Originally Posted by
andrewM
Muskett, not at all - your posts are always informative and interesting!
I agree with what you say. It is also worth reflecting that in Germany, it is often engineers who are the CEOs of their companies whereas, here, it is often accountants!
As a nation, we are also great inventors; more than 50% of the world's inventions have come, remarkably, from the UK - or close to it. Alas, it is usually other countries that exploit these and/or buy them.
You are correct about the EU: they have given grants to many countries but none was provided here, when many manufacturers needed them.
In addition, the govt has for decades allowed foreign companies to hoover up our best corporations: ICI, Hanson, Pilkington Glass, BOC, Cadbury, etc, being just a few of these. With Cadbury, the manufacturing plant was closed and relocated - as is often the case. In addition, we lose the crucial research and development operations - also relocated overseas. Not least, we lose the component manufacturers and suppliers, which are also sourced from the country of the company that took the British company over.
It would be difficult to make all this up. Other countries would not permit it or, at least, would place impediments in the way.
All of this is not helped by the mental outlook in some industries: the greatest possible return on the lowest capital investment. That is what happened, in our country, to great names such as BSA and Webley. And do we still make rifled barrels or are these now all imported from abroad? Given we were 150 years ahead of our competitors with the industrial revolution, we should not be in pole position. Govts of all stripes have much to answer for.
What you say about fuel costs in your later post is also true; we have some of the highest costs of energy in the world and yet an ample supply for decades ahead of our own fuel, which sits in the ground. One might be forgiven for thinking there was a deliberate de-industrialisation policy by the govt.
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