To think we should all take note of what our country is exporting?

[PiggyInTheCentre]

Sorry for a miserable thread. Just more evidence of the UK's strong involvement in the violence of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and many others...

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-is-now-the-second-biggest-arms-dealer-in-the-world-a7225351.html

[LurkingHusband]

Do we still export shackles and torture equipment ?

www.amnesty.org.uk/china-tools-of-torture-trade

It isn’t just China that has a hand in equipping torturers all over the world. The UK has repeatedly hosted international arms fairs where illegal equipment is advertised.

Despite numerous promises to clamp down on this practice, the government has never prosecuted any company for illegally peddling torture equipment at UK arms fairs.

Quite disgusting.

Presumably this is one industry that was praying for Brexit ?

[PiggyInTheCentre]

Yes, pretty horrifying, Lurking.

I suspect various arms links actually benefit substantially from the types of trade deals espoused by the EU, so I'm not sure about linking with Brexit, though.

[LurkingHusband]

If you want to get involved in protests, don't look overconfident. It attracts police attention.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/sep/13/comment.armstrade

[SquinkiesRule]

That is awful.
I was curious as to whether it would be in the top 10 of UK exports so I googled cause google is my friend
realbusiness.co.uk/article/33382-the-top-ten-uk-exports-in-2016_33382
Much better read.

1. Chemicals
   
2. Cars
   
3. Planes jets and spacecraft.
   
4. Art
   
5. Medical devices
   

and on it goes.

[rosesarered9]

SquinkiesRule Does "chemicals" include drugs for lethal injection executions in the US?

[ErrolTheDragon]

Roses - no, we don't do that.

[HeddaLettuce]

You've been exporting arms since they were invented. Why now?

[LurkingHusband]

Does "chemicals" include drugs for lethal injection executions in the US?

Much as I am sure the Torys would love for the UK to lead the world in execution consultancy (I can see a "Bake Off"/"Condemned last meal" tie up in the making. "Hairy Bikers on Death Row" ?, "Strictly Lethal !" ?") the EU has an EU-wide ban on the export of lethal injection chemicals.

Of course, with the UK on course to leave the EU, we can "take back control" and flog oil drums of the stuff. Enough execute all the prisoners on death row - even the white ones.

Brexit - the gift that keeps on giving ....

Michael Portillo fronted a documentary a while back "How to kill a human". The image of a US prison governor saying that the death penalty "had to hurt, or there was no point" was one of the most telling testaments to the barbarity of it I have ever seen.

[NightWanderer]

Yes! I was reading recently about the UK selling Saudi Arabia 2 billion worth of weapons to use against Yemen. Some really terrible things going on there.

[PiggyInTheCentre]

Hmm, Lurking, I can't resist taking that little piece of referendum bait... outside the EU isn't there always the chance (albeit small at the moment I'll admit) of opting further out of the "acceptable" arms trade deals the EU seems to relish? Going in the other direction instead? Like the option to use Brexit to become less racist than the EU (which allows free movement of predominantly white Europeans and keeps out others), rather than more?

[TheresAJaffaCakeInMyPocket]

Wow I never knew!

[LurkingHusband]

PiggyInTheCentre

Hmm, Lurking, I can't resist taking that little piece of referendum bait... outside the EU isn't there always the chance (albeit small at the moment I'll admit) of opting further out of the "acceptable" arms trade deals the EU seems to relish? Going in the other direction instead?

Yes, of course there is a chance. And if I were pressed to suggest a number to express the probability of that chances, the words "fuck" and "all" would run together.

A Tory government taking a moral stance towards protecting the weak and vulnerable in the rest of the world? That ringing sound is my leg shaking.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Regardless of the government, we ain't seen nothing yet re the negative impact of Brexit on our economy. In that list of exports, for instance, 'planes' - we're very likely to lose a lot of AirBus now. The aerospace industry is important to our balance of trade, so that'll leave military aircraft being all the more important. We have to have exports to fund the NHS, social security, old-age and public sector pensions etc - there is no money tree.

[LurkingHusband]

We have to have exports to fund the NHS

Only if you keep the NHS.

[PiggyInTheCentre]

A Tory government taking a moral stance towards protecting the weak and vulnerable in the rest of the world? That ringing sound is my leg shaking.



Ah, but we'll kick them out in a few years. Viva la revolucion!

[LurkingHusband]

Ah, but we'll kick them out in a few years. Viva la revolucion!

Just like we did in 1997. Only back then we really did get a government that cared about the vulnerable in society, and eschewed involvement in foreign wars.

No, that was wrong too. They were just Tories in sheeps clothing.

[PiggyInTheCentre]

You may be right, but it's too defeatist for me, Lurking - I sniff change...

[LurkingHusband]

You may be right, but it's too defeatist for me, Lurking - I sniff change...

People have been saying that since 1945 ...

[SquinkiesRule]

rosesarered9 I don't think so, according to this the UK stopped giving it to them in 2010 and the rest of the EU followed suit in 2011

[ErrolTheDragon]

well, there was change in 1945 - an effective Labour government was elected. Whereas now the labour party is more interested in playing politics than actually doing anything in the real world.