There’s been a lot of stories of manufacturing jobs moving abroad using the excuse …”because of Brexit“.
Anyone think the EU is good for British industry or any other business simply hasn’t paid attention to what has been systematically asset-stripped from the UK over the last 47 years. The EU actively encourages UK-based firms to leave the UK with loans, but the EU hasn’t been the only reason. Labour and Conservative alike are equally to blame.
The Mini that David Cameron stood in front of as an example of British engineering are built by BMW mostly in Holland and Austria. Former PM David Cameron’s Remain battle-bus in June 2016 was made in Germany even though we have Plaxton, Optare, Bluebird, Dennis etc, in the UK. The Remain battle-bus was recycled for Theresa May’s 2017 General Election campaign. Says it all doesn’t it? (Reference)
Cadbury’s ( now owned by Kraft) moved their factory to Poland in 2011 – see here.
Ford Southampton moved their Transit van plant from to Turkey in 2013 with an €80 million EU loan allegedly backed by George Osborne when he was Governor of the European Investment Bank. Loan guaranteed by the UK Taxpayer! (References here and here)
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR is owned by Tata Steel, the same company who have trashed our steelworks and emptied the workers pension funds), agreed, before Brexit, to build a new plant in Slovakia, now opened in Oct 2018 with €125 million Slovakian state aid fund, backed by the EU Commission (Reference)
Now JLR say they have cut production in UK…because of “no deal” fears? No, people are buying fewer Diesel cars because of government policy, who at first encouraged us all to convert to diesel, now say we should convert to electric – see this.
But where are those electric cars going to get their power from in future? The Drax power plant, since 2013 in Northern Ireland and Selby, North Yorkshire, a Green Blob initiative, “Ash for Cash” scandal, burns wood pellets that are shipped across the Atlantic from Canada. This accounts for 80% of the Drax supply, with a massive carbon footprint in transporting wood pellets and burning them at no expense spared through government subsidy, adding 4 times as much CO2 and increased particulates into the air “equivalent to adding 3 million Diesel cars to the roads”, said Biofuelwatch. Many in the know who are also into biofuel electrical generation cottoned onto the fact that they received more through this subsidy than any electricity they generated. Labour or Tory, both are friends of the Green Blob insanity at your expense (here and here).
The British Army’s new Ajax fighting vehicle is built in Spain, using Swedish steel at the request of the EU Commission to support jobs in Spain, rather than Wales. A decision mostly made because the UK government has to follow EU Defence Procurement Directive 2009/81/EC, meaning contracts for defence have to be tendered across the EU internal market. And this was announced just before the Brexit vote in May 2016! Under WTO rules military equipment can be excluded from government procurement rules on national security grounds! (Reference)
With this in mind, 3 Royal Fleet Auxiliary support vessels are up for tender abroad too. The decision, whether a UK shipyard gets the contract or it goes abroad, is pending at the moment, subject to a government decision. The prospect looks bleak for UK shipyards the longer we remain in the EU. Why not freeze the tendering process and award the contract to a UK shipyard, after we leave the EU? Handy ePetition to sign! (Reference).
The list goes on:
M&S one of the last British clothing manufacturers left the UK for the far east in 2003
Also in 2003 Gillette fled Hemel Hempstead and London to Poland, with loss of 415 UK jobs.
Texas Instruments Greenock semiconductor plant announced in January 2016 that it was earmarked for closure in 2019, phasing production to Freising, Germany and Japan.
The point is that businesses move about all the time, not because of Brexit, but because they move to where it’s favourable to make a profit. It’s up to the UK government to make businesses more favourable, less expensive, fewer taxes, fewer expensive regulations, make it easier for them to make a profit, instead like the EU, has embraced the subsidized Green Blob. For every job created through the Green Blob scam nearly 4 are lost (here).
In January 1993, whole sectors of British industry were buried under an avalanche of expensive EU regulations to harmonize to EU standards from the Single Market. During 1992 in the run up to its introduction UK businesses were faced with a stark choice by over-zealous council inspectors who issued firm notices to either conform to EU directives and then go bankrupt or face criminal prosecution if they continued trading, closed shop for the last time. (Reference)
The biggest and most expensive piece of legislation ever put through a British Parliament is a mass exporter of UK jobs adding huge costs and regulation to businesses (Reference).
In 2006, Carbon Taxes (CCL) , were first implemented by Ed Milliband under the Labour government and any hopes that the Conservatives would repeal this Jobs destroyer has been dashed in 2010 as they endorsed it too with the Libdems. The UK government policy whether Lib Lab or CON for all UK industry is decline with a vengeance, despite Brexit, following the cult religion of Climate Change and alignment to the Single Market. Yet Remainers blame Brexit for companies fleeing the UK? But the industrial graveyards of the last 4 decades say otherwise!
The UK has to shake off this Green Blob and Single Market to be competitive, to keep jobs and industry in the UK, so why not start by scrapping the Climate Change Levy (CCL), Paris Agreement (2015) along with Single Market rules.
President Trump has shown the way, attracting businesses back to the USA making it more attractive for real jobs and growth of 4.1% (see here and here).
Just a footnote to Cadbury. I read somewhere that it is now in Strasbourg. Of course no Eurobungs there .
Careful, Simon. The UKIP Brexit battle bus (the sleeper coach, not the open topper) was made in Spain with a German chassis and engine. If someone picks you up on that you will need to explain that the other companies you mention – in fact none in the UK – build heavy duty long distance coaches. Great for intercity vehicles but not long distance stuff. Never have done. Otherwise I get the point you are making.
For approximately 30 years of my 50 years of working life, I was employed as a Machinery Relocator ,( Machine Bumper ) ,During that time the only new machines that I put in were involved with the Food Industry ,mostly for EU rules on upgrades from old steel or non -Ferrous to stainless steel , or Air Conditioning for new Office Blocks. In contrast, I have removed machines from just about every area in the UK, just one example would be Liverpool , during probably 20 visits I only ever took machines away , put them into containers and sent them abroad …Never installed one brand new item and that is one city amongst hundreds…….I suspect every body who cares to think about
this understands WHY
The EU seems work very well for German industry and European fishing fleets and Polish infrastructure. Remainiacs that argue we should stay to protect British manufacturing jobs are spectacularly ignorant or deliberately simplistic. They can sound good and convincing but thats all it is- virtue signalling and political posturing. It matters not one penny to our political class if there is one or none engineering firms north of watford. Whether we have a shipyard, a foundry or a workshop matters zilch. So long as the magic money tree dispenses welfare to their voting base and pays their salaries and their pensions. A prosperous, educated society with good employment opportunities is hard to control and manipulate. A fearful insecure population cannot organise in their own interests against a bad government. This is where we are heading. Or to be more accurate where we are being led. The referendum vote more than anything else has exposed this hidden agenda. When your town loses its industry, starts turning multi-cultural and a democratic vote is routinely rubbished by the national broadcaster; that agenda is not hidden anymore. We need more than ever a government that wants to lead a self governing independent country in the interests of all the people. Special relationship? WA? Get real. We must leave the EU and then drain the westminster swamp.
Thank you for this article, you have pretty much summarised what I have been trying to explain to people for several years, especially those who keep insisting “we need to stay in the EU to protect jobs”.
These people need to be reminded of the thousands of jobs that have been lost in the UK due to manufacturers moving their production facilities to other EU countries where labour costs are cheaper, and not just other EU countries either.
And it is not just the UK that has lost jobs either, working in the automotive parts industry, I see products from well-respected names such as Bosch (Germany) and Valeo (France) marked as “Made in Romania”, “Made in Slovakia” etc.
We once had a customer in Singapore question our integrity, as we had supplied them a Bosch car filter, and they were expecting to receive a “German manufactured quality product”, but had received something marked as “Made in Hungary”, and questioned whether we were selling ‘fake’ Bosch products.
As for the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, ever since they opened their new Slovakia manufacturing plant for the Discovery model, there have been numerous rumours that they would move all production from Solihull to there eventually.
And that is probably the likely outcome, and that would happen regardless of Brexit or not. The truth is that Brexit can be used as a ‘convenient excuse’ to do so.
I am not at all convinced that it is largely the fault of the EU that we have lost so much of our manufacturing capacity. Yes, I fully agree that EU regulations have not helped but the cost of energy due to crack-pot green energy government initiatives/subsidies may account for much loss of energy hungry heavy industry. Energy is simply too expensive in this country and companies are voting with their feet. Even small and medium sized manufacturers are frustrated at such high costs.
Remember it was Tony Blair NOT the EU who committed Britain to crazy renewable targets that other countries did not follow.
But lets face it one of the main reasons for manufacturing loss and foreign ownership is the short termism of the City of London. For sixty years now we have been told that if the City of London is doing well we are all doing well. Mmm! maybe for some but not for the majority. There are huge amounts of money made for the financial sector selling British companies into foreign ownership as well as money for the exchequer. Look at the vast sums of money earned by the City when selling off our energy and water sectors and much of our huge chemical industry and car industry not to mention food industry too. This was not the fault of the EU this was the short-termism of the City with an approving nod from national governments.
Germany, Denmark, Hollland and France do not sell off their companies so readily and they have to abide by the same rules as ourselves.
We can’t blame the EU for everything.
Politicians of all kinds Do not understan businessin any form. Retail, Manufacture, Trade, speculative extracive or any other.
It is too difficult.
So politicians however crooked, ignore it but tax it at any opportunity.
Most have no idea what you’re talking about when you mention geese and golden eggs.So they pretend to leave it alone to get on with making money for them. Except, they have to interfere and dabble . Particularly Labour Who think they are experts. Believe me they are not. I have been a labour supporter most of my life but I have never fallen out with managers. Banks Yes. Tax collectors Yes.VAT Man Yes.
Managers and directors work with workers. If they don’t understand them at least a bit, the firm won’t last long. If a firm is too big, I reckon about 2000 people max.,( you cannot know more,)( or they you. which is probably more important.)
The political class consider us sheep, and exploitable identically.
Ted Heath was terrified to his queer little toenails of Unions. He had every right to be. They were destroying Britain and were uncontrolled without restraint and destructive. You dare not buy a Friday car and a Thursday or Monday car were a serious gamble. and when you wouldget it wasunknown to the gods or the labour party.
Enter Japan with quality cars then german cars. Enter Foreign countries making Ships, Bearings, Outboard motors, motor bikes, Railway engines Telephones The list is hard to believe. But all on time to quality and spec and price.Where have these industries gone? Ask politicians of any kind ,but particularly Labour Whose legendary stupidity reorganised whole industries to maketham more susceptable to union action.
This is what the UK must now be considering. Since we have failed to have any tinyist affect on anything else, UKIP could give it some slight consideration as a Protest Vote catcher.
Sorry, I do go on.
Well done. Sorely needed. There is a booklet also by Economics professor Mark Bainbridge of Bradford University but for the moment suffice to say that the website http://www.cravenfreedom.com has the following quote by Peter Thorneycroft (Cons) in “Design for Europe 1947. “No government dependent upon a democratic vote could agree in advance which the neccessary sacrifices must entail. THE PEOPLE MUST BE LED SLOWLY AND UNCONSCIOUSLY INTO THE ABANDONMENT OF THEIR TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC DEFENCES….” Throrneycroft sent me a copy of the booklet so I can confirm it is true.I can’t quite lay my hands on it at present but this suffices.
I confirm every word of the article. Every sentance here, about a disappearing firm can be duplicated, or itemised in tens, hundredsand and thousands. Whole industries given undocumented instructions from on high or regulations or laws one cannot fight.
However.
The elephant in the room . Union and linked political activity now joined by revolutionary and liberal death wish.
Unions are essential for everybody.
.Union and Political Linkage is also correct.
Political Foolishnessis not acceptable
Revolutionary and liberal hatred is not. It is this aspect by those I believe trying to harm us, that must go.
I have followed this mantra all my life running factories and find all employees and Directors from top to bottom ,value it , and it works.
This room is full of elephants, and the biggee is TAX.
I reckon 75 % of everything is TAX, or caused by TAX. Or TAX of TAX of more TAX.
TAX always closes companies .
and TAX is the greed of politics of all kinds.
The control of TAX gives politicians
POWER, WEALTH INFLUENCE, and hopefully FLATULANCE.
And there’s the problems. for when (or if ) we leave. We face them or die.
Joke
The climate change scam has to be stopped. Of course it has nothing to do with the climate and everything to do with transferring money to the global elite*.
*global trash if one prefers.
There is a chart illustrating the transfer process here:
http://joannenova.com.au/2011/10/map-the-climate-change-scare-machine-the-perpetual-self-feeding-cycle-of-alarm/
Good one for the office wall…
In support of my earlier comment, I’ll post this video from the Money GPS, it talks about the asset stripping activities of the banks and should be watched.
“The Fed Ready To Unveil Plans To Stop QT! ALL Other Central Banks Are Still Printing Trillions!”
https://youtu.be/cFV0QXpFzCU
Simon – I’m glad you’ve written this article because we need to shout this stuff from the rooftops, we’re being lied to with the help of the mainstream media, this is a disgrace. Our country is, as you say, certainly being asset stripped as a result of free trade with the EU and that is what the EU, along with all of the other globalist organisations, is designed to do.
We’ve seen the EU, behave like Crack dealers, useing debt as a weapon to asset strip the Southern European countries (Greece), we’re on the same road, just a bit behind Greece. The Euro is a political construct and was never a sound economic construct, as a result Spain and Italy are in dire trouble: the only people to benefit from the EU are international bankers.
We need to understand how our EU symapathising government and the EU itself use selective and manipulated data to drive their propaganda. I’ve just written an article about this, it only just begins to address these issues but at least it’s a start and should be published in the next few days.
So, well done, we need much more of this stuff. The EU are nothing but gangster criminals, what does that tell you about Theresa May, her government and our mainstream political parties generally?
If I were to write in clear language what I think about May, her puppet government and most of the other pollies I would be modded…
So I’ll leave it to imagination.