Would a tram made in Sheffield be better than one made in Germany?

[rickiethecat]

Even if Bombardier had won the contract to build the trams in the UK, they'd probably have given the jobs to eastern european asylum seekers rather than british workers!

[Eddie_shef]

Even if Bombardier had won the contract to build the trams in the UK, they'd probably have given the jobs to eastern european asylum seekers rather than british workers!

 

Maybe your time would be better spent looking at why Bombardier (with access to all this cheap eastern European asylum labour) lost the bid?

[antifascist]

When the Euro started, one Pound bought 1.65 Euros. In 2007, One Pound bought 1.47 Euros but now that the Euro is under such great pressure, one Pound only buys 1.10 Euros.

 

The Euro is under great pressure and the Pound is strong. That's why the pound is worth less than 2/3 of what it was worth when the wimpy Euro was founded.

 

Are you sure your degree includes "international economics"? I think you are a wrong.

 

If a pound only buys you 1.1 euro's today when yesterday it bought you 1.6 euro's then the pound has gone DOWN in value against the euro. The pound is WEAKER than it was, despite all those troubles the euro zone is having. This is BAD for Britain.

 

OK? Get it?

 

You used these same figures to justify your flawed argument before and I'm surprised no-one pulled you on it then. You talk to people in order to spread your (or more likely someone else's) right-wing propaganda as if you know what you're talking about when in fact you don’t even have the wherewithal to check your facts on google.com

 

With technology what it is today, YOU have NO EXCUSE for not being as informed as everybody else. You clearly have an opinion already and then try and back up that opinion afterwards instead of READING and LEARNING in order to form your opinion. Worse still, you parade around Sheffield forum trying to convince others that you have something valuable to say

 

GDP Growth in France and in Germany is high because people are working. In the UK, they're claiming benefits.

 

Benefit fraud in the UK is (allegedly) small, but it IS significant.

 

Typical right wing opinion. Spawned BY RICH PEOPLE FOR RICH PEOPLE. Make all the poor people blame each other for the economic problems that RICH PEOPLE HAVE CAUSED and RICH PEOPLE BENEFIT FROM. You're so STUPID and IGNORANT to fall for this.

 

All the benefit fraud in the world wouldn't come close to the trillions of pounds we just gave the banks when they blackmailed us. Our government has no problem whatsoever with handing out bailouts and welfare to the super wealthy, whilst propagating the idea that it's the poor that are causing the problems and costing us all the money. Nothing to do with say...Tax breaks or tax write offs for the wealthy. Nothing to do with making workers in Britain compete with slave labour in the third world.

 

People are unemployed in this country because it's cheaper to manufacture in poor countries where you have no health and safety or unions or minimum wage and the like. If nothing is done to stop it we will lose all those benefits too.

 

In the UK you do not need a national identity (or any other identity) card to get benefits. - I am light-skinned and I was not entitled to claim benefits.

 

What does skin colour have to do with this? Benefits in this country are means tested. It is against the law to discriminate against you because of your race. The reason you didn't qualify is probably because you earn too much money and guess what, that means all those poor people that do qualify are WORSE OFF than you.

 

A tram made in Sheffield would be every bit as good as one made in Mannheim. Unfortunately, the people (skilled engineers, fitters and mechanics) who made the tram in Sheffield would have to earn enough to pay for the arseholes who sit around expecting (indeed, demanding) that the world pay them a living.

 

Do you think that an extra million people decided to become lazy or commit fraud since the start of the recessio? These people don't just "sit around" and your comments are very insensitive and offensive. They are unemployed because all our jobs are being exported to China so Big corporations can squeeze out that much more profit. Then they have the front to demand bailouts, lower taxes, and support from government to help screw us all over more, whilst simultaneously blaming us for the problems that they know they are causing.

 

I think you are helping this happen by spewing hateful misinformation.

 

[Lady Star]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/business/germans_win_tram_contract_1_3591449

 

 

 

Would a Sheffield tram be better than a German tram, or would it be a bit naff and overpriced?

 

We don't have a manufacturer based in Sheffield who builds trams... There are some businesses who support this sort of build in the area though, such as Toyoda Gosei where they make rubber seals for cars, so could upscale for trams... It may have been a good thing had the contract stayed within the UK though...

[Lady Star]

Really?

 

Is that why so many British Engineers emigrate?

 

They emigrate because they get paid to much money for doing too little in the UK?

 

Thanks for telling me.

 

British engineers emigrate because there simply isn't enough work in the UK for them all - The UK has been on Brain Drain for decades now - If you are very inteligent and operate in a specific industry, you will find that you are not alone and the work you want to do is already being done by someone else... Many top jobs are dead mans shoes - If the person ahead of you is in their 80's it might be worth hanging on to get their job after the funeral, but if they're in their 40's you might as well leave...

[dosxuk]

It was on the news this morning that the new Eurostar contract has been won by Siemens, beating French builders Alstom. So its not just the UK who are choosing German.

 

This contract was announced months ago. You might want to look into the French reaction to the work going to Germany... lets just say the contract was held up by the courts.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

What's wrong with Bombardier's products, anyway?

[Jeffrey Shaw]

How many of the Trams currently running in Sheffield were built here?

None, I regret. Unlike the Manchester Metro, all of Sheffield's are German-made.

Why is it that France/Germany prefer their own manufacturers, with apparent impunity, yet the UK slavishly follows EU diktats by always opting for the cheapest even though foreign?

[mike84]

None, I regret. Unlike the Manchester Metro, all of Sheffield's are German-made.

Why is it that France/Germany prefer their own manufacturers, with apparent impunity, yet the UK slavishly follows EU diktats by always opting for the cheapest even though foreign?

 

Unfortunately, the UK, as part of the EU has to follow EU procurement rules for public spending projects. This means that because the contract to build the trams is over a certain value, by law it has to be advertised EU wide.

 

The organisation(s) doing the buying also has to get best value so going for the cheapest is generally what has to happen. It is public money that is being spent.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

And we all know that it's OK for France/Germany not to keep the rules...