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GB News – The Clash
October 6, 2021 84 Comments
I was a participant this evening on The Clash. The full video is available here:
October 6, 2021 84 Comments
84 Comments
jon livesey October 7, 2021
Too long a debate for a single comment, but I think that JR made the really key point which is that economic issues in the UK have to solved in the UK, and they are long term, and therefore so are the solutions.
For example, relying on cheap labour from the EU for truck drivers has not actually solved anything. It has enabled employers to exploit cheap labour, but it has done nothing to get us to the real goal, which is to train up unemployed British workers who have the potential to be truck drivers, get them into the workforce, and then allow their skills to exert negotiating power that will increase truck drive wages.
In the same way, the siren song of “no barriers to trade” helps German auto manufacturers to exploit the UK import market, but it does nothing to encourage UK manufacturers to invest to produce goods for export and to create jobs in the UK, not the German, export industries. We have done the experiment and the results are in. Forty years of membership of the Single Market resulted in UK consumer spending building car factories in Germany.
When you have done an experiment for forty years and it has failed, there is no point in saying that in theory it should succeed. In Economics comparative advantage is an important factor in trade. And the plain fact is that by belonging to the single Market we have been trading with a much lower comparative advantage against the euro area than than against the rest of the World, which is why we have a trade surplus against the rest of the World and a massive trade deficit with the euro area.
Membership of the Single Market forces UK industry to compete against its *most* effective competitor when it could be winning markets elsewhere. In fact, of course, that is already happening as trade with the EU is stagnant and not growing and trade outside is growing by high percentages. We have to promote that, not reverse it.
Running the economy just so as to guarantee the urban elites their shiny black cars is a mug’s game and we have to stop it.
Mark B October 7, 2021
Well said, Jon.
The professor of economics who worked for the government was a man who knew his stuff – economics. But was all he knew. He did not know human nature and the desire to improve ones lives. And the thing is, he was advocating bringing in people on cheap wages. How would he like it if we brought in cheap professors of economics to undercut him and do him out of a job ? No one ever seems to ask these people that.
It is going to take a while to sort ourselves out and the mess that is BRINO. But the political cauldron that is our system will begin to work in time and only, and I mean only, if the opposition get their act together and start holding this government to account.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 7, 2021
It sounds like you either did not understand or reject what he was saying.
Newmania October 7, 2021
Membership of the Single Market forces UK industry to compete against its *most* effective competitor when it could be winning markets elsewhere
..which we tried for decades of post war decline at which time precisely this silly argument was made by the retired old buffers of the day
jon livesey October 7, 2021
And yet more than half our trade *is* with the rest of the World and we trade with a *surplus* with the rest of the World.
By the way, your comment is revealing in an interesting way. It seems that to you the EU is the solution to problems we used to have when we had a semi-Socialist economy and fixed exchange rates. To Ted Heath that is exactly what it was.
Andy October 7, 2021
In 2016 – the year of your referendum – only 1 of the top 5 selling models of car in the U.K. was German. The rest were made in the U.K.
Last month, thanks partly to your Brexit, the best selling model of car was the Tesla 3. Tesla will soon be manufacturing in Germany – having rejected the U.K. because of your Brexit.
Meanwhile Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Denmark and others all manage to be high wage high skill economies whilst being in the EU and embracing free movement. So the problem clearly isnāt EU membership.
Maybe the issue is, uniquely, that – unlike the majority of people in this country – you repeatedly elected an a government which puts the interests of its ultra rich friends ahead of the interests of regular people? Anyway, enjoy your shortages and price hikes. Brexit with its fuel shortages, price hikes and farmers murdering and burning piglets is going so well.
Reply The UK lost a lot of industry and suffered from EU rules under the Labour governments 1974-9 and 1997-2010
Philip P. October 7, 2021
The September new car sales were a blip. Tesla was nowhere in sight in the new car sales tables for most of 2020, and 2021 so far. Factors that have resulted in the Tesla Model 3 being at the top of the sales charts include ‘continued disruption of supply due to a global shortage of semiconductor computer chips’ (Sunday Times).
As usual, a factually misleading piece of anti-Brexit irrelevance from our young friend.
Fedupsoutherner October 7, 2021
Philip. Yeah, but that’s what Andy is all about. He manipulates everything to suit him. He thinks he’s the perfect human being but I think he’s being selfish by not going to live in his make believe second house in France where he thinks everything g is better. Fancy the French being deprived of his ‘talents’!!
a-tracy October 7, 2021
Andy – Brexit didn’t deliver fuel shortages – a German fuel company delivered a fuel shortage that created a crisis when it was reported in a hysterical way in the media. The wages of tanker drivers is high.
I bet Hoyer furloughed lots of tanker drivers during the covid 18-month furlough when fuel use dropped dramatically due to lockdowns and working from home, how many EU drivers did they have on furlough all this time? Things picked up quickly at the end of furlough when people started go back to work and restrictions were lifted on events and the school children went back to school, if Hoyer and the other fuel tanker companies didn’t anticipate that then that is on them.
hefner October 7, 2021
Only partially true. The privatisation of many industries during the 1979-1997 Conservative years was as bad as what had happened before and after. It left those now private companies open to āstrategic acquisitionā of originally UK-owned companies by foreign-based groups, which results in the situation we now have.
How comes we do not have a non-foreign-owned car manufacturing company, steel factory, utility company, postal and delivery services, UK-conglomerates able to build Bradwell B, Wylfa Newydd, Sizewell C or Hinkley Point C ā¦?
As so often you are rewriting history, history in which you were an actor as Economic Advisor, then as a MP. When will you finally be looking in a mirror and see that you have been as much a part of the present problems as Labour is.
āThe one duty we owe to history is to rewrite itā, Oscar Redwood Wilde. (The Critic as an Artist, 1890).
a-tracy October 7, 2021
Hefner, arenāt Parcelforce and The Royal Mail postal and delivery services majority UK owned? I know of lots of UK owned postal and delivery services?
As to your other points it is shocking that we allowed a complete takeover of UK owned car manufacturing companies. It is especially shocking that we allowed foreign owned abattoirs to put family abattoirs out of business, reduce the number available and now fail to support British farmers, disgusting.
hefner October 7, 2021
DPD, DHL, Hermes are the three delivery services prevalent in the Reading area. All three are German-owned: GeoPost/DPDgroup (Boris Winkelmann, CEO), DHL is a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, Hermes is majority-owned by the Otto Group.
ParcelForce/RoyalMail Parcels is UK (LSE:RMG)
a-tracy October 8, 2021
I know hefner, that is why I want to know which transport companies are currently causing problems for a few supermarkets? Apparently, according to Polly Toynbee the supermarkets with empty shelves are in places like Lowestoft and Minehead, the article said 20% of shelves are empty not which store, unfortunately. Are they German-owned too as we are told the German newspapers seem to be crowing about UK transport problems their owned company caused and empty shelves caused by transport problems every day now.
Mark October 7, 2021
Gove killed the UK automotive industry by closing it by edict.
Micky Taking October 7, 2021
You mention 6 countries out of 27…. and include that mega economy Luxembourg, and even Austria famous for …err?. Netherlands grow flowers, Belgium chocolate – both benefit from purchasing by wealthy workers in other countries. Japan got EU to shoot themselves in the foot by taking production back to Japan, sadly we lost as a byproduct of the stupid agreement.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
Andy, you should look up the numbers some time. Our GDP per head is actually *greater* than the EU as a whole. So the claim that they manage to do better than we do while being EU members simply is not true.
One country in the UE does very well out of it, but the EU overall simply is not doing so well.
Fiona October 7, 2021
Four panelists! Only two viewers though. No serious politician bothers with GB
Reply You sound very worried by it! If I am not a serious politician why waste your time making silly comments on my site?
Nottingham Lad Himself October 7, 2021
Well, certainly serious wealth producers are having second thoughts Fiona.
“The boss of Intel says the US chipmaker is no longer considering building a factory in the UK because of Brexit.
Pat Gelsinger told the BBC that before the UK left the EU, the country “would have been a site that we would have considered”.
But he added: “Post-Brexit… we’re looking at EU countries and getting support from the EU”….”
So what of this “high skill high wage” economy?
I suppose that not everyone can make a dimpled pint pot, then again…
Peter2 October 7, 2021
Yet in the Midlands there is a proposed gigafactory on a 5.7 million square feet site which will make vehicle batteries for electric vehicles in the UK and Europe.
Expected to employ 5,000 people.
Mark October 7, 2021
So long as it can get its raw materials, which in part at least will depend on Chinese supply, almost certainly for cobalt and likely for battery grade lithium carbonate as well.
Andy October 7, 2021
Probably the biggest win for the EU in the Brexit talks was not them gaining full economic control of Northern Ireland from the Brexitists; nor was it gaining frictionless access for EU exports to the U.K. market whilst imposing full controls on imports from the U.K; nor was it prizing away huge amounts of financial business from London; nor was it making huge gains at the expense of U.K. farmers and fishers; nor was it gaining a huge divorce payout from the Brexitists – instead it was the EUās huge win on electric car batteries. And none of you even realised what you signed us up to.
Basically a provision within the Brexit trade agreement means that currently an electric car battery will count as being British or European – and thus qualify for tariff and quota exemptions – even if up to 70% of it is sourced from outside the U.K. and EU. But that 70% figure is reducing significantly over the next 6 years, just as the number of electric cars grows rapidly. The U.K. will have nothing like the capacity it needs meaning our cars will either face tariffs or we will have to buy batteries in significant quantities from the EU. This will deal a hammer blow to the auto industry here.
You signed us up to it and didnāt realise.
Peter2 October 7, 2021
It is about interpretation young andy and the EU are not behaving correctly.
But don’t you worry soon it will be sorted.
hefner October 7, 2021
UK,
9 GWh battery cell factory in Sunderland (or is it Blyth), Ā£1bn, silicon.co.uk, 02/07/2021, to open in 2023? possibly upgraded to 25 GWh by 2030 or 35 GWh by ? (realspacs.com 03/08/2021).
Another one talked about at Coventry Airport.
France,
9 GWh battery cell factory in Douai, Nord, ā¬2bn, to open in 2024.
16GWh battery cell factory in Rodez, Aveyron, ā¬16bn, to open in 2023.
38 new EV battery gigafactories planned in Europe, cleantechnica.com, 03 July 2021. (17 with total secure financing, 10 with partial financing).
Peter2 October 8, 2021
I do enjoy keeping you busy on research heffy.
Micky Taking October 8, 2021
thank you google.
a-tracy October 7, 2021
NLH good lets concentrate on British chip manufacturers. Such as the biggest computer chip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab, which made revenues of Ā£53m in 2019. Perhaps UK angel investors could get behind this in a big way.
Mark October 7, 2021
How about inviting TSMC to establish a safe haven foundry outside Taiwan?
Reply They are investing in USA
Mark October 7, 2021
I’d far sooner see a chip foundry here that all this highly subsidised hydrogen cluster nonsense.
Micky Taking October 7, 2021
ERR….TSMC revenue was $45bn last year. Newport is like taking just 1 potato chip out of all the chippies in the country and saying ‘we made a profit’. Yippee.
Micky Taking October 7, 2021
Well AMD were very successful developing Fabs ( chip factories) in Dresden, during the last 2 decades. Competing with Intel, they eventually gave up and took production from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) now believed to be their second biggest customer.
Sorry to disappoint you, but the world’s biggest and most profitable Fabs will never be in Europe.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
You are leaving out an important part of the story. He is looking for a subsidy of $8bn.
If the UK offered Intel eight billion to come to the UK you would say we had to do that because of Brexit. When the EU does the same thing, it’s perfectly fine.
Gary Megson October 7, 2021
You think membership of the Single Market forces UK industry to compete against its *most* effective competitor when it could be winning markets elsewhere? Well , how about this. UK industry could try to win markets elsewhere, but it will find that when it tries it will be up against its *most* effective competitor there too. Because Germany, France, Denmark etc all also know where India, China, Australia etc are, and sell there happily even while members of the EU. Because the reason the UK is doing badly for so long is nothing to do with the EU and everything to do with short-term bad policymaking by successive UK governments. Do you know why the Conservatives are trying to make you believe the EU and immigrants are our enemy? Because they need to distract your attention from who has been in power in the UK for 29 of the last 42 years, doing a very bad job – the Conservative party. Wise up, eh? Don’t be taken for a fool
Nottingham Lad Himself October 7, 2021
Yes, Gary, the problem with nationalists is that they see too many things in terms of nations, and that the European Union is therefore a protectionist arrangement of nations.
This is silly. As far as trade goes it is now a single entity – just like a nation, and has the normal relations with the rest of the world that such a thing would.
John has chosen to make the UK a separate, far weaker, and less attractive one.
Peter2 October 7, 2021
Gary and NLH
Figures show the EU’s share of world trade continues to reduce and the rest of the world has grown faster.
The EU is going backwards.
It is a protectionist bloc using complex rules and regulations as well as tariffs to protect itself from world competition.
Peter Parsons October 7, 2021
EU GDP per capita – just under $34,000 USD
Global GDP per capita – just under $11,000 USD (source: World Bank)
Higher value/wealth economies tend to grow at a slower rate than lower value/wealth economies, but that ignores the cash impact. A 2.9% in EU GDP per capita represents an increase of $1,000, but a higher growth of 4.5% in the global figure represents an increase of just $500 (so, in cash terms, half).
Reply US GDP per capita around two thirds higher than EU and growing faster.
Peter2 October 7, 2021
How is GDP per capita relevant to my post about world trade figures Peter?
Despite desperate attempts to switch statistics my post shows how the protectionist EU is slowly going backwards against world trade competition.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
And UK GDP/head $39k according to the “tradingeconomics” web site. As I said, our GDP/head is higher than the EU, not lower.
a-tracy October 7, 2021
Nationalists like the SNP? The conservative government is not nationalist at all and England is barely a thought to them. In fact, lots of people are sick to the back teeth of key industries being taken over such as abattoirs who then won’t process British farm meat and threaten to leave us without UK meat at Christmas, this is simply unacceptable and a solution needs to be found quickly.
The French are allowed to threaten Jersey and the UK over energy and try to take by force our fishing grounds. The Germans wiped out Rover just as it was creating models and getting market share in the UK in the business world. This is what I call silly the UK keep taking a back seat and allowing strategic core services to be sold off, even British Airways is mainly Spanish owned! Everyone thinks this is ok in the UK until we can’t get things that we need and these companies are used as political tools to beat us with.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 7, 2021
Well, one solution – and which you comically imply – would be a Stalinist Command Economy.
Peter2 October 7, 2021
Which I reckon you would really like NLH
a-tracy October 7, 2021
NLH – please expand youāve piqued my interest. Are you saying France is Stalinist?
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
Tracy, the tone of your post perhaps suggests that you would accept the commandeering of abattoirs and forced labour at gunpoint š
I know that you wouldn’t though, so what would you suggest?
a-tracy October 8, 2021
NLH – could you tell me what part of my sentence suggested the ātoneā that you describe just so that I can be more clear in the future, I re-read it, read it out to several people and we donāt understand what you are inferring.
I am not in favour of sectors of businesses that used to be British owned that are now (predominantly German owned if Hefner is correct about transport companies in the UK) and then operate in the national interest of Germany and the EU rather than in the UK interests. I personally think that the petrol tanker contracts need re-tendering and other companies that are not owned by the Germans should be given a crack at running them especially those still (we are told on twitter) causing problems in London and the South East.
I havenāt seen any empty shelves in our supermarkets nor have anyone Iāve asked, yet we are reliably told by Polly Toynbee that there are 20% of shelves empty in areas of the UK such as Lowestoft and Minehead and I just wonder who are the delivery companies and which supermarkets? More importantly which products?
Look all I know is any business that is in a competitive market if it had empty shelves it would put other products on there because that floor space is expensive so leaving empty shelves is not a prudent way of running a shop unless it is being done on purpose. If these supermarkets let British companies know which items they are short and open them out to tender perhaps they could get some new suppliers.
a-tracy October 8, 2021
NLH – on the point about abattoirs, I had a friend that used to work in a local abattoir that got closed down with the big factory foreign-owned cheap meat processing companies taking over supplying supermarkets which also closed down local butchers.
Perhaps the government could incentivise ex-abattoir workers and butchers to work in tandem in new franchise abattoir businesses with loans from the government for a key UK necessity and find the most modern new technological equipment available to process meat fairly and give the grants and R&D to universities to allow the UK entrepreneurs to sort this out for ourselves because we canāt leave ourselves open to this manipulation with foreign owned meat factories processing Eu meat over British meat. The Eu have protected their meat market it is time now for Boris to protect the UK meat market – equality on rules.
Supermarkets took over everything and now a few people are threatening Christmas how dare they – I have rallied against this supermarket takeover for years – they closed down family businesses everywhere and now we are at their mercy as they are still importing cheap meat without veterinary certificates and all the other things the EU demand from British meat producers.
30,000+ ex independent abattoirs and cattle markets didnāt have problems finding staff to handle the animals but they were spread out all over the Country close to the farms, now less than 400 mass meat processors we are told canāt find British workers for the wages they pay? Maybe this is an opportunity for local abattoirs.
But it is an argument against centralisation and minimising competition we are then left at their owners whims on what is processed.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
Typical. German nationalism good, British nationalism bad. A UK subsidy of $8bn to Intel a sign of desperation, but an EU subsidy of $8bn to Intel, perfectly fine.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 7, 2021
I haven’t commented on any of those points.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
Of course you have. *You* quoted the CEO of Intel above when replying to Fiona. You just carefully omitted the bit about the EU bribing them, which I have now corrected.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
I disagree with such bribery, whether it is our government bribing car makers to stay or anyone else doing it, especially when it is done for political rather than for general public interest reasons.
It is the old Communitise-The-Liabilities-But-Privatise-The-Profits trick in yet another guise.
And yes, it is indeed bribery, I agree, Jon.
However, that does not change the fact of the declared reason for Intel’s decision. It remains because the UK has left the European Union.
Peter2 October 8, 2021
Makes a refreshing change NLH
turboterrier October 7, 2021
For years people from across the spectrum have been constantly been telling politicians that wind and solar energy was not the panacea to all that ails this country.
A new religion was born and we are where we are today and in reality not moved on at all, save the industrial, commercial and domestic cutomers are all but crippled with high energy costs. All our competitors are staying with reliable fossil fuel energy generation for the near future and for some beyond the cut off dates. There economic plan and survival is built on reliable 24/7 cheap energy to drive their factories to be really competitive, produce more and create more jobs.
Not for their people the cost of failing to install a infrastructure to be adaptable to all the different energy production sources. All our failings are diluted, even concealed by the agreement of all the political parties to make stopping Climate Change across the country and the world their major priority and the British nation has fallen for it hook, line, sinker, rod and boat.
Until the shackles of Climate Change Act are removed to give the country freedom to manoeuvre and be flexible to market forces the people will continue to suffer.
Sakara Gold October 7, 2021
@Turboterrier
“survival is built on reliable 24/7 cheap energy”
Absolute rubbish. The fossil fuel industry has imposed the highly detabilising quadrupling of gas prices upon us – and not the renewables industry. How many times do I have to post that?
Wind is now the cheapest energy source available to us – by far – followed by summer solar. Renewables are provinding most days up to 45% of domestic electricity demand. We will shortly be generating more free energy from tidal systems, which are being trialed in Orkney and the Isle of Wight.
If you want to join in the debate on the climate crisis get your facts straight before you post fossil fuel industry bullshit and propaganda
Mark October 7, 2021
We could have coal power, even at current high prices, for about Ā£80/MWh if we chose. The average CFD on operating wind farms is about Ā£145/MWh. Can you work out which is cheaper?
Micky Taking October 7, 2021
I think you spotted where the problem lies in our Governments’ thinking ! Does Eton bother to teach basic arithmetic?
jon livesey October 7, 2021
I was alive in the Fifties, when we did depend on coal burning. Every single building was a dull grey colour, nothing like bright colourful London today. The country was afflicted by coal smog regularly. Some mornings I had to feel my way to school along the railings because you literally could not see in front of you. And every year thousands of older people died of respiratory crises during smog periods who were otherwise healthy.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
I remember that too, Jon.
I also remember the Trent, like the Thames and the other main rivers, being stinking, near-slurries, of industrial and other waste. Then there were the regular industrial disasters, such as Aberfan, Flixborough and so on.
Those memories are probably the main reason why I am against this lunatic deregulation fanaticism sweeping the country.
Reply Well remembered. Coal and water were nationalised at the time.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
Thank you Sir John.
What has that to do with poor regulation of pollution and of health and safety?
Yes, we had to wait until membership of the European Union for that really to be done properly, but the ownership of the dangerous or harmful entities was not the cause.
Reply Why lie? The U.K. put in clean air Acts well before we joined the EEC
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
Sir John, I’m not lying.
The Clean Air Acts were a highly commendable start, but did not address things such as NO2 levels.
The European rules were more specific and also more stringent, and subject to revision in the form of directives as medical research progressed.
Micky Taking October 8, 2021
NLH – You exagerate concerning the Thames – a near slurry? – don’t be ridiculous, I used to go fishing in various stretches. Now, if you addressed some of the London ‘hidden’ tributaries feeding the muck into the river then I might agree.
Admittedly since the 60s/70s the Thames has been really cleaned up, evidenced by the types and numbers of fish that can be caught. If only the OFWAT would do as mandated and stop the effluent reaching the river ‘on the quiet’ we might all be happier.
Peter2 October 8, 2021
Love the way you switched the argument NLH
Off onto NO2 levels.
See what you did there.
Hilarious.
Original Richard October 7, 2021
Sakara Gold :
Fossil fuels are still cheaper than wind and summer (what about winter?) solar.
Wind can only exist as a useful energy source because fast start-up fossil fuel powered generators are on stand-by for when the wind doesnāt blow.
As yet the only commercially successful tidal turbine is the Strangford Lough Tidal Turbine located in Northern Ireland.
The problem with the Governmentās plans to convert our domestic gas boilers to heat pumps is that it will cost Ā£200bn to replace the boilers and we will need to treble our electricity generation and hence spend at least another Ā£100bn to upgrade the grid.
Everhopeful October 7, 2021
+many
Just now a cycling event swooped past our house.
Isnāt cycling all about greencr*p and āsave the planetā? Cycling now =political movement.
Greta would have been most impressed to see the huge, petrol-driven convoy involved and the scores of stationary police bikes pumping out emissions ( right through our closed windows actually!)
I do not believe I have seen one single policeman in this road for at least 5 years.
Said road was cleared for 24 hours by draconian council threats of towing away vehicles and parking fines, making life very difficult for the many taxpayers round here who leave for work before 6am.
Fedupsoutherner October 7, 2021
Good interview last night John. I listen to GB news most nights. Love Colin Brazier and Farage in particular. Alot of common sense spoken and the interview with Anne Widdicomb was good too.
X-Tory October 7, 2021
Your comments on productivity are 100% right. The government’s tax rebate for investment is long overdue and will help, BUT (i) it is only valid for a short time and (ii) it will be negated by the forthcoming tax increase.
The biggest problem is the lack of industrial robots. Look at how few we have compared to all our competitors. It is pitiful and shameful. We rank 22nd in the world. Even countries like Sovenia and Slovakia have double the number of robots we have. What is the government doing to specifically focus on this? I assume that the answer is ‘nothing’, as usual. What an appalling government we have.
a-tracy October 7, 2021
X-Tory we have many of the best universities in the World how many of them I wonder have robotics degree programs. Technology and Design are such important subjects and we need to start to promote them more. Japan is particularly good at labour saving devises. I wonder how our universities compare to theirs.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
It’s usually a mistake to talk about economics in terms like “pitiful and shameful”. Industrialists are rational and greedy people, so they invest where it brings the best returns and they don’t invest where it does not. They are not fools, just pretty unscrupulous.
Underinvestment in robotics – and yes, we are underinvested – is a clear sign that prodution is too labour intensive and wages are too low. If employers have access to a limitless pool of low-wage labour, then overall they will use labour to get things done. They have no incentive to do otherwise. If they don’t have access to limitless labour, or wages rise, they will turn to robotics and automation.
This is consistent with another issue, which is low productivity increases in the UK. With low wages and labour intensive production, you get things done, but it is difficult to increase the productivity of the human body. When wages rise and employers invest in more machinery, robotics and automation, then overall productivity can rise quickly.
To understand the economy, you have to look past the moralising epithets and seek to understand the mechanisms that drive it. The lowest productivity economies are those that depend on low-wage human labour, and the highest are those that pay high wages and make human labour so valuable that you can increase profits by replacing or augmenting human labour with machines.
We should know this, because it is the basic mechanism that drove the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century.
Micky Taking October 8, 2021
and Canal/river and Railway transport facilitated it all, powered largely by coal.
dixie October 8, 2021
You keep blaming the government and demanding they must do something about everything – how is that supposed to align with a Conservative ethos?
Besides, it is the City that should be blamed along with the consumerist mentality of the populous who don’t give a rats ass for where products are made, who’s jobs get displaced, hat the true costs are anyway.
The question is more what are you going to do about it as a citizen, consumer, investor and voter?
Original Richard October 7, 2021
UK industry and farming was crippled by 40+ years of EU membership and it will take time to recover.
Particularly since we are still following restrictive and impractical EU regulations and suffering from the actions of Marxists and EU supporters in Parliament, the civil service, the MSM, quangos, the educational establishment and the judiciary acting as a fifth column.
Everhopeful October 7, 2021
JR picked them apart with forensic logic!
a-tracy October 7, 2021
Watched at lunch time, you would be better on Colin Brazierās show he is excellent I canāt believe Iāve not seen him before. Iāve been told he was on Sky but we donāt watch or subscribe to Sky.
For every Ā£1 we all make Ā£2 is sloshing straight back out, we have a big problem with economic migration and the time it takes to process claims whilst we are forced to house and feed them and now pay their telephone bills. What the hell, no-one pays for anyone elseās telephone bills they chose to leave their families and come here, pay for their journey home to their families instead. How very dare a judge (who are these people) to give our money away in such an excessive fashion, these illegal migrants could use the wifi theyāve probably got in their accommodation – when is your party going to say NO. Do they provide free phone calls in France, Greece, Italy – STOP THIS or pay for all our phone calls to our families.
Mark October 7, 2021
You made excellent comments on energy. So why has the government turned down development of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea? Shooting ourselves in the feet again.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
It will still be there. Oil fields are precious resources. We should not always be in too much of a hurry to use them up. We should use every other source of energy we can find first.
Mark October 7, 2021
It an take advantage of existing pipeline infrastructure if it is developed soon. That will not be there later.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
Taken far enough, that is an argument for draining all the oilfields, which I think would be a very bad idea. Oil isn’t just any resource. It is concentrated energy, in a highly mobile form, and it does not replace itself. It is the last resource we should use, not the first one. I believe that even if other fuels are more expensive, we should not be burning oil except when we really have to.
Original Richard October 8, 2021
jon livesey :
Agreed.
Oil should be kept for producing chemicals and not simply burnt.
dixie October 8, 2021
That goes for all of our natural resources – too late for the oil but we can still apply that strategy to (fracked) gas, coal, Lithium and whatever else we have. Further we should be retaining minerals from manufactured products and moving to a circular economy to maximise their use. Our children will not forgive us throwing and giving them away.
But whisper it gently else LifeLogic and his crew will squeal and squeal.
Peter2 October 8, 2021
The world is awash with oil.
Despite decades of dire warnings of oil running out.
dixie October 8, 2021
@Peter2 – but it isn’t our oil and so we must import it and therefore subject to someone else’s control, restrictions, blackmail …
Mark October 9, 2021
We can make oil and other carbon based chemicals from CO2 extracted from the atmosphere. It’s just a higher cost operation, but justifiable where alternatives don’t work so well. For example, aviation at least.
jon livesey October 7, 2021
Well, that did not take long. I am reading this morning that wages for drivers are up by 8.5% year on year. It is not absolutely conclusive, but it is consistent with the idea that importing low-wage drivers from the EU was keeping UK driver wages down.
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
It is certainly true, that in a country where employees are prevented from defending their pay and conditions – either by legal means or by industrial action, thanks to inequitable contracts Statutes, to anti-union, and to anti-strike laws – any competition will adversely affect that that pay and those conditions.
If it were simply European Union membership however, then why are things in Germany, say, nothing like as onerous for HGV drivers there as they are here?
Nottingham Lad Himself October 8, 2021
I should perhaps have said “judicial means” rather than “legal means”
dixie October 8, 2021
You would hold a UK company liable for your inability to compete with employees of Indian or Chinese companies?
So why didn’t you buy a UK produced phone or car rather than the cheaper imported product? It was your choice that put your co-workers out of a job – your fault.
Peter2 October 8, 2021
I’m puzzled NLH.
Which country are you referring to where “employees are prevented from defending their pay and conditions…..by industrial action”
October 7, 2021
Too long a debate for a single comment, but I think that JR made the really key point which is that economic issues in the UK have to solved in the UK, and they are long term, and therefore so are the solutions.
For example, relying on cheap labour from the EU for truck drivers has not actually solved anything. It has enabled employers to exploit cheap labour, but it has done nothing to get us to the real goal, which is to train up unemployed British workers who have the potential to be truck drivers, get them into the workforce, and then allow their skills to exert negotiating power that will increase truck drive wages.
In the same way, the siren song of “no barriers to trade” helps German auto manufacturers to exploit the UK import market, but it does nothing to encourage UK manufacturers to invest to produce goods for export and to create jobs in the UK, not the German, export industries. We have done the experiment and the results are in. Forty years of membership of the Single Market resulted in UK consumer spending building car factories in Germany.
When you have done an experiment for forty years and it has failed, there is no point in saying that in theory it should succeed. In Economics comparative advantage is an important factor in trade. And the plain fact is that by belonging to the single Market we have been trading with a much lower comparative advantage against the euro area than than against the rest of the World, which is why we have a trade surplus against the rest of the World and a massive trade deficit with the euro area.
Membership of the Single Market forces UK industry to compete against its *most* effective competitor when it could be winning markets elsewhere. In fact, of course, that is already happening as trade with the EU is stagnant and not growing and trade outside is growing by high percentages. We have to promote that, not reverse it.
Running the economy just so as to guarantee the urban elites their shiny black cars is a mug’s game and we have to stop it.
October 7, 2021
Well said, Jon.
The professor of economics who worked for the government was a man who knew his stuff – economics. But was all he knew. He did not know human nature and the desire to improve ones lives. And the thing is, he was advocating bringing in people on cheap wages. How would he like it if we brought in cheap professors of economics to undercut him and do him out of a job ? No one ever seems to ask these people that.
It is going to take a while to sort ourselves out and the mess that is BRINO. But the political cauldron that is our system will begin to work in time and only, and I mean only, if the opposition get their act together and start holding this government to account.
October 7, 2021
It sounds like you either did not understand or reject what he was saying.
October 7, 2021
Membership of the Single Market forces UK industry to compete against its *most* effective competitor when it could be winning markets elsewhere
..which we tried for decades of post war decline at which time precisely this silly argument was made by the retired old buffers of the day
October 7, 2021
And yet more than half our trade *is* with the rest of the World and we trade with a *surplus* with the rest of the World.
By the way, your comment is revealing in an interesting way. It seems that to you the EU is the solution to problems we used to have when we had a semi-Socialist economy and fixed exchange rates. To Ted Heath that is exactly what it was.
October 7, 2021
In 2016 – the year of your referendum – only 1 of the top 5 selling models of car in the U.K. was German. The rest were made in the U.K.
Last month, thanks partly to your Brexit, the best selling model of car was the Tesla 3. Tesla will soon be manufacturing in Germany – having rejected the U.K. because of your Brexit.
Meanwhile Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Denmark and others all manage to be high wage high skill economies whilst being in the EU and embracing free movement. So the problem clearly isnāt EU membership.
Maybe the issue is, uniquely, that – unlike the majority of people in this country – you repeatedly elected an a government which puts the interests of its ultra rich friends ahead of the interests of regular people? Anyway, enjoy your shortages and price hikes. Brexit with its fuel shortages, price hikes and farmers murdering and burning piglets is going so well.
Reply The UK lost a lot of industry and suffered from EU rules under the Labour governments 1974-9 and 1997-2010
October 7, 2021
The September new car sales were a blip. Tesla was nowhere in sight in the new car sales tables for most of 2020, and 2021 so far. Factors that have resulted in the Tesla Model 3 being at the top of the sales charts include ‘continued disruption of supply due to a global shortage of semiconductor computer chips’ (Sunday Times).
As usual, a factually misleading piece of anti-Brexit irrelevance from our young friend.
October 7, 2021
Philip. Yeah, but that’s what Andy is all about. He manipulates everything to suit him. He thinks he’s the perfect human being but I think he’s being selfish by not going to live in his make believe second house in France where he thinks everything g is better. Fancy the French being deprived of his ‘talents’!!
October 7, 2021
Andy – Brexit didn’t deliver fuel shortages – a German fuel company delivered a fuel shortage that created a crisis when it was reported in a hysterical way in the media. The wages of tanker drivers is high.
I bet Hoyer furloughed lots of tanker drivers during the covid 18-month furlough when fuel use dropped dramatically due to lockdowns and working from home, how many EU drivers did they have on furlough all this time? Things picked up quickly at the end of furlough when people started go back to work and restrictions were lifted on events and the school children went back to school, if Hoyer and the other fuel tanker companies didn’t anticipate that then that is on them.
October 7, 2021
Only partially true. The privatisation of many industries during the 1979-1997 Conservative years was as bad as what had happened before and after. It left those now private companies open to āstrategic acquisitionā of originally UK-owned companies by foreign-based groups, which results in the situation we now have.
How comes we do not have a non-foreign-owned car manufacturing company, steel factory, utility company, postal and delivery services, UK-conglomerates able to build Bradwell B, Wylfa Newydd, Sizewell C or Hinkley Point C ā¦?
As so often you are rewriting history, history in which you were an actor as Economic Advisor, then as a MP. When will you finally be looking in a mirror and see that you have been as much a part of the present problems as Labour is.
āThe one duty we owe to history is to rewrite itā, Oscar Redwood Wilde. (The Critic as an Artist, 1890).
October 7, 2021
Hefner, arenāt Parcelforce and The Royal Mail postal and delivery services majority UK owned? I know of lots of UK owned postal and delivery services?
As to your other points it is shocking that we allowed a complete takeover of UK owned car manufacturing companies. It is especially shocking that we allowed foreign owned abattoirs to put family abattoirs out of business, reduce the number available and now fail to support British farmers, disgusting.
October 7, 2021
DPD, DHL, Hermes are the three delivery services prevalent in the Reading area. All three are German-owned: GeoPost/DPDgroup (Boris Winkelmann, CEO), DHL is a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, Hermes is majority-owned by the Otto Group.
ParcelForce/RoyalMail Parcels is UK (LSE:RMG)
October 8, 2021
I know hefner, that is why I want to know which transport companies are currently causing problems for a few supermarkets? Apparently, according to Polly Toynbee the supermarkets with empty shelves are in places like Lowestoft and Minehead, the article said 20% of shelves are empty not which store, unfortunately. Are they German-owned too as we are told the German newspapers seem to be crowing about UK transport problems their owned company caused and empty shelves caused by transport problems every day now.
October 7, 2021
Gove killed the UK automotive industry by closing it by edict.
October 7, 2021
You mention 6 countries out of 27…. and include that mega economy Luxembourg, and even Austria famous for …err?. Netherlands grow flowers, Belgium chocolate – both benefit from purchasing by wealthy workers in other countries. Japan got EU to shoot themselves in the foot by taking production back to Japan, sadly we lost as a byproduct of the stupid agreement.
October 7, 2021
Andy, you should look up the numbers some time. Our GDP per head is actually *greater* than the EU as a whole. So the claim that they manage to do better than we do while being EU members simply is not true.
One country in the UE does very well out of it, but the EU overall simply is not doing so well.
October 7, 2021
Four panelists! Only two viewers though. No serious politician bothers with GB
Reply You sound very worried by it! If I am not a serious politician why waste your time making silly comments on my site?
October 7, 2021
Well, certainly serious wealth producers are having second thoughts Fiona.
“The boss of Intel says the US chipmaker is no longer considering building a factory in the UK because of Brexit.
Pat Gelsinger told the BBC that before the UK left the EU, the country “would have been a site that we would have considered”.
But he added: “Post-Brexit… we’re looking at EU countries and getting support from the EU”….”
So what of this “high skill high wage” economy?
I suppose that not everyone can make a dimpled pint pot, then again…
October 7, 2021
Yet in the Midlands there is a proposed gigafactory on a 5.7 million square feet site which will make vehicle batteries for electric vehicles in the UK and Europe.
Expected to employ 5,000 people.
October 7, 2021
So long as it can get its raw materials, which in part at least will depend on Chinese supply, almost certainly for cobalt and likely for battery grade lithium carbonate as well.
October 7, 2021
Probably the biggest win for the EU in the Brexit talks was not them gaining full economic control of Northern Ireland from the Brexitists; nor was it gaining frictionless access for EU exports to the U.K. market whilst imposing full controls on imports from the U.K; nor was it prizing away huge amounts of financial business from London; nor was it making huge gains at the expense of U.K. farmers and fishers; nor was it gaining a huge divorce payout from the Brexitists – instead it was the EUās huge win on electric car batteries. And none of you even realised what you signed us up to.
Basically a provision within the Brexit trade agreement means that currently an electric car battery will count as being British or European – and thus qualify for tariff and quota exemptions – even if up to 70% of it is sourced from outside the U.K. and EU. But that 70% figure is reducing significantly over the next 6 years, just as the number of electric cars grows rapidly. The U.K. will have nothing like the capacity it needs meaning our cars will either face tariffs or we will have to buy batteries in significant quantities from the EU. This will deal a hammer blow to the auto industry here.
You signed us up to it and didnāt realise.
October 7, 2021
It is about interpretation young andy and the EU are not behaving correctly.
But don’t you worry soon it will be sorted.
October 7, 2021
UK,
9 GWh battery cell factory in Sunderland (or is it Blyth), Ā£1bn, silicon.co.uk, 02/07/2021, to open in 2023? possibly upgraded to 25 GWh by 2030 or 35 GWh by ? (realspacs.com 03/08/2021).
Another one talked about at Coventry Airport.
France,
9 GWh battery cell factory in Douai, Nord, ā¬2bn, to open in 2024.
16GWh battery cell factory in Rodez, Aveyron, ā¬16bn, to open in 2023.
38 new EV battery gigafactories planned in Europe, cleantechnica.com, 03 July 2021. (17 with total secure financing, 10 with partial financing).
October 8, 2021
I do enjoy keeping you busy on research heffy.
October 8, 2021
thank you google.
October 7, 2021
NLH good lets concentrate on British chip manufacturers. Such as the biggest computer chip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab, which made revenues of Ā£53m in 2019. Perhaps UK angel investors could get behind this in a big way.
October 7, 2021
How about inviting TSMC to establish a safe haven foundry outside Taiwan?
Reply They are investing in USA
October 7, 2021
I’d far sooner see a chip foundry here that all this highly subsidised hydrogen cluster nonsense.
October 7, 2021
ERR….TSMC revenue was $45bn last year. Newport is like taking just 1 potato chip out of all the chippies in the country and saying ‘we made a profit’. Yippee.
October 7, 2021
Well AMD were very successful developing Fabs ( chip factories) in Dresden, during the last 2 decades. Competing with Intel, they eventually gave up and took production from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) now believed to be their second biggest customer.
Sorry to disappoint you, but the world’s biggest and most profitable Fabs will never be in Europe.
October 7, 2021
You are leaving out an important part of the story. He is looking for a subsidy of $8bn.
If the UK offered Intel eight billion to come to the UK you would say we had to do that because of Brexit. When the EU does the same thing, it’s perfectly fine.
October 7, 2021
You think membership of the Single Market forces UK industry to compete against its *most* effective competitor when it could be winning markets elsewhere? Well , how about this. UK industry could try to win markets elsewhere, but it will find that when it tries it will be up against its *most* effective competitor there too. Because Germany, France, Denmark etc all also know where India, China, Australia etc are, and sell there happily even while members of the EU. Because the reason the UK is doing badly for so long is nothing to do with the EU and everything to do with short-term bad policymaking by successive UK governments. Do you know why the Conservatives are trying to make you believe the EU and immigrants are our enemy? Because they need to distract your attention from who has been in power in the UK for 29 of the last 42 years, doing a very bad job – the Conservative party. Wise up, eh? Don’t be taken for a fool
October 7, 2021
Yes, Gary, the problem with nationalists is that they see too many things in terms of nations, and that the European Union is therefore a protectionist arrangement of nations.
This is silly. As far as trade goes it is now a single entity – just like a nation, and has the normal relations with the rest of the world that such a thing would.
John has chosen to make the UK a separate, far weaker, and less attractive one.
October 7, 2021
Gary and NLH
Figures show the EU’s share of world trade continues to reduce and the rest of the world has grown faster.
The EU is going backwards.
It is a protectionist bloc using complex rules and regulations as well as tariffs to protect itself from world competition.
October 7, 2021
EU GDP per capita – just under $34,000 USD
Global GDP per capita – just under $11,000 USD (source: World Bank)
Higher value/wealth economies tend to grow at a slower rate than lower value/wealth economies, but that ignores the cash impact. A 2.9% in EU GDP per capita represents an increase of $1,000, but a higher growth of 4.5% in the global figure represents an increase of just $500 (so, in cash terms, half).
Reply US GDP per capita around two thirds higher than EU and growing faster.
October 7, 2021
How is GDP per capita relevant to my post about world trade figures Peter?
Despite desperate attempts to switch statistics my post shows how the protectionist EU is slowly going backwards against world trade competition.
October 7, 2021
And UK GDP/head $39k according to the “tradingeconomics” web site. As I said, our GDP/head is higher than the EU, not lower.
October 7, 2021
Nationalists like the SNP? The conservative government is not nationalist at all and England is barely a thought to them. In fact, lots of people are sick to the back teeth of key industries being taken over such as abattoirs who then won’t process British farm meat and threaten to leave us without UK meat at Christmas, this is simply unacceptable and a solution needs to be found quickly.
The French are allowed to threaten Jersey and the UK over energy and try to take by force our fishing grounds. The Germans wiped out Rover just as it was creating models and getting market share in the UK in the business world. This is what I call silly the UK keep taking a back seat and allowing strategic core services to be sold off, even British Airways is mainly Spanish owned! Everyone thinks this is ok in the UK until we can’t get things that we need and these companies are used as political tools to beat us with.
October 7, 2021
Well, one solution – and which you comically imply – would be a Stalinist Command Economy.
October 7, 2021
Which I reckon you would really like NLH
October 7, 2021
NLH – please expand youāve piqued my interest. Are you saying France is Stalinist?
October 8, 2021
Tracy, the tone of your post perhaps suggests that you would accept the commandeering of abattoirs and forced labour at gunpoint š
I know that you wouldn’t though, so what would you suggest?
October 8, 2021
NLH – could you tell me what part of my sentence suggested the ātoneā that you describe just so that I can be more clear in the future, I re-read it, read it out to several people and we donāt understand what you are inferring.
I am not in favour of sectors of businesses that used to be British owned that are now (predominantly German owned if Hefner is correct about transport companies in the UK) and then operate in the national interest of Germany and the EU rather than in the UK interests. I personally think that the petrol tanker contracts need re-tendering and other companies that are not owned by the Germans should be given a crack at running them especially those still (we are told on twitter) causing problems in London and the South East.
I havenāt seen any empty shelves in our supermarkets nor have anyone Iāve asked, yet we are reliably told by Polly Toynbee that there are 20% of shelves empty in areas of the UK such as Lowestoft and Minehead and I just wonder who are the delivery companies and which supermarkets? More importantly which products?
Look all I know is any business that is in a competitive market if it had empty shelves it would put other products on there because that floor space is expensive so leaving empty shelves is not a prudent way of running a shop unless it is being done on purpose. If these supermarkets let British companies know which items they are short and open them out to tender perhaps they could get some new suppliers.
October 8, 2021
NLH – on the point about abattoirs, I had a friend that used to work in a local abattoir that got closed down with the big factory foreign-owned cheap meat processing companies taking over supplying supermarkets which also closed down local butchers.
Perhaps the government could incentivise ex-abattoir workers and butchers to work in tandem in new franchise abattoir businesses with loans from the government for a key UK necessity and find the most modern new technological equipment available to process meat fairly and give the grants and R&D to universities to allow the UK entrepreneurs to sort this out for ourselves because we canāt leave ourselves open to this manipulation with foreign owned meat factories processing Eu meat over British meat. The Eu have protected their meat market it is time now for Boris to protect the UK meat market – equality on rules.
Supermarkets took over everything and now a few people are threatening Christmas how dare they – I have rallied against this supermarket takeover for years – they closed down family businesses everywhere and now we are at their mercy as they are still importing cheap meat without veterinary certificates and all the other things the EU demand from British meat producers.
30,000+ ex independent abattoirs and cattle markets didnāt have problems finding staff to handle the animals but they were spread out all over the Country close to the farms, now less than 400 mass meat processors we are told canāt find British workers for the wages they pay? Maybe this is an opportunity for local abattoirs.
But it is an argument against centralisation and minimising competition we are then left at their owners whims on what is processed.
October 7, 2021
Typical. German nationalism good, British nationalism bad. A UK subsidy of $8bn to Intel a sign of desperation, but an EU subsidy of $8bn to Intel, perfectly fine.
October 7, 2021
I haven’t commented on any of those points.
October 7, 2021
Of course you have. *You* quoted the CEO of Intel above when replying to Fiona. You just carefully omitted the bit about the EU bribing them, which I have now corrected.
October 8, 2021
I disagree with such bribery, whether it is our government bribing car makers to stay or anyone else doing it, especially when it is done for political rather than for general public interest reasons.
It is the old Communitise-The-Liabilities-But-Privatise-The-Profits trick in yet another guise.
And yes, it is indeed bribery, I agree, Jon.
However, that does not change the fact of the declared reason for Intel’s decision. It remains because the UK has left the European Union.
October 8, 2021
Makes a refreshing change NLH
October 7, 2021
For years people from across the spectrum have been constantly been telling politicians that wind and solar energy was not the panacea to all that ails this country.
A new religion was born and we are where we are today and in reality not moved on at all, save the industrial, commercial and domestic cutomers are all but crippled with high energy costs. All our competitors are staying with reliable fossil fuel energy generation for the near future and for some beyond the cut off dates. There economic plan and survival is built on reliable 24/7 cheap energy to drive their factories to be really competitive, produce more and create more jobs.
Not for their people the cost of failing to install a infrastructure to be adaptable to all the different energy production sources. All our failings are diluted, even concealed by the agreement of all the political parties to make stopping Climate Change across the country and the world their major priority and the British nation has fallen for it hook, line, sinker, rod and boat.
Until the shackles of Climate Change Act are removed to give the country freedom to manoeuvre and be flexible to market forces the people will continue to suffer.
October 7, 2021
@Turboterrier
“survival is built on reliable 24/7 cheap energy”
Absolute rubbish. The fossil fuel industry has imposed the highly detabilising quadrupling of gas prices upon us – and not the renewables industry. How many times do I have to post that?
Wind is now the cheapest energy source available to us – by far – followed by summer solar. Renewables are provinding most days up to 45% of domestic electricity demand. We will shortly be generating more free energy from tidal systems, which are being trialed in Orkney and the Isle of Wight.
If you want to join in the debate on the climate crisis get your facts straight before you post fossil fuel industry bullshit and propaganda
October 7, 2021
We could have coal power, even at current high prices, for about Ā£80/MWh if we chose. The average CFD on operating wind farms is about Ā£145/MWh. Can you work out which is cheaper?
October 7, 2021
I think you spotted where the problem lies in our Governments’ thinking ! Does Eton bother to teach basic arithmetic?
October 7, 2021
I was alive in the Fifties, when we did depend on coal burning. Every single building was a dull grey colour, nothing like bright colourful London today. The country was afflicted by coal smog regularly. Some mornings I had to feel my way to school along the railings because you literally could not see in front of you. And every year thousands of older people died of respiratory crises during smog periods who were otherwise healthy.
October 8, 2021
I remember that too, Jon.
I also remember the Trent, like the Thames and the other main rivers, being stinking, near-slurries, of industrial and other waste. Then there were the regular industrial disasters, such as Aberfan, Flixborough and so on.
Those memories are probably the main reason why I am against this lunatic deregulation fanaticism sweeping the country.
Reply Well remembered. Coal and water were nationalised at the time.
October 8, 2021
Thank you Sir John.
What has that to do with poor regulation of pollution and of health and safety?
Yes, we had to wait until membership of the European Union for that really to be done properly, but the ownership of the dangerous or harmful entities was not the cause.
Reply Why lie? The U.K. put in clean air Acts well before we joined the EEC
October 8, 2021
Sir John, I’m not lying.
The Clean Air Acts were a highly commendable start, but did not address things such as NO2 levels.
The European rules were more specific and also more stringent, and subject to revision in the form of directives as medical research progressed.
October 8, 2021
NLH – You exagerate concerning the Thames – a near slurry? – don’t be ridiculous, I used to go fishing in various stretches. Now, if you addressed some of the London ‘hidden’ tributaries feeding the muck into the river then I might agree.
Admittedly since the 60s/70s the Thames has been really cleaned up, evidenced by the types and numbers of fish that can be caught. If only the OFWAT would do as mandated and stop the effluent reaching the river ‘on the quiet’ we might all be happier.
October 8, 2021
Love the way you switched the argument NLH
Off onto NO2 levels.
See what you did there.
Hilarious.
October 7, 2021
Sakara Gold :
Fossil fuels are still cheaper than wind and summer (what about winter?) solar.
Wind can only exist as a useful energy source because fast start-up fossil fuel powered generators are on stand-by for when the wind doesnāt blow.
As yet the only commercially successful tidal turbine is the Strangford Lough Tidal Turbine located in Northern Ireland.
The problem with the Governmentās plans to convert our domestic gas boilers to heat pumps is that it will cost Ā£200bn to replace the boilers and we will need to treble our electricity generation and hence spend at least another Ā£100bn to upgrade the grid.
October 7, 2021
+many
Just now a cycling event swooped past our house.
Isnāt cycling all about greencr*p and āsave the planetā? Cycling now =political movement.
Greta would have been most impressed to see the huge, petrol-driven convoy involved and the scores of stationary police bikes pumping out emissions ( right through our closed windows actually!)
I do not believe I have seen one single policeman in this road for at least 5 years.
Said road was cleared for 24 hours by draconian council threats of towing away vehicles and parking fines, making life very difficult for the many taxpayers round here who leave for work before 6am.
October 7, 2021
Good interview last night John. I listen to GB news most nights. Love Colin Brazier and Farage in particular. Alot of common sense spoken and the interview with Anne Widdicomb was good too.
October 7, 2021
Your comments on productivity are 100% right. The government’s tax rebate for investment is long overdue and will help, BUT (i) it is only valid for a short time and (ii) it will be negated by the forthcoming tax increase.
The biggest problem is the lack of industrial robots. Look at how few we have compared to all our competitors. It is pitiful and shameful. We rank 22nd in the world. Even countries like Sovenia and Slovakia have double the number of robots we have. What is the government doing to specifically focus on this? I assume that the answer is ‘nothing’, as usual. What an appalling government we have.
October 7, 2021
X-Tory we have many of the best universities in the World how many of them I wonder have robotics degree programs. Technology and Design are such important subjects and we need to start to promote them more. Japan is particularly good at labour saving devises. I wonder how our universities compare to theirs.
October 7, 2021
It’s usually a mistake to talk about economics in terms like “pitiful and shameful”. Industrialists are rational and greedy people, so they invest where it brings the best returns and they don’t invest where it does not. They are not fools, just pretty unscrupulous.
Underinvestment in robotics – and yes, we are underinvested – is a clear sign that prodution is too labour intensive and wages are too low. If employers have access to a limitless pool of low-wage labour, then overall they will use labour to get things done. They have no incentive to do otherwise. If they don’t have access to limitless labour, or wages rise, they will turn to robotics and automation.
This is consistent with another issue, which is low productivity increases in the UK. With low wages and labour intensive production, you get things done, but it is difficult to increase the productivity of the human body. When wages rise and employers invest in more machinery, robotics and automation, then overall productivity can rise quickly.
To understand the economy, you have to look past the moralising epithets and seek to understand the mechanisms that drive it. The lowest productivity economies are those that depend on low-wage human labour, and the highest are those that pay high wages and make human labour so valuable that you can increase profits by replacing or augmenting human labour with machines.
We should know this, because it is the basic mechanism that drove the Industrial Revolution in the 19th Century.
October 8, 2021
and Canal/river and Railway transport facilitated it all, powered largely by coal.
October 8, 2021
You keep blaming the government and demanding they must do something about everything – how is that supposed to align with a Conservative ethos?
Besides, it is the City that should be blamed along with the consumerist mentality of the populous who don’t give a rats ass for where products are made, who’s jobs get displaced, hat the true costs are anyway.
The question is more what are you going to do about it as a citizen, consumer, investor and voter?
October 7, 2021
UK industry and farming was crippled by 40+ years of EU membership and it will take time to recover.
Particularly since we are still following restrictive and impractical EU regulations and suffering from the actions of Marxists and EU supporters in Parliament, the civil service, the MSM, quangos, the educational establishment and the judiciary acting as a fifth column.
October 7, 2021
JR picked them apart with forensic logic!
October 7, 2021
Watched at lunch time, you would be better on Colin Brazierās show he is excellent I canāt believe Iāve not seen him before. Iāve been told he was on Sky but we donāt watch or subscribe to Sky.
For every Ā£1 we all make Ā£2 is sloshing straight back out, we have a big problem with economic migration and the time it takes to process claims whilst we are forced to house and feed them and now pay their telephone bills. What the hell, no-one pays for anyone elseās telephone bills they chose to leave their families and come here, pay for their journey home to their families instead. How very dare a judge (who are these people) to give our money away in such an excessive fashion, these illegal migrants could use the wifi theyāve probably got in their accommodation – when is your party going to say NO. Do they provide free phone calls in France, Greece, Italy – STOP THIS or pay for all our phone calls to our families.
October 7, 2021
You made excellent comments on energy. So why has the government turned down development of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea? Shooting ourselves in the feet again.
October 7, 2021
It will still be there. Oil fields are precious resources. We should not always be in too much of a hurry to use them up. We should use every other source of energy we can find first.
October 7, 2021
It an take advantage of existing pipeline infrastructure if it is developed soon. That will not be there later.
October 7, 2021
Taken far enough, that is an argument for draining all the oilfields, which I think would be a very bad idea. Oil isn’t just any resource. It is concentrated energy, in a highly mobile form, and it does not replace itself. It is the last resource we should use, not the first one. I believe that even if other fuels are more expensive, we should not be burning oil except when we really have to.
October 8, 2021
jon livesey :
Agreed.
Oil should be kept for producing chemicals and not simply burnt.
October 8, 2021
That goes for all of our natural resources – too late for the oil but we can still apply that strategy to (fracked) gas, coal, Lithium and whatever else we have. Further we should be retaining minerals from manufactured products and moving to a circular economy to maximise their use. Our children will not forgive us throwing and giving them away.
But whisper it gently else LifeLogic and his crew will squeal and squeal.
October 8, 2021
The world is awash with oil.
Despite decades of dire warnings of oil running out.
October 8, 2021
@Peter2 – but it isn’t our oil and so we must import it and therefore subject to someone else’s control, restrictions, blackmail …
October 9, 2021
We can make oil and other carbon based chemicals from CO2 extracted from the atmosphere. It’s just a higher cost operation, but justifiable where alternatives don’t work so well. For example, aviation at least.
October 7, 2021
Well, that did not take long. I am reading this morning that wages for drivers are up by 8.5% year on year. It is not absolutely conclusive, but it is consistent with the idea that importing low-wage drivers from the EU was keeping UK driver wages down.
October 8, 2021
It is certainly true, that in a country where employees are prevented from defending their pay and conditions – either by legal means or by industrial action, thanks to inequitable contracts Statutes, to anti-union, and to anti-strike laws – any competition will adversely affect that that pay and those conditions.
If it were simply European Union membership however, then why are things in Germany, say, nothing like as onerous for HGV drivers there as they are here?
October 8, 2021
I should perhaps have said “judicial means” rather than “legal means”
October 8, 2021
You would hold a UK company liable for your inability to compete with employees of Indian or Chinese companies?
So why didn’t you buy a UK produced phone or car rather than the cheaper imported product? It was your choice that put your co-workers out of a job – your fault.
October 8, 2021
I’m puzzled NLH.
Which country are you referring to where “employees are prevented from defending their pay and conditions…..by industrial action”