The compensation paid to nationalisation was:

• A. £2,000 million
• B. £2,700 million
• C. £3,000 million
• D. £2,900 million

Answer: (B)

When governments nationalise industries, they compensate private owners for the transfer of ownership. In postwar Britain, the scale of that compensation was substantial, reflecting the value placed on assets and shares across key industries like coal, railways and electricity. The total compensation paid is widely cited as about £2,700 million, which shows the large public-finance commitment involved in moving to widespread state ownership. This figure comes from official histories and exam materials and highlights how nationalisation was financed—through public borrowing and taxation—rather than being a loss of private property without payment. The amount encapsulates the overall cost of the transfer to the state, not just a single industry, and is the figure commonly used to illustrate the financial footprint of the postwar nationalisation program.