Kingsley Wood took responsibility for
2655-514: The site was redeveloped for housing. In May 1939, the Air Ministry sought a facility to manufacture Bristol Hercules aero engines and construction of a plant commenced later that year on an 80- acre (320,000 m ) green-field site just outside Coventry. With over 1 million square feet (93,000 m) of floor space, the Banner Lane site was one of the largest shadow factories erected at Government expense, costing £1.7 million to build and set up for production. The new plant missed
2714-568: The small arms supplied to Britain's forces during the war. In June 1939 the response to a question in parliament was: 31 shadow factories were complete or under construction. The Air Ministry was responsible for 16 and, of those 16, 11 were working to full capacity. By that time large numbers of Bristol engines and aircraft were being made in Government owned shadow factories and in the Dominions and other foreign countries. In February 1944
2773-433: The source of executive power exercised by the government. In addition to explicit statutory authority , the Crown also possesses a body of powers in certain matters collectively known as the royal prerogative . These powers range from the authority to issue or withdraw passports to declarations of war. By long-standing convention, most of these powers are delegated from the sovereign to various ministers or other officers of
2832-666: The sovereign, although this authority is exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy Council . The prime minister, the House of Lords, the Leader of the Opposition, and the police and military high command serve as members and advisers of the monarch on the Privy Council. In most cases the cabinet exercise power directly as leaders of the government departments , though some Cabinet positions are sinecures to
2891-460: The specialised high-output engines required by the RAF were made by Armstrong Siddeley , Bristol Aeroplane , Napier & Son and Rolls-Royce , all of which employed a high number of sub-contractors. Despite their new factories, protestations by Wolseley Aero Engines (Nuffield) and Alvis were ignored. Their products were not required. Engines were specified by the aircraft's designers. Nuffield did participate after Wood's appointment, providing
2950-400: The start of Edward VII 's reign in 1901, by convention, the prime minister has been an elected member of Parliament (MP) and thus answerable to the House of Commons, although there were two weeks in 1963 when Alec Douglas-Home was first a member of the House of Lords and then of neither house. A similar convention applies to the position of chancellor of the exchequer . The last chancellor of
3009-526: The summer and autumn 1940 bombing raids of the Coventry Blitz and was fully functioning before the end of that year. Its curious similarity to other shadow factories was because the buildings were designed by the Government's own architects. The business was run, for a £40,000 per annum management fee, by Standard Motor Company enabling products and plant to benefit from Standard's expertise in making similar, if much less complex, products. With some of
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#17327943206493068-427: The summer of 1959. By this time Harry Ferguson Ltd had formed a merger with Massey Harris to become Massey-Harris-Ferguson, later shortened to Massey Ferguson . All Standard's tractor assets were sold to Massey Ferguson on 31 August 1959 and Banner Lane entered the sole ownership of Massey Ferguson. By 2000, the plant covered 1.8 million ft (170,000 m) and tractor output was in excess of 70,000 per annum,
3127-581: The supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet . Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit; they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords . The government is dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation , and general elections are held every five years (at most) to elect
3186-524: The third and smallest reached Scotland in the shape of the factory at Hillington producing Rolls-Royce's Merlin engines. Ferranti's factory in Crewe Toll, Edinburgh will have been secret. Similar plans were introduced in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The White Paper on Defence published in February 1937 revealed that steps had been taken to reduce the risk of air attack delivering
3245-425: Was Austin . The first motor manufacturers chosen for engine shadows were: Austin, Daimler , Humber (Rootes Securities), Singer , Standard , Rover and Wolseley . In the event Lord Nuffield took Wolseley out of the arrangement and Singer proved to be in serious financial difficulty. Wood handed the overall project implementation to the Directorate of Air Ministry Factories, appointing Herbert Austin to lead
3304-606: Was bombed by the Luftwaffe in August–November 1940, it caused delays in productions, which reportedly worried PM Churchill the most among all the industrial damage during the Blitz. The Government Ministry of Supply and BSA immediately began a process of production dispersal throughout Britain, through the shadow factory scheme. Later in the war BSA controlled 67 factories from its Small Heath office, employing 28,000 people operating 25,000 machine tools, and produced more than half
3363-459: Was added, then a flight shed 500 feet (150 m) by 190 feet (58 m) was attached to the airframe factory. The new factory buildings were models of efficient factory layout. They had wide, clear gangways and good lighting, and they were free of shafting and belt drives. The five shadow factories in Coventry were all in production by the end of October 1937 and they were all making parts of
3422-548: Was brick, and wherever possible faced a main road. These buildings were extremely adaptable and would remain part of the British industrial landscape for more than 50 years. One of the largest was Austin's Cofton Hackett, beside their Longbridge plant , started in August 1936. 1,530 feet (470 m) long and 410 feet (120 m) wide, the structure covered 20 acres (81,000 m ). Later a 15 acres (61,000 m ) airframe factory
3481-408: Was government funding for the building of these new production facilities, in the form of grants and loans. Key to the plan were the products and plans of Rolls-Royce, whose Merlin engine powered many of the key aircraft being developed by the Air Ministry, as well as Bristol Hercules engine. Bristol Aeroplane would not allow shadow factories to build complete engines, only components. The exception
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