Sorry Hora, you are very blinkered and you present an over simplistic argument much vaunted since the 80’s.
British industry was abandoned to its fate, aided by stupid acts from workers and Unions alike. And we have not learned, a case in point – the insane decision not to support LDV (a typical Thatcherite response – not profitable so leave it to its fate).
So LDV closes for the want of £45M, a decision supported by the economist on Question Time on Thursday evening based upon its inability to return to profit within the year and so it may require additional support in the following years.
All LDV personnel are now or will be on unemployment benefit with skills that are not required elsewhere. Suppliers are folding and will continue to do so – more unemployment and strain on the system. Knock on effects – local retail and consumer services businesses either reduce or fail – more unemployment. And so the cycle progresses. No income, no spending, no tax revenues from PAYE, VAT, etc just cost.
Intervention is not a dirty word in mainland Europe, just here after years of Thatcherite propaganda from both her regime, that of Major and of the Blair/Brown years. Even that greta bastion of capitalism and the free market, the US, is intervening to save large manufacturing.
In Italy they regularly prop up industries by large scale government intervention. This keeps the main manufacturing industries running, their suppliers and all of the dependent businesses. This reduces the state burden, allows a much smaller state machine to manage the bureaucracy and maintains social cohesion. This can be done because Italy never went through the “Me first and the devil take the hindmost” era of Thatcher and her policies. Italy is a country where the real values of life – family, friends, quality time and a zest for life still exist. The continued employment also allows people to spend their wages, pay taxes directly and on good sold and therefore returns funds to government coffers. It works in many European countries and could have worked here if, at the time, we had leaders on either side such as Joe Gormley leading the NUM instead of Scargill and a Conservative Whet rather than Thatcher. I am from Rotherham, I go back infrequently and my memories of a vibrant town with fantastic people do not match the reality of today. The shops are closed or charity shops, the people look defeated – many of my peers left and would not consider going back.
One of our customers asked me to accompany them on a 10 day trip to China. They were going to switch their manufacturing rather than manufacture or source in the UK. I went to look at how we could manage the messages to staff and suppliers in the UK. I was appalled at the working conditions, wages, etc. Men lifting white hot castings and forgings with tongs, wearing nothing but all I can describe as pyjamas and flip flops. They earn less than £5 per day, the reason my client was switching to China. (we resigned the account when they decided to switch).
The MD of the Chinese company and I had a frank chat one evening and he was very candid – the most telling comment was: “Why do you come here to buy my products? You can make them in England so why buy from me, I know I am cheap for you at the moment but if you keep buying from me your own factories will close and you will lose all of the skills you have.”
I explained that this was the price of global business.
His reply: “But when my country begins to develop towards a western economy, I will not be able to supply the demand in my own local market I certainly will not want to ship products around the world unless I can command a very high price. When this happens you will have to pay the high price because you will have no one left to make it in England or you will have to use something else.”
We are in sad state in the UK, we are a shining example of a society that know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I have no solutions to offer, just that I am convinced none of the liars, cheats and charlatans currently in Westminster are any more inspired than I.
