To wonder how it is that we have so few companies that originate in the UK? Where everything could up and move because none of it is home grown?

[midnightlurker]

Listening to the news; reading stuff on here has made me realise how much we have become almost a satellite country. Hardly any of the business is really ours. We import food and goods, are lucky to have some companies have offices etc here. All that we have that belongs here seems to be service industries. No British manufacturing, British finance industries etc. How on earth did that happen?

Thatcher.

Because the only thing we have ever been truly great at was invading countries and using their resources for ourselves.

MrsTerry and Chipped both on the money.

We stole the family silver off other people and now we have flogged it and have nowt left to sell. Now everyone else is wise to our tricks we can't really nick owt else.

Oh, and Hedge Funds.

Whilst German management Unions and Banks were cooperating to rebuild industries after the war, we were busy fighting each other with strikes and bank and shareholder short-termism and entrenched politics on (at least) two sides. By the time Thatcher and Blair smashed the unions and told us the capitalists had won, the Germans and Japanese owned everything

I see Mrs Pratchett beat me too it.

It's not that simple though. Education is a big part of it. It's hard to make things well if your workforce is unskilled and productivity is low.

We don't Build ships and we don't make cars
But we look real good hanging out in bars

Manufacturing is cheaper overseas. My df ran a foundry and this used to be a real industry, but manufacturing is cheaper in India than here.

With manufacturing; you can do it cheap, or you can do it excellently, and make money. What you can't do it do it moderately well and expensively.

Oooh! A Roger Taylor fan! [waves at Jason ]

I'm impressed.

I am now singing Magic.... is loose... over and over in my head. Might have to dig out a big CD and drop a needle on it

Because other countries valued stability over productivity and went for the slow burn instead of boom and bust.

I'm thinking particularly of Germany, where I can buy a car that was made in the city I live in, and if I don't want that I've got a choice of another half dozen national makes. Every person is expected to save, credit is hard to come buy and many businesses only take cash. People still know what seasonal food is and value locally grown products, even in chain supermarkets.

Thatcher sold off the family silver in the 80's and embraced the free market. It was disaster for ordinary folk. We could, as a nation of had a grown up conversation about the ills of neo liberalism but it seemed so much easier to blame migrants.

I am now singing Magic.... is loose... over and over in my head. Might have to dig out a big CD and drop a needle on it

It's very hard to find his stuff.

I think "The Cross" albums might copme down in price now we have left the EU.

We did have it but we sold it
Mini / Rover
Jaguar
Land Rover
Cadbury

There was a list someone put up recently of all the companies that we had in this country but we sold them off.