last TV

[Biggles]

When it really is too late, or are we passed then ?

[johnoakes]

We once made civil aircraft,designed and built our own cars,built ships,made textiles, railway trains,buses and all manner of good honest things that a person could be proud of and say--"I helped to make that!"

Ah the Blair legacy.

Still we have our main product used and used daily----spin spin spin.We seem to have mastered that.

[viscount]

Odd, I thought it was Mrs Thatcher who was credited with single handledly destroying Britain's manufacturing base - or is that just more of the Labour spin ?

[idlewild]

There's nothing new about closing down factories producing consumer goods we all require, Thorn Colour Tubes Ltd that was in Skelmersdale closed in Jan 1976, after only five years production, with the loss of 1300 jobs, in a supposedly "new town" development that was to bring in jobs,it appears that government action jeopardised the long term future of the plant.

idlewild

[Nick Bartley]

just a thought but perhaps if everyone decided they wanted to pay a realistic price for all the lastest gadgets , tv's etc then the firms wouldn't be closing down here and moving to countries were the staff costs and other costs are lower ! - although trying to get people to pay more for things might not be so easy - people don't care as long as they are getting a bargain !
So rather than blaming governments (of various colours) people can choose (or obviously not in some cases) to buy local goods or of course could stand for election themselves !
that should get a few replies !!!! ;D

[ronturner]

I worked in manufacturing all my life and was proud to do so. I was lucky enough to work for companies that made innovative products and we were always ahead of the game. I ran four factories, two in UK and two in USA. The two UK plants were world leaders. Actually, thanks to the Thatcher policies, we were able to shed most of the restrictive practices that held us back and we embraced Japanese styles of management and working practices. (Which actually had their origins in USA and UK but were never properly extended here.) We went from strength to strength after Thatcher.
I remember Mrs T put an American in charge of British Steel His name escapes me. One of the first things he did was to ban the use of the car park to all cars not made in UK. The car parks were mostly empty. The message was clear. British made cars = British made steel= British steelworkers jobs. There is a message there.
In the current climate, France and Germany are leading Europe out of recession, to the surprise of many. But why? Because the FR and GER governments stimulated manufacturing and not the banks. French and German people buy mostly, French and German products. It may be chauvinism of the type we Brit's don't think much of. But that is how it works, and the proof is there.
Sad about the TVs I worked for Philips for 16 years. I am upset to see all those jobs gone. (Croydon, Mitcham, Southampton, Hazel Grove, Redhill, somewhere near Burnley, Washingtom, Dunfermline, and somewhere near Durham. All made TVs or Tubes or Tuners or parts for TVs.)

[johnoakes]

Ah Viscount--rose tinted glasses time again.LOL

See Ron's comments about the REAL efffect on industry by Margaret.

She did sweep away lots of nationalised antiquated industry--mostly uneconomic and uneccesary(sadly and totally out of touch with the realities of the 21st century)

Coming from a mining background I have sympathy but understand the reality of the changes.
Today Arthur Scargill lives in a council house in Barnsley--no he doesn't get to see where this poor socialist does live--they ALL sell out in the end.LOL

Labour spin has taken up a lot of lines in the forum --the corruption of the present crew is just the tip of the iceberg--11 years of incompetence lies beneath. Teflon Tony, Mandy and other incompetents whose names are so easily forgotten even if they are called Prescott-a town dear to my heart.

11years to correct all of Margaret's so called mistakes has led to how many substantial changes?

We still do not even have universal free school milk restored--do you remember the rallying call Thatcher the milk snatcher? Still no restoration of universal free school milk despite all the SPIN.And all this after 11 wasted years.

11 years of importing a tidal wave of 3rd world labour voters because they have lost confidence in the British people's ability to return them to power.

British manufacuring--a sad sad loss.11 years to sort out the bankers and NO progress simple incompetence.


My late father ,who was a miner, said that he could never vote for a party he could not trust to bring back the correct change from a visit to the shops.He must be laughing his head off looking down on this lot.

Never mind its all Mrs.Thatcher's fault.LOL

[Deleted]

In the current climate, France and Germany are leading Europe out of recession, to the surprise of many. But why? Because the FR and GER governments stimulated manufacturing and not the banks. French and German people buy mostly, French and German products. It may be chauvinism of the type we Brit's don't think much of. But that is how it works, and the proof is there.

A well-made point, Ron.
From my recent visits to Russia, I am struck by how much German influence there is in the country, and I don't just mean the cars.
The Russians hated the Germans (and many still do), as a result of what happened during WWII. There is a street in Volgograd (once Stalingrad), which is preserved exactly as it was at the end of WWII, in memory of the famous battle.
However, the German reputation for good engineering, reliable delivery times, and overall good quality has over-ridden their distate for anything German. And it's not just the Germans. Ikea is about to open its 12th store in Russia next week. So where's the British equivalent, MFI? Ah yes, bankrupt!
Interestingly, Russians will not buy French cars, but the French have a different approach to business. The recent furore over the Libyan prisoner would never have happened in France. It might have generated 30 seconds on the evening news but nothing more, and a middle finger to the US if they didn't like it. (I'm sure Ron will confirm this).
In my 6-month secondment with Airbus in Toulouse I was fascinated to see the politicians move in when a deal was becoming difficult, and offer some quid-pro-quo, and then move out again. No TV appearances, no press outside the door, just quiet and effective business diplomacy, which finally sealed the deal, and is just one of the reasons why Airbus has been so successful in such a relatively short time.

On the subject of Mrs Thatcher, I would ask everyone to remember three things:
1) She was much-respected by virtually every world leader - something no British Prime Minister had achieved since Churchill.
Don't think Mr Broon or Mr Bliar [deliberate sp] stands in that category somehow!
2) She recovered (after a lot of battling), millions of pounds -money which was rightly the UK's - from the then EEC.
3) Privatisation gave the man in the street the opportunity to buy shares in safe companies, and if they wanted to, make a significant profit, something which had never been done before, but has been copied throughout the world.
One more thing - mention the name Gorbachev to the average Russian and he'll spit on the floor. They believe that he didn't do the job of perestroika well, and was responsible the political and economic chaos which followed, despite the fact that he was the one who led the Soviet Union out of Communism.
It seems that world-changing leaders are never appreciated in their own countries...