Mrs Thatcher to blame for the mess we are in.

[Fartown]

... New Laour are Tories in disguise- there is no labour party anymore , just varying shades of Tory all out for themselves

 

Perhaps the fact that there is no labour party (as in old labour) any more is th glimmer of hope for the British Manufacturing sector.

 

The planned and choreographed 'industrial disputes' of the 1970s were very nearly the death knell for British manufacturing. (I've got my golf clubs in the back of the car so that in the extremely unlikely event there's an industrial dispute today and I have to bring my members out on strike I won't have to waste any time going back home to get them.)

 

If you were a would-be investor and were considering starting up a major manufacturing plant in the UK and if you thought old Labour was going to rear its head and re-introduce 'union rule' would you risk your money in the UK?

[denlin]

Perhaps the fact that there is no labour party (as in old labour) any more is th glimmer of hope for the British Manufacturing sector.

 

The planned and choreographed 'industrial disputes' of the 1970s were very nearly the death knell for British manufacturing. (I've got my golf clubs in the back of the car so that in the extremely unlikely event there's an industrial dispute today and I have to bring my members out on strike I won't have to waste any time going back home to get them.)

 

If you were a would-be investor and were considering starting up a major manufacturing plant in the UK and if you thought old Labour was going to rear its head and re-introduce 'union rule' would you risk your money in the UK?

 

Nobody invests here now and the working class have no rights and just in case you don't understand you are one of them and you are not immune from losing your job with no-one to back you up. My OH who is an extremely talented apprentice trained engineer who has worked since he was 15 in 1966 got made redundant in April this year and it took him 3 months of hard toil to find something else so where are the jobs?

[Frumius]

Perhaps the fact that there is no labour party (as in old labour) any more is th glimmer of hope for the British Manufacturing sector.

 

The planned and choreographed 'industrial disputes' of the 1970s were very nearly the death knell for British manufacturing. (I've got my golf clubs in the back of the car so that in the extremely unlikely event there's an industrial dispute today and I have to bring my members out on strike I won't have to waste any time going back home to get them.)

 

If you were a would-be investor and were considering starting up a major manufacturing plant in the UK and if you thought old Labour was going to rear its head and re-introduce 'union rule' would you risk your money in the UK?

 

What you say about the industrial disputes of the 70s rings true but at least there was a sizeable manufacturing sector in the 1970s. when Mrs T took office she doubled interest rates overnight (to attack inflation) and that combined with the sudden availability of Northsea oil sent the pound through the roof. The sudden rise in interest rates and soaring value of the pound combined to kill manufacturing exports, promote imports and the overnight 25 percent reduction in British manufacturing.

[Guest]

Really? Would you care to provide a citation to support that argument?

 

Here are the first 3 hits from Google on the topic 'UK Manufacturing':

 

Manufacturing UK - Directory of UK Manufacturing Companies

Detailed business information on over 4595 Manufacturing Companies located in the UK...

 

The future of UK Manufacturing: Reports of its death are greatly exaggerated

Loren Gerlach talks to Will Jackson-Moore and Matthew Alabaster about the future of UK manufacturing.

 

BBC News - UK manufacturing 'powering ahead'

 

5 Dec 2010 ... The UK manufacturing sector is in rude health, thanks in large part to strong demand from overseas customers, an industry survey suggests.

 

The authors of those articles don't seem to agree with you. There were over 7 million hits. I didn't bother to read them all.

 

UK manufacturing does have problems but it's far from dead.

 

If Labour get back in power anytime soon they'll probably do something about that, however.

 

 

Your first quote is nothing but an index of manufacturers.

The second and third show no figures of what they are comparing against and naturally both the CBI and the government will "talk it up" as they always do.

 

When I started work in the 50's, I travelled every day from the Wicker to Tinsley and back.

I remember the steelworks which stretched from Saville Street all the way down to Weedon Street on both sides of the Road. and on most of the land from Brightside Lane to Attercliffe Road together with many firms manufacturing springs, machine parts etc.

They were all working 24 hours a day and employed tens of thousands of men in REAL jobs (not serving burgers in McDonalds).

 

I remember the many dozens of cutlery firms (some for whom, I later worked) who sold Sheffield cutlery, world wide - this was acknowledged to be unmatchable anywhere in the world including the USA.

 

I remember the many massive Railways goods yards (such as the Wicker Goods yard where I then worked) which transported a vast tonnage of the output of all these works.

 

We had a lot of firms which supplied the mining industry which are now gone.

 

Each of these supported myriad other industries which have almost all disappeared.

 

Where are all the many British motorcycle factories which, at that time, supplied most of the world with motorcycles and where are all the motor manufacturing plants? - they may have died through their own lack of effort or investment but nevertheless, they have gone.

 

What happened to the great shipbuilding industry in this country and what happened to the locomotive works where we built world famous loco's such as the Flying Scotsman besides many thousands of everyday shunters and other basic working loco's?

 

I saw it - I remember it - it's gone - and no amount of reports will alter that or explain the vast acres of empty land which once belched smoke from men's work and carried our name across the world.

 

That's citation enough for me and for everyone else who worked among it in those days.

[Michael_W]

Perhaps the fact that there is no labour party (as in old labour) any more is th glimmer of hope for the British Manufacturing sector.

 

The planned and choreographed 'industrial disputes' of the 1970s were very nearly the death knell for British manufacturing. (I've got my golf clubs in the back of the car so that in the extremely unlikely event there's an industrial dispute today and I have to bring my members out on strike I won't have to waste any time going back home to get them.)

 

If you were a would-be investor and were considering starting up a major manufacturing plant in the UK and if you thought old Labour was going to rear its head and re-introduce 'union rule' would you risk your money in the UK?

 

What, no blame on the poor management of our manufacturing industry back then ?

The Japs and the Germans excelled back then because they 'managed' better, invested better and treat their workers better !

Sadly just like today, you get to the top in 'British' companies by being a brown nosed yes man as opposed to knowing how to manage !

Don't blame everything on the unions, cos without those who did actually fight for better pay and conditions in the manufacturing industries, the average worker in this country would be getting nowhere near what they get today !

 

As for what has been created since, in terms of jobs, callcentres and supermarkets....pfffft...great jobs for young men eh ?