ROMFT_WO2RN

far too pre-occupied with dishing out aid and bailouts

and typically cuts the armed forces and then promptly sends them off to foreign shores

slapphead_otool

Well there isnt one really. A coalition of the killing.

A set of balls would be a good start.

ROMFT_WO2RN

no chance, they've each castrated each others policies.

slapphead_otool

In reality is probably isn’t the PMs who have lost the plot. But the Civil Servants.

When I was a kid you looked up to certain members of the community. The Bank manager, the schoolteacher, and the civil servants.

They worked all their lives on pretty basic pay, got a pension and if they were lucky an OBE and became the school governors, the local JPs, etc.

These days no one gives a flying fig about an MBE, or being a JP, or a school governor.

Everyone wants to be a broker or dealer, make a quick killing and move to Spain.

This means that the former bright Civil Servant who read classics at Cambridge is now a scruffy tosser from Luton who went to community college, whilst the Cambridge star becomes an Investment Advisor, who tells Tata to buy a steelworks, claim the carbon credits and then get EU funding to redevelop the land for housing.

The politician, who always was a dumbass, looks on in confusion as the scruffy tosser gives him useless advice.

Cape Blue

I think you'll find there are plenty of Victorian pipework still in-use in the UK, and plenty of hosepipe bans too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3538428.stm

slapphead_otool

I agree. My point was that Britain ended its benefit from its relationship with India in 1947.

India continues to benefit to this day. Thousands of municipal buildings, roads, courthouses, prisons, bridges, railway lines and stations, Police stations and post offices, etc. remain in use.

And within those buildings, systems developed by the British continue to serve modern day Indians.

Cape Blue

But Britain didn't "give" those items to India, it was Indians building the buildings, bridges etc in their own country under UK rule.

Britain's benefit in terms of the financial rewards of owning India at the time were doubtless reinvested in other infrastructure at home and investments elsewhere - they will similarly still be benefitting the UK now, just not as obviously.

I do however find it somewhat strange that the UK funds development in India when they have a space program and nuclear weapons.

slapphead_otool

True, but to British designs and under British management. If it was just a case of using Indian labour they would have built it all themselves long before the British arrived.

In fact many of the buildings and bridges in the early Victorian era were in fact cast iron pre build knock down kits, ready for easy assembly, made by companies like Butterly Ironworks, Leys Malleable Castings and Handyside. If you look on the side of many Indian railway bridges they still carry the mark of these foundry’s.

In later years the British built the very steelworks that Tata now own.
I repeat my early point. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Yes Britain got a lot out of India, and India in turn got a lot out of Britain

renth

We gave them railways, democracy and Christianity and they should show us some F***ing gratitude by not stealing our call centre/steelworks jobs.

cresta57

They gave us Balti's & late night corner convenience shopping Damn fair swap

renth

I thought most curry houses were Bangladeshi not Indian? Still as Alf Garnett would say "Same fing innit?"

moneypenny20

Sad, pathetic. Apparently. Oh and I'm another one that doesn't like the word rape used in such context but hey ho.

paulry

But some aid looks very good and worthy. And some not.

elfman

MG Rover went bust and shut down in 2005 under British ownership, long before Tata came on the scene. Tata bought the rights to the Rover name in 2008 but never owned any of their assets.

IndieG

Aah, Elfman, you're letting truth get in the way of a good story about all those big bad Indians!