Re: benefits
 

How many can Buy British ? firstly because the majority of posters here are living in Spain, so surely should be buying Spanish where possible.
But more importantly, what is there left of British manufacturing. ?? :frown:
Britain is nothing but a jumble of call centres, which are starting to fill up again as offshoring is starting to get a dirty word in the boardroom.
We don't make anything anymore, if we do its with imported parts.

Who are the "big" names in the UK high street ? - New Look, Zavvi, TKMaxx etc etc etc. All source vast majority of their products from the sweat shops of the Far East, ferried in by plane or container ship.
Supermarkets source more and more non-seasonal food all the year round at great expense to the environment. But they are feeling the pinch from the Lidl and Aldi stores from mainland Eu.

As to cars, well most come in through the purpose built terminal at Bristol in special ships.
Oh my car was made in West Midlands, and if I can afford it will be replaced by one from the same UK plant.

We have put many fine men (and women) on the scrapheap, throwing away all those years of apprenticeship, experience, and knowhow.

Re: benefits
 

Did I say I was working class?

Re: benefits
 

it shouldnt be necessary, one's class would be obvious to the observer before they even opened their mouth.

however, we all know that Meg is in a class all of her own..:D

The working class can kiss my a**e, I've got the foreman's job at last

Re: benefits
 

I obviously take the point about residency.

I do not totally agree about Uk manufacturing. We remain the 6th largest in the world.
We may have moved to higher end manufacturing as we cannot compete with many other countries, but we are still a sizeable manufacturing country.

My post just questioned the British attitude to buying it's own goods. I glad you buy Uk cars, so do I.

Re: benefits
 

Not quite sure how you meant that one Dom. :unsure: ;)

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Our car was made in Barcelona, but my husband's motorbike was made in the East Midlands. Best of both!

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My car, washing machine, fridge freezer were all made in Germany. My computer was made in the USA, and my TV is Japanese. My cooker is Spanish and cooked only Spanish ingredients earlier.

I feel terrible now, I can't think of anything that came from the UK.

Yes, I can, I've got some UK sausages and bacon from Iceland in the German freezer. And I watch Sky News.

Re: benefits
 

Yeah Yeah Yeah

but what has that all got to do with benefits ??
except that some are showing their benefits

this is getting very very OT methinks

rgds

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Honest ????

:(

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OH WTF......

why feel terrible ??
you are being honest and telling it as it is, although some labels on products require a little digging, things may have a well known name on them but it doesnt mean they are actually made in the country of that name. ISTR not too long ago a scare about laptop batteries blowing up - made in a totally different country to that of the OEM, then it transpired the same manufacturer was making batteries for nearly all OEM's across the market. But it had the laptop manufacturer's labels on it without saying country of soucre. Also Acer - used to make laptops for many well known names and just label them according to the purchase order.

hth

Re: benefits
 

You beat me to it Dom, I was about to say that you can't always tell the country of origin.
Much of what we buy was only assembled in the stated country, with parts being sourced from where ever the best deal can be had, often China!

If any doubters want to see how that has decimated the manufacturing industry of the UK they should venture further north than Watford, what was once the hub of industry is now a wasteland where call centre jobs are now highly desired....there isn't much of anything else. :(

Re: benefits
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufac...United_Kingdom

It's not all doom and gloom, but the manufacturing has moved up the chain to higher-value goods that require less labor to make them.

Re: benefits
 

so prices and therefore output by value have increased

what about volume ??

what about the importation of goods to make that output ??

what about the days where I used to see 40-50 girls using soldering irons and magnifying spotlights, now someone loads a day's output into different bins and the pcb's come off by the hundreds a minute instead of an hour.
the use of surface mount components to facilitate this was around 20 years ago.
wiring looms for motor cars were made up using automatic crimping machinery for the connectors over 30 years ago. Its just the looms that were made in the UK are now made in the Far East, having already closed down the old Sov Bloc factories that took over from the UK.
But....Nokia are closing down the 3yo plant in Romania to concentrate on the Far East where their emerging markets are located.

ISTR hearing about the door handle for the Porsche that is also used on the Skoda, cast in a plant in Bulgaria or somewhere.

But there is the good news - we are increasing our volume in shares traded, we are increasing our volume in directors pay increases. The average non-exec directors salary is £60kpa for one day a week, to sit on a committee deciding on the salaries of exec directors. And where is their impartiality when they hold shares in the company ??

Yup, things are looking up in the UK, as NMW has gone up 15p to £6.08 per hour. But then some workers would be entitled to certain benefits if that is what they are being paid.

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I'm not sure what the rest of your rant is alluding to when it comes to the wiki article, however note it does say:

Re: benefits
 

and those companies left, making or assembling appear to be owned by venture capital funds that are held offshore, not in the UK.

I remember the days of old dark, dirty and dismal car mechanics workshops in the UK and quite honestly it hasnt changed. In my short time with Spain I have found them all to be painted floors and walls, tidied up and cleaned ever night, with an impression of pride and professionalism. Even my local Main Dealer for the car made in the West Mids isnt that good..

I don't think there are any real doubters Meg, those who do say otherwise are just in denial and trying to hide from themselves the truth. The UK is no longer the power house it used to be. And even common decency and loyalty to the workers has gone out of the window - BAE layoffs announced on Monday to the workforce were leaked to the press on preceding Friday, giving many people a worrying weekend.
The RN has made redundant 1000, many of whom are still at sea, doing their jobs.
But its ok cos tonight i saw an ad for soldiers for Britains modern army, who are going to leave £2bn of vehicles in Afghanistan. Just the same as they did in Aden in the 60's.