Since the collapse of the Communist states in Eastern Europe attention has shifted from comparing capitalism and socialism to comparing different forms of capitalism, most notably in Hall and Soskice's 2001 edited volume, The Varieties of Capitalism. In this framework Britain is presented as a liberal market economy (LME) in contrast to Germany and other continental European countries which are typically presented as coordinated market economies. From the Varieties of Capitalism perspective Britain's post-Second World War reconstruction is an interesting case study as it has been common to present this period as a missed opportunity to change Britain's institutions to improve Britain's post-war economic performance. In particular, Britain is seen to have adopted Keynesianism but, unlike Germany and other continental European countries, failed to adjust relations between the state, business and trade unions, with none of the three parties willing to sacrifice their independence. Thus free collective bargaining remained in place and the 1947 and 1948 Companies Acts failed to reform fundamentally the nature of British firms. This paper will examine this picture by considering government policies to control dividends. This policy was related both to wage restraint policy and policy towards corporate governance.