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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think James Dyson is a unpatriotic

52 replies

Theworldisfullofgs · 23/10/2018 10:38

James Dyson fought for brexit and was influential in getting people to vote for it. He announced today he is building his electric cars in Singapore. What a knob.

OP posts:
TonTonMacoute · 23/10/2018 13:18

The Remain side have always been so intent on portraying Leavers as inward-looking Little Englanders, that people have come to believe it is true.

However, many of them are quite the opposite - including James Dyson.

Oswaldspengler · 23/10/2018 13:18

This reply has been deleted

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DollyTots · 23/10/2018 13:25

An insane amount of work goes into designing and building electric cars. Especially from a company that's not done it before. Dyson may be building them in Singapore but there are lots of people in the U.K. working on it too that goes beyond just manufacturing. Brits are not currently missing out.

FishesaPlenty · 23/10/2018 13:31

However, many of them are quite the opposite - including James Dyson.

Yes, many of them are acting completely out of self-interest. Those businessmen whose financial position will actually improve at the expense of the rest of the UK for example.

Babycham1979 · 23/10/2018 13:38

Tontonmacoute, fitting name there! Derraged AND dangerous!

Snugglepiggy · 23/10/2018 13:52

The opposite.He is a larger land owner now than the queen which no doubt will anger many but he's piling millions into developing new technologies to improve yields do we can grow more of our own food,and improve the environment with less reliance on chemicals and the insanity,and insecurity, of being so reliant on imports.Wether some of his products are managed elsewhere we should applaud British design and innovation. That's patriotic.

longwayoff · 23/10/2018 14:14

Hang tight to that job in Bristol workzilla, you'll be kissing it goodbye post brexit or maybe just taking a hefty pay cut to compete against Asian pay rates. What's your preference? Be sure to let Mr Dyson know so he can take your opinion into account.

Theworldisfullofgs · 23/10/2018 14:26

I've never thought it was inward looking. I've always thought it was about exploiting people's insecurity to create the right environment for disaster capitalism to flourish.

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Backstabbath · 23/10/2018 14:46

@Snugglepiggy I think your wrong about James Dyson owning more land than the queen.

All his land added together is bigger than the queens Sandringham estate by about 5k acres, but the queen owns more than one estate. Balmoral is also owned by the queen, plus other land dotted around the uk

Theworldisfullofgs · 23/10/2018 14:48

It's hilarious that Dyson has chosen Singapore for its proximity to trading hubs but he recommends leaving our closet market.

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Justanotherlurker · 23/10/2018 15:14

It's hilarious that Dyson has chosen Singapore for its proximity to trading hubs but he recommends leaving our closet market.

To be fair he has created over 3x as many jobs in the UK as he destroyed in the 16 years since moving manufacturing to Malaysia. There's a lot of new UK investment from Dyson. They just built a whole new design and testing facility.

I mean, there's plenty to criticise him about, but he does care about the UK, its just that his political alignment doesn't agree with yours, which is fair enough

Avg and median salaries in Singapore are WAY higher than UK, Singapore pays the highest manuf. wages in Asia & a lot higher than UK.

Wouldn't put it way higher

www.conference-board.org/ilcprogram/index.cfm?id=38269

Uncooperativefingers · 23/10/2018 15:26

Seriously?! What has building cars in Singapore got to do with being patriotic?

The design is all being done in the UK, which is the high value part of the project anyway. Manufacturing will be just build to print in Singapore. Aren't the rest of Dyson's products made in Malaysia? (But designed in the UK)

Welcome to engineering in the UK: we design here for someone else to do the manufacturing in the cast majority of cases. Even the so-called "British electric car" from Jag is built in Austria!

Uncooperativefingers · 23/10/2018 15:28

Oh and I voted remain by the way!

FishesaPlenty · 23/10/2018 15:39

Even the so-called "British electric car" from Jag is built in Austria!

Yes, it's being built in the EU rather than in the UK, for some inexplicable reason. That's rather the point isn't it? Manufacturing jobs leaving the UK?

Walkingdeadfangirl · 23/10/2018 15:46

Why do remainers now want to turn us into 'Little Britain'? We voted to leave the EU so we could become Global Britain, just like Mr Dyson is doing. He employees around 5000 people in good jobs in the UK and it is completely sensible to build a new car in the best place in the world to secure these British jobs. He is a great role model for our children.

Post brexit perhaps we can increase our countries STEM expertise/education so we can attract cutting edge electric car manufacturing to the UK.

FishesaPlenty · 23/10/2018 16:03

It's the hypocrisy of producing goods in a country which has just signed a FTA with the EU while advocating that the UK should trade on WTO terms because it doesn't affect his business. That he's moving production to be near his largest target market while advocating building barriers between the UK and its largest market.

Backstabbath · 23/10/2018 16:09

This 100% ^ ^

DeloresJaneUmbridge · 23/10/2018 16:14

He's a hypocrite and always has been. He doesn't give a stuff about Britain and is a typical self serving millionaire and stuff the rest of us.

Arealmanithink · 23/10/2018 16:17

@Oswaldspengler. As soon as you resort to name calling (especially DM style) you lose all credibility. #Justsayin

Walkingdeadfangirl · 23/10/2018 16:48

He doesn't give a stuff about Britain and is a typical self serving millionaire and stuff the rest of us.
Yea he is an evil super villain who goes around inventing great products and employing British people. What a bastard.

Dragongirl10 · 23/10/2018 16:57

Dyson has 3,500 scientists, engineers and support staff at Malmesbury, up from fewer than 900 five years ago, and Sir James said he expects that rate of expansion to continue in the UK.

Thats a lot of jobs his company is supplying..IN THE UK All those workers will have pensions etc.

If he wants to develop part of his business overseas that is his perogative...

All you negative posters what exactly do YOU contribute to the UK by comparison...just think about it....or do you just hate him on principle because he is wealthy?

Uncooperativefingers · 23/10/2018 18:52

Fishesa i'm not sure James Dyson can be blamed for the reduction in manufacturing capability in the UK...

The manufacturing industries in the UK are seen as old fashioned, dirty and not good careers. As a nation we have decided it's better to send more people to university and for them to aim for the so-called white collar professions. This had both positive and negative effects (on both society and the economy), but it is the current state of play. I have worked in a few different heavy industries over my career so far and each one found it difficult to recruit people into the more manual jobs, and (if they were British) most of those were older. There is a lot of young Polish families in my area, and they made up most of the 18-30ish demographic.

None of this is Dyson, or any other individual's fault.

Uncooperativefingers · 23/10/2018 18:56

I should also have clarified that the reason I mentioned about the ipace being manufactured in Austria is to make the point that it's not always about moving for cheaper labour costs. Sometimes the capability in the required timeframe does not exist in the UK

queenrollo · 23/10/2018 19:04

He owns loads of land in my county. All of this is owned by companies based offshore to benefit him financially, depriving the government coffers of a huge wad of cash. It's also completely screwing local smaller scale farmers, fucking the countryside with monoculture and destroying local roads with heavy traffic.
His company also leaves tenants living in unsafe properties and lying to those tenants about their rights.
He's not well like by anyone in this county who knows how his farming businesses are actually run and how they give no fucks whatsoever about how it affects those of us living here.

It always feels a bit hollow to see him championed as a great Brit when all he really cares about is lining his own pockets.

Buteo · 23/10/2018 20:20

He is a larger land owner now than the queen which no doubt will anger many

And of course nothing to do with creating a massive tax shelter given that agricultural land can be exempted from inheritance tax Hmm