What have we gained by Brexit/leaving the EU?

[Elephant4]

In simple terms.

I've read so much about what we've lost.

Please no sarcastic comments. I just want to know what we've gained - probably best if those who think Brexit is a positive thing post.

Yes, I am glad to see a German firm investing in Britain. Why is it Aldi though and not Morrisons, a Bradford based firm, for example?

I think it will take some time- years ,to see the benefits or losses.
Clearly Brexit will divide opinions and always will do. However, queues at passport control at an airport is hardly a big deal, there are lots of other non- EU countries to visit as well.
Not everyone goes abroad anyway and I’m sure even when this pandemic is over, foreign holidays numbers will remain lower for some time.
I think UK holidays will get more popular.

@Peregrina

Yes, I am glad to see a German firm investing in Britain. Why is it Aldi though and not Morrisons, a Bradford based firm, for example?

Probably because they think they will get a return on their investment in the UK. Shrewd business people these Germans.

www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/media-centre/press-releases/sky-to-develop-major-new-studio-at-elstree/

Investments like this. Not exactly worried by Brexit are they?

@Theworldisfullofgs

Re the Covid vaccines it's costing more are we couldn't negotiate the EU deal. £10 more per vaccine. So we might be getting it quicker initially but it will be a lot more expensive

If I had an eighty year old parent I would much rather they got the expensive vaccine quickly than get it cheaper but have to wait an extra 3 months, that's going to cost lives.

I personally am happy to pay higher taxes to cover the cost of this vaccine, it's money well spent, whereas I'm not happy paying higher taxes to cover the cost of fraudulent furlough claims.

@Peregrina

Yes, I am glad to see a German firm investing in Britain. Why is it Aldi though and not Morrisons, a Bradford based firm, for example?

Always thought UK supermarkets buy an awful lot of UK food? farmers are always moaning they don't get enough for their produce.

I took up using Lidl during the spring lockdown (less queues) i couldn't believe how much cheaper they were, i didn't really notice anymore UK stuff than my usual Tesco's.

The UK's supermarket model makes it hard for them to compete & i guess as the upcoming recession looms, folk will be using cheaper alternatives....... Aldi realise this.

www.ey.com/en_uk/news/2020/05/uk-misses-out-on-top-spot-for-fdi-in-2019-but-surged-ahead-in-digital-as-economy-transforms-new-ey-report

Another positive performance since Brexit.

Absolutely but the Uk needs hi end jobs, paying significant taxes and as there is only a finite amount of food UK consumers can buy, Aldi's gain is Tesco's etc loss
Its also not really a Brexit win, as both Aldi and Lidl have been gaining ground in the UK for the last decade or so.

Yes, but they have made a conscious decision to invest further in U.K. farmers and small producers. Yes, there is a limit to the amount of food that we can buy, but if what is on the shelves and in our trollies is from more local sources then we will all benefit. It's unclear I grant you whether this is Brexit or Covid related or maybe it's a bit of both but it's positive news.

Usually with supermarkets where one leads the others follow.

@Theworldisfullofgs

Re the Covid vaccines it's costing more are we couldn't negotiate the EU deal. £10 more per vaccine. So we might be getting it quicker initially but it will be a lot more expensive

In lamen’s terms it depends where the vaccine comes from and who helped fund the initial research to discover it. Moderna is US based and they negotiated a cheaper rate than Europe/UK. Pfizer was funded by European countries and they have a more favourable rate. UK funded Astra Zeneca/Oxford and hence we have a rock-bottom per-dose rate. The US has to pay a premium for it. We hedged our bets with a number of horses in the race. We had access to Pfizer initially at a slightly more expensive per dose cost but we didn’t put all our chips on it. Our main bet was Oxford which has come in after initially being behind and now looks like the best and cheapest bet. We can vaccinate the whole of the UK on the doses we have ordered at a cheap per dose cost. It is also much easier to transport and store. Oxford has also pledged to vaccinate every developing nation at cost. The same cannot be said for Pfizer or Moderna. By funding Oxford up-front we potentially have allowed the rest of the world to get out of this terrible situation. Any praise for the government? Nah. Don’t think so.

Yes, thats why i said "absolutely"

Its probably neither, Aldi and Lidl are both growing market share rapidly, against slower and more expensive rivals.
Sourcing locally grown produce is very welcome and i hope they will pay our farmers a profitable rate too.

Tesco made 4500 people redundant last year & a further 1800 this year.

Apologies, I missed the first word of your post.

Tesco's treat their producers badly so I don't shop there. However they have created 16000 new permanent jobs this year.

www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/tesco-creates-16000-new-permanent-18818934

[quote HeyHeyImABeLeaver]Apologies, I missed the first word of your post.

Tesco's treat their producers badly so I don't shop there. However they have created 16000 new permanent jobs this year.

www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/tesco-creates-16000-new-permanent-18818934[/quote]
No they haven't created "created 16000 new permanent jobs this year"

Quote : "Tesco has announced it is to create 16,000 new permanent roles."

It's a plan. Not a done thing. I could announce I was planning on employing 30,000 people by lunchtime tomorrow. Doesn't mean it's going to happen.

@Elephant4 - I've just found this truly enlightening clip, which will help you in your quest for answers, I'm sure. https://fb.watch/2J85ElmRY5/

No comment on the multi billion pound investment at Elstree? At the record numbers of new FDI projects....

No? You’d rather argue over whether Tesco are hiring 16,000 new shelf stackers. You Remainers are a tough bunch. A blinkered bunch too when it doesn’t fit your own narrative.

Someone on a local FB thread said that surely the creation of 50,000 new customs officials was something to cheer about. The straw clutching is strong with that lot. 😂😂

Yes, but they have made a conscious decision to invest further in U.K. farmers and small producers.

I don’t know in your area but in mind farmers, now realising about the implications of Brexit are so worried about the future they are staging protests.

Personally, I think if we manage to get a free trade deal with the USA as heavily trumpeted by Boris, our supermarkets will be inundated with less quality but cheaper products to the point local farmers and producers will end up broke. The countryside as we know it will be gone in 20 years.

@bellinisurge

Someone on a local FB thread said that surely the creation of 50,000 new customs officials was something to cheer about. The straw clutching is strong with that lot. 😂😂

They're not actually customs officials, they're customs agents.

Their wages are paid from the fees they charge businesses for their services, not by the taxpayer. So there is that.

Not sure how businesses intend to recoup the costs, mind (£32.50 and up per customs entry, according to advice from the accounting software firm Sage).

No comment on the multi billion pound investment at Elstree? At the record numbers of new FDI projects....

It’s not a multi billion pound investment at Elstree. It’s £230 million funded by an insurance company and US owned companies to provide studio space for their own (US) productions.

Like I said on a different thread, it’s virtually impossible to get sound stage slots if you want to make an independent British film as they are block booked by the likes of Fox and Disney. Guess where the profits go - not to UK companies.

Plus if you look at the ONS figures on FDI, they paint a much less rosy picture that E&Y.

The value of inward foreign direct investment earnings fell in 2019 (£43.8 billion) compared with 2018 (£75.2 billion); this decrease (£31.4 billion) was much larger than the fall in outward earnings (£2.4 billion) over the same period.

^The much larger fall in the value of inward than outward earnings saw the value of net FDI earnings (outward less inward) in 2019 increase to the highest value since 2011.
Inward FDI earnings with the EU accounted for the greatest proportion of the overall decrease between 2018 and 2019; followed by earnings with the Americas and Asia.^

www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/bulletins/foreigndirectinvestmentinvolvingukcompanies/2019

See what you want to see Sabrina. It’s a £3bn investment. If L&G are funding part of it then that investment return stays in the UK as do the jobs and ancillary income. These people need to stay in hotels, eat, buy or rent houses when they are working here. Elstree is also expanding if you want to see independent production availability. It’s government funded in part!

www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/18805925.final-go-ahead-given-elstree-studios-expansion/

It all shows that these industries haven’t exactly fled the UK though. Brexit has had no negative effect. They are expanding!

In terms of FDI try reading the whole article (you have) and admit that the UK is looking more favourable than most of Europe. Stop cherry picking doom and gloom headlines. It gets boring. In essence it says that where EU investment may recede, we are picking up the slack from the rest of the World.

It's a plan. Not a done thing

Wow, what a bunch of negative Noras! Sucks to be you guys.

What do you all think about Charter cities as apparently the next step?
Personally as grim as he'll but I can see moves in that direction. I expect some will see it as positive.

@Theworldisfullofgs

What do you all think about Charter cities as apparently the next step? Personally as grim as he'll but I can see moves in that direction. I expect some will see it as positive.

Could be a great idea for Scotland 😉

It’s NOT a £3 billion investment. It’s a £230 million project forecast to generate £3 billion over the first 5 years of its operation.

It’s government funded in part!

No it isn’t. It’s received “support” from Dept of DCMS - that’s not financial support though. And Hertsmere will have supported it (again not financially) as it fulfils planning policy to redevelop brownfield land for industry.

I don’t “see what I want to”, I just read the information available and don’t rely on puff pieces.

As for cherry picking “doom and gloom”, seems that Johnson is a bit concerned about FDI too.

Boris Johnson has created a cross-government group to attract foreign investment in strategic projects as Downing Street works to bolster the UK’s post-Brexit appeal.

The Office for Investment will involve public and private sector experts whose job it will be to “unlock” complex schemes seen as crucial for wider government objectives such as infrastructure development and renewable energy.

Economists are concerned that the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year will hit the level of overseas investment coming into the UK. They fear foreign-owned UK-based manufacturers and service companies may reduce investment here after losing access to key markets in the EU.

www.ft.com/content/200f5825-2842-46a5-999a-d39258aa8956

Someone on a local FB thread said that surely the creation of 50,000 new customs officials was something to cheer about. The straw clutching is strong with that lot.

Yes, it is, but it's an overhead, which a business has to put up with to operate. Would it not have been better to create 50,000 new jobs creating something or failing that, seeing 50,000 new jobs being fully financed in health and social care, where others can benefit?

Tesco's treat their producers badly so I don't shop there. However they have created 16000 new permanent jobs this year

Its Lidl or Tesco, nothing else near me, even Lidl is a bit of a trek.

To be fair, most are not new jobs but contract/temporary workers getting full time roles, anything that gets rid of ZHC can only be a positive.

It appears all supermarkets treat suppliers badly, considering how much cheaper Aldi are, i doubt they are much different.