Here's a recently published book for everyone to read on the fall of the British Aircraft Industry...
...seemed it was doomed from the lack of Govt action at the end of WWII - too many aircraft and aero-engine manufacturers fighting for too few orders.
Here's a link to a review
Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World, By James Hamilton-Paterson - Reviews, Books - The Independent
Last sentence says it all "It is also a tale of fudging, incompetence, malice, complacency and ignorance."