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Politics, politics, politics (so long and thanks for all the fish)

SpurMeUp

SpurMeUp

Les Howe
Grays_1890 said:
Stone me we are still negotiating our exit from the EU, what do you expect? Once out we can concentrate on setting our own agenda and working on the strengths of the country.

I'm personally looking forward to a blue passport...
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This post says so little and yet so much. I won't sully it by pointing out reality. Lets keep living the dream! :cool:
 
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Grays_1890 said:
Stone me we are still negotiating our exit from the EU, what do you expect? Once out we can concentrate on setting our own agenda and working on the strengths of the country.

I'm personally looking forward to a blue passport...
Click to expand...

Should have been negotiating trade deals with other countries right from the off, sod off with it was against the rules gonads it is not an act of aggression your just looking after your own countries interests.

The is a whole world out there and after a short down turn due to the EU being gangsters who are trying a shake down that gangsters do we will be able to prosper as a truly forward thinking independent country.

Has anyone ever come up with a good reason for why the EU are so angry at us for wanting to leave and why they are trying everything in their power to stop us leaving, there constant talk about us having another referendum. Surely it is obvious it is just a bunch of gangsters trying a shake down.
 
Grays_1890 said:
The Blue passport part was a joke.

The UKs biggest industry is the services industry followed by tourism. There are major pockets of opportunity for both by not being in the EU.
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Fair enough. Nice to hear some positives. Can you say what the major pockets of opportunity are for UK services and tourism?

Tourism will be boosted by a lower pound. It's not a good thing for most industries or UK citizens but is terrific for tourists. Everything is 20% off at the moment for them. And anything imported is 15-20% more expensive for us. A lower pound is the UK being valued at 15-20% less against other nations. In short not great for us.
 
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Grays_1890 said:
Stone me we are still negotiating our exit from the EU, what do you expect? Once out we can concentrate on setting our own agenda and working on the strengths of the country.

I'm personally looking forward to a blue passport...
Click to expand...

....decades of trying to work out what this is whilst banging the Rule Britannica drum whilst the rest of the world moves on and sells us products in whatever manner they wish because we have at best, a very weak negotiation position, a lack of negotiating talent and very little in the way of a USP....

(But we will have democratic freedom unicorns, so that's nice)
 
SpurMeUp said:
Fair enough. Nice to hear some positives. Can you say what the major pockets of opportunity are for UK services and tourism?

Tourism will be boosted by a lower pound. It's not a good thing for most industries or UK citizens but is terrific for tourists. Everything is 20% off at the moment for them. And anything imported is 15-20% more expensive for us. A lower pound is the UK being valued at 15-20% less against other nations. In short not great for us.
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Imported food will be higher than that if Gove is to believed. Tariffs on all imported food in the event of a hard brexit is his latest announcement.
 
Rorschach said:
Imported food will be higher than that if Gove is to believed. Tariffs on all imported food in the event of a hard brexit is his latest announcement.
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I like how they are finally trying to tackle the obesity problems in this country. Cameron moaning about chocolate oranges being sold at tills never really cut it for me.
 
ringo said:
On Honda - whether or not the decision is Brexit related it doesn't serve Honda's interests to tinkle the UK govn off by saying so at this particularly sensitive (re Brexit) moment.
It's not the Japanese way.

But given Japan's trade deal with the EU, plus Japanese auto making it clear they wanted us in the customs union/free movement of goods with EU, and state of Brexit negotiations, it would be foolish to suggest Brexit played no role at all in decision.
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They only want us in the customs union because they have a zero tariff deal with the EU and would like that to extend to cars sold to the UK.
 
SpurMeUp said:
Okay. Consider this: Honda Swindon produce around 160,000 cars a year. Its half what it was in the good times. A Honda Civic is about £18k. If you do the maths that is many many millions in revenue. Of that 160,000 cars most go to Europe. Some to the US, a few are sold here. Honda would not give up the millions that they are making on this (comparatively small) production. They would have kept things going were it not for (at least) two things. First and foremost, a new EU free trade deal the UK had no say over which means they can export cars from Japan to Europe. Before there was a 10% tax or tariff and that's why Japanese car firms made cars in the UK - to service Europe. Now they don't have to. That is the big piece here. When the CEO gives this bad news its not technically because of Brexit, it because their trade terms have changed. But had we been party to this trade deal, we would not have given up thousands of UK jobs lightly.

Add on top of that that Honda need to plan for electric production lines, and the uncertainty of Brexit (will there be a hard exit disrupting supplies? see Honda's position on Brexit and the same guys quotes a year before https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45558424 ) Its a no brainer for the Japanese. Had the UK been in the EU we would not have given up these Japanese car jobs so easily as we'd have been at the trade negotiations. However, in return the EU will be able to sell billions worth of goods to Japan that have been stopped with tariffs on their end. It is estimated that the UK benefit from the free trade agreement with Japan is £3b+ each year in new trade. Outside the EU of course we won't get that. But we can make our own agreement with Japan if they'll listen and talk. It took the EU 4 years to do this deal.

Honda senior management will have been planning this with their PR departments for sometime. Planning what they say, planning how not to damage their brand and standing in the UK. Of course they are not going to be divisive and alienate people by blaming the UK. What a stupid move that would be. Draw your own conclusions. But at least consider some of the details.
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The only reason Honda built cars in the UK is to avoid external tariffs. No other reason.

Compared to most places around the world, the UK workforce is unmotivated, unreliable, over compensated, inefficient, resistant to change and technology, undereducated, has a long history of union involvement and full of what rights they believe they're due with no consideration for their employers.

Nobody in their right mind would set up in the UK just for the sake of manufacturing in the UK.
 
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scaramanga said:
The only reason Honda built cars in the UK is to avoid external tariffs. No other reason.

Compared to most places around the world, the UK workforce is unmotivated, unreliable, over compensated, inefficient, resistant to change and technology, undereducated, has a long history of union involvement, full of what rights they believe they're due with no consideration for their employers.

Nobody in their right mind would set up in the UK just for the sake of manufacturing in the UK.
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I completely agree, which is another solid reason why leaving the EU was a bad idea.
 
galeforce said:
I completely agree, which is another solid reason why leaving the EU was a bad idea.
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I think trade tariffs are bad in the long run for everyone - not least because they remove any incentives to repair the issues I've listed above.
 
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SpurMeUp said:
Fair enough. Nice to hear some positives. Can you say what the major pockets of opportunity are for UK services and tourism?

Tourism will be boosted by a lower pound. It's not a good thing for most industries or UK citizens but is terrific for tourists. Everything is 20% off at the moment for them. And anything imported is 15-20% more expensive for us. A lower pound is the UK being valued at 15-20% less against other nations. In short not great for us.
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The UK will never be able to compete in the automotive industry long term because the country does not produce cars competitively against the Chinese and Japanese. So we should concentrate on what we are good at and where opportunity lies which is the services industries. Banking, Financial, Regulation, Tourism. Being out of the EU will allow us to set our own tax levels on tourists and take advantage of the fact that countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece who are traditional tourist destinations suffer and have the highest level of youth unemployment since in years if not ever.


Whats also interesting is despite this whole “Honda is leaving due to Brexit” another Japanese car manufacturer decides to build its newest car here still? Surely they follow Honda out the UK for the same reasons if Brexit is to be believed for their leaving?


Like all passages in history there might be a need to reskill but we are moving into the tech age, Google, Snapchat, Apple, SoftBank are all investing in the UK and why foreign investment in the UK technology industry has doubled in recent years.


Its all well and good being full of doom and gloom but the funny part is by highlighting the Honda issues whilst reading between the lines (superman) you ignored Gove announcing food priced increase due to Brexit
 
Grays_1890 said:
Like all passages in history there might be a need to reskill but we are moving into the tech age, Google, Snapchat, Apple, SoftBank are all investing in the UK and why foreign investment in the UK technology industry has doubled in recent years.
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That is where the future is for us as a country.
 
galeforce said:
I completely agree, which is another solid reason why leaving the EU was a bad idea.
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Or it is the kick up the arse this country needs to get itself on its feet. I have always said hard work is good for the soul, you either go the education route and get proper skills or you work your balls off in a manual job. I never did the education route yet still made a very good income and life for myself. The are far to many wanting an easy ride in life.

I keep trying to drum this into my boy who wants to be a musician then a chef then an artist. He can do what he wants but he better work his fcuking socks off. Do not mind if he becomes gay or a muslim but he better work his fcuking socks off.
 
scaramanga said:
The only reason Honda built cars in the UK is to avoid external tariffs. No other reason.

Compared to most places around the world, the UK workforce is unmotivated, unreliable, over compensated, inefficient, resistant to change and technology, undereducated, has a long history of union involvement and full of what rights they believe they're due with no consideration for their employers.

Nobody in their right mind would set up in the UK just for the sake of manufacturing in the UK.
Click to expand...

That has been my impression of the work force as well.

As you know I took on a part time job at B&Q more just to keep me active because at 53 was to young to be retired. But it was an eye opener seeing how unmotivated some of the youngsters were. Not that they dont pull their weight when they are at work because they do enough not to get sacked.

But you have young kids 18 to 23 year olds moaning about job prospects, they are not getting themselves an education or skills training and even when management offer to put them into the in house training schemes they usually decline or pull faces and make out they are doing them a big favour. You have me a part timer old guy with parkinsons and I swear I could be shift manager some days because no one else wants to do it.

They poke their noses up at any extra work or responsibility, yet if they took it and did it for a few years they could then move on to a bigger and better job.

The government could help by really valuing vocational skills instead of trying to get everyone into university to do degrees.
 
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