Britain's shame... how did we forget how to make things ?

[Hiney]

Its the global economy. If you want to buy a good quality, hand made garden set from a company in Bradford then you can still do that. Its just that most people would rather buy something cheap from B&Q with the expectation that they'll be back buying another set in a couple of years when the old one has fallen apart. People don't really buy things to last anymore, they buy things for convenience.

Another example would be clothes shops like H&M, Primark and New Look. People know they are buying crap quality but they do anyway because they know, at the end of the season, they'll chuck it all away and buy something new.

I understand all of that, it's just so SAD that China can do that sort thing so much cheaper than we can.

 

[vegster]

That is great, of course we can be very proud. However there is a great irony in celebrating our famed expertise in car and vehicle manufacture when we are allowing our steel industry to disappear.

But our vehicle manufacturing is all owned by overseas companies other than a few specialised kit cars.

 

[LlcoolJ]

Another example would be clothes shops like H&M, Primark and New Look. People know they are buying crap quality but they do anyway because they know, at the end of the season, they'll chuck it all away and buy something new.

Very true and completely inexcusable as not only does this highlight why British manufacturing is screwed, it also explains why most people are so badly dressed.

 

[beorhthelm]

I understand all of that, it's just so SAD that China can do that sort thing so much cheaper than we can.

on the other hand, they are poorer (even accounting for cost of living) and live with lots more pollution that we do. no one wants anything built here, even if its someone elses back garden. 10 years they've already been banging on about Hinkley point, look at the airport debacle. locally no-one wants new roads or an incinerator in Newhaven. and off course the long struggle for the stadium. we wont build or invest in our own country, we'd rather do it somewhere else.

 

[LlcoolJ]

I understand all of that, it's just so SAD that China can do that sort thing so much cheaper than we can.

But hardly surprising considering the cost of living, population etc etc etc ad infinitum

Edit- beaten to it

 

[Bold Seagull]

But our vehicle manufacturing is all owned by overseas companies other than a few specialised kit cars.

As an economy, that is fine though, those manufacturers use our workforce, hopefully pay our taxes (coughs), British ownership is not essential if the industry remains. However losing our ability to manufacture and produce raw materials should be of real concern.

 

[GOM]

When I was at B&Q, I remember talking to a buyer about why all the garden furniture was being bought in from China.

He said that it was cheaper to buy 10,000 garden furniture sets from China, then it was to get them from a company in Bradford. The quality was largely an irrelevance, it was ALL about the COST

How have we allowed this to happen.

We haven't forgotten how to make things, we the labour force have simply become too expensive. We have minimum wages, paid holidays, etc. all sorts of employees rights, you name them.

I'm sure if everyone was prepared to work for a fraction of their wage, forget their rights, then we could become a forerunner in 'making things' again.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

It's been a rather awful few days for me watching Cameron and Osborne suck up to the Chinese president. So, we are unable to build our own nuclear power stations unless we get help from the French and Chinese and of course, they then have the opportunity to make money out of us as the electricity generated is going to cost us a darn sight more than present.

A month or so back we were sucking up to the Japanese to build our trains for us too so where did it go wrong ? Soon we will lose what remains of our UK Steel industry too ( although its almost all owned by overseas companies ), when it's gone you can't bring it back.

If you look at the Victorians they built infrastructure and built it to last and with some style as a bonus, nowadays about the best we can make is coffee. We have now signed a deal which saves China the inconvenience of targetting us with a few missiles as soon we will have 3 working nuclear bombs in place to save them the bother.

When Michael Gove declared that Jeremy Corbyn was " An enemy of the State" for his declared views on nuclear weapons had he not considered DC's shameful sellout ?

This has got nothing to do with our ability to build things, more our ability to fund the building of them. As I understand it, at Hinkley Point C Power Station the Project Management Contracts have been placed, exclusively, with UK companies and a number of UK Contractors in JV's with foreign companies will undertake the construction works. This is normal due to the vast scale of the works, as, for example, a contractor like Bouygues with a turnover approaching £30 billion is three times the size of the UK's largest contractor, Balfour Beatty.

 

[vegster]

As an economy, that is fine though, those manufacturers use our workforce, hopefully pay our taxes (coughs), British ownership is not essential if the industry remains. However losing our ability to manufacture and produce raw materials should be of real concern.

The point is that we are at the mercy of those foreign owners when they decide that its cheaper or they get sweeteners to move their business elsewhere. The current steel industries crisis could easily be duplicated if Honda pull out as it's cheaper to build in India or elsewhere. The talk about the reactors being built was all about how many British jobs it will create but, what happens when the plant is finished ? It will be all about how the local economy from the engineers down to the local coffee shop will be losing so much trade with nothing to replace it. We put all our eggs in one basket and then stick our heads in the sand.

 

[glasfryn]

We are just cheap tarts hanging around at the bar waiting for the next high roller to come in then go all gooey eyed when they get their wallet out.

did'nt you know they are our new best friends

 

[skipper734]

If anyone gets bored knocking the country here are two links with some light reading

some incredible scientific advances this century especially in medicine,helped out by great British ingenuity
http://www.britsattheirbest.com/ingenious/ii_21st_century.htm

some of the best minds and manufacturers in Specialist Cars
http://www.smmt.co.uk/wp-content/up...cturing-a-uniquely-British-success-story1.pdf

Rule Britannia

I don't think anyone who has posted on this thread is knocking the Country. Plenty of Politician bashing. Well they were wrong about coal. I miss black buildings, walking around and not see ing your hand in front of your face, mine disasters etc.
Subsidising all this heavy industry has a cost in our neck of the woods. The money sent up north to placate all the hand wringing, gives them better roads and infrastructure. Do they use it, no they all migrate down here where there is next to no infrastructure. Goodness knows what they find to work at. All Brighton's industry of old has gone, Alan West, Kearney and Trecker CVA, Cox's. Further back, train building, Fyffes bananas and BMW Isetta assembly, and loads more that I've forgotten about.
As a reward for the loss of our local industry we get a place that it seems the whole country moves to (Universities, the new industry) we get a tiny piece of motorway in the County.
Anyway rant over, Rule Britannia and and Sussex.

PS. Where is the Stand or Fall banner. Put it Back!

 

[JC Footy Genius]

We still make one or two things......

 

[Lincoln Imp]

Ah, but it will all be all right when we leave the EU. With the shackles cast off we will storm the planet, exporting to every corner of the globe.

No longer will we be screwed down to a welfare-dependant and over-taxed model that stops us and all the other EU countries trading with the fast developing world.

 

[vegster]

We still make one or two things......

American company Amazon now make Top Gear, so, thats one less....

 

[JC Footy Genius]

American company Amazon now make Top Gear, so, thats one less....

Self deprecating humour ... another Great British tradition

 

[sir albion]

This is very disturbing and it shows you that the hierarchy are only out there to sell this country to the dogs.Christ we as a country have really gone backwards and are nothing but puppets to other countries.
I didn't even know the Chinese owned Heathrow airport and loads more as mentioned before.Not only do we ship 10's of billions out of the country every year on mostly pointless things,but we now see Chinese investors over here looking to make a quick buck or two.
We as a country are having our identity washed down the river by these idiotic politicians....How will we ever be proud again the way things are going?
Money and greed is destroying our once great country and we can do nothing about it....very sad times ahead.
China buying everything to make billions and the Germans and EU milking us and abusing us....we're a lost puppy that's needs guidance to getting back to being Great Britain and for us to be proud again,sadly it will get worse.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

This is very disturbing and it shows you that the hierarchy are only out there to sell this country to the dogs.Christ we as a country have really gone backwards and are nothing but puppets to other countries.
I didn't even know the Chinese owned Heathrow airport and loads more as mentioned before.Not only do we ship 10's of billions out of the country every year on mostly pointless things,but we now see Chinese investors over here looking to make a quick buck or two.
We as a country are having our identity washed down the river by these idiotic politicians....How will we ever be proud again the way things are going?
Money and greed is destroying our once great country and we can do nothing about it....very sad times ahead.
China buying everything to make billions and the Germans and EU milking us and abusing us....we're a lost puppy that's needs guidance to getting back to being Great Britain and for us to be proud again,sadly it will get worse.

I'm afraid this is what you get when you elect a load of Old Etonians. They imagine that getting screwed by the bigger boys is the normal way of things.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Self deprecating humour ... another Great British tradition

I love self-deprecating humour. Just wish I was bit better at it.

 

[JC Footy Genius]

I love self-deprecating humour. Just wish I was bit better at it.

Looking forward to seeing you live at the Apollo

 

[severnside gull]

It's been a rather awful few days for me watching Cameron and Osborne suck up to the Chinese president. So, we are unable to build our own nuclear power stations unless we get help from the French and Chinese and of course, they then have the opportunity to make money out of us as the electricity generated is going to cost us a darn sight more than present.

A month or so back we were sucking up to the Japanese to build our trains for us too so where did it go wrong ? Soon we will lose what remains of our UK Steel industry too ( although its almost all owned by overseas companies ), when it's gone you can't bring it back.

If you look at the Victorians they built infrastructure and built it to last and with some style as a bonus, nowadays about the best we can make is coffee. We have now signed a deal which saves China the inconvenience of targetting us with a few missiles as soon we will have 3 working nuclear bombs in place to save them the bother.

When Michael Gove declared that Jeremy Corbyn was " An enemy of the State" for his declared views on nuclear weapons had he not considered DC's shameful sellout ?

Thatcher deliberately killed our manufacturing base when she decided to turn us into a service economy. She broke the unions who might have opposed her. She allowed whole industries to slide into decline. She killed house building by selling off the existing (state owned) housing stock. She was lauded for it while those who worked with their hands were publicly vilified.
It continues thus to this day and receives popular support from those who benefit or aspire to benefit from it..
All very good for a relative few as long as we are prepared to spend more to bale out the bankers than we ever did those who actually make things. And as long as we are prepared to parade other nations who still make (and subsidise the making of) goods while continuing to close down the small manufacturing base we have until now retained.
It's all a matter of choice and as long as you understand that once bridges are burned you can rarely go there again you are free to forge on in whatever direction you decide.