Hypothetical - How can UK PLC become a 'power' again?
Discussion
So, the economies of China and India are on the march - with access to cheap labour fuelling their rise to top of the outsources manufacturing and servicing heap. But, they have rather large populations to support - which while it provices their industries with a ready made consumer base, will also give them problems for growth.
How would the UK restore its previous, lofty position in the world's economic and power heirachy?
Bearing in mind that colonisation is probably a thing of th epast, what to do?
The UK needs to maximisse its own natural resources (what there are) and develop secondary industry to add value to these reources. It needs strategic alliances for the resources it doesn't have. It needs to start making things again - to balance the economy with the financial, legal and advisory industry in The City.
Why can't the UK do this? (apart from the deluded political dreams of 'everyone has a right to whatever they want' McBroon et al.)
How would the UK restore its previous, lofty position in the world's economic and power heirachy?
Bearing in mind that colonisation is probably a thing of th epast, what to do?
The UK needs to maximisse its own natural resources (what there are) and develop secondary industry to add value to these reources. It needs strategic alliances for the resources it doesn't have. It needs to start making things again - to balance the economy with the financial, legal and advisory industry in The City.
Why can't the UK do this? (apart from the deluded political dreams of 'everyone has a right to whatever they want' McBroon et al.)
Kill winky, balls, blair and mandelson. Then turn the cannons on all the none productive PC lunatics (maybe just put poison in the gaurdian) and finaly round up every benefit scounge irrespective of colour or religion and drop them off a ferry somewhere in the mid atlantic 
Serious answer is to reduce our comercial drain into europe / africa / asia etc and stand up for the people of this country and the things they produce.
Serious answer is to reduce our comercial drain into europe / africa / asia etc and stand up for the people of this country and the things they produce.
Edited by AndrewW-G on Tuesday 30th June 13:01
Well they could do what they did in the industrial revolution. Produce the best stuff in the world that people aspire to own and make use of the well educated population that we have (reversing the tide on dumbed down education in the process) instead of letting our design and engineering skills be prostituted to 3rd world manufacturing.
hahithestevieboy said:
Well they could do what they did in the industrial revolution. Produce the best stuff in the world that people aspire to own and make use of the well educated population that we have (reversing the tide on dumbed down education in the process) instead of letting our design and engineering skills be prostituted to 3rd world manufacturing.
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard, which it isn't.. thus I'm afraid it's bye bye Great Britain and welcome the socialist, poorly educated, under the thumb of Labour, country of very inconsequential chav Britain.Sorry to have to say that but Britain has really feck all left after what bLIAR and GB have done to it, emasculated it, turned it into chav Britain, and burdened it with debts which Britain will be paying for for the next 30-50 years.
Great Britain ceased to be at the latest after we took back the Falklands, or even perhaps after we financially lost WW2.
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? hahithestevieboy said:
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? We on the other hand will have to go back to twee craftsman based skills, as an example I have just bought a Jenny Wheel and circa 1808 Carding Machine and will shortly be learning to yogurt weave.
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? Now of course we have all the money being spent on the d
heads (ed balls 1 to 1) NB there are no NVQs in China. They train like the Americans do.
scorp said:
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? nonegreen said:
scorp said:
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? Just remember that Britain, from a financial point of view, 'lost' both World Wars, and also that the much missed Empire was, from a fairly early point, I think around 1905, a financial drain not an asset. Britain found, as America has, that being the foremost World Power only makes you a target for hatred from everyone else, while you spend your time and money acting as an unloved international policeman.
The path to fortune and prosperity starts, in my view, by 'getting real'. We are not a world power, and frankly do we want to be, provided that we can defend ourselves? We should stop being a poodle for America. All it is currently getting us is ruinous cost and a share of the hate which the Americans are so good at generating.
We should forget about upgrading Trident. Who do we want to fire nuclear weapons at anyway?
We should tell the EU the maximum amount we are prepared to contribute to their gravy train and then let them sort out their own economy programme.
We should take an axe to the colossal Whitehall bureaucracy that genuinely believes we are still a major world power of which they are the stewards, and cut it back to a size we can afford.
We should eliminate subsidy from our economy and reduce taxation.
We should reward achievement at grass roots level, and put less emphasis on the culture of celebrity. If you think that sounds vague, then one practical step would be to scrap the 2012 Olympics, and tell the IOC to fk off without compensation. A nation that has to bolster its self image with Olympic medals is just a sad disgrace.
Most of all Britain is falling apart because of a failure in leadership, and that results from the fact that since the end of the Empire, no one has any vision of what Britain should or could be. It's all about being the negative of anything Britain was in the past, which is why noone can see the bottom of the current mess. We need tio start looking up not down.
The path to fortune and prosperity starts, in my view, by 'getting real'. We are not a world power, and frankly do we want to be, provided that we can defend ourselves? We should stop being a poodle for America. All it is currently getting us is ruinous cost and a share of the hate which the Americans are so good at generating.
We should forget about upgrading Trident. Who do we want to fire nuclear weapons at anyway?
We should tell the EU the maximum amount we are prepared to contribute to their gravy train and then let them sort out their own economy programme.
We should take an axe to the colossal Whitehall bureaucracy that genuinely believes we are still a major world power of which they are the stewards, and cut it back to a size we can afford.
We should eliminate subsidy from our economy and reduce taxation.
We should reward achievement at grass roots level, and put less emphasis on the culture of celebrity. If you think that sounds vague, then one practical step would be to scrap the 2012 Olympics, and tell the IOC to f
k off without compensation. A nation that has to bolster its self image with Olympic medals is just a sad disgrace.Most of all Britain is falling apart because of a failure in leadership, and that results from the fact that since the end of the Empire, no one has any vision of what Britain should or could be. It's all about being the negative of anything Britain was in the past, which is why noone can see the bottom of the current mess. We need tio start looking up not down.
s2art said:
nonegreen said:
scorp said:
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? 69 coupe said:
hahithestevieboy said:
esselte said:
JMGS4 said:
This does however require that the education/skills of the working class is up to any standard,
What education did the workers of the Industrial Revolution have? We on the other hand will have to go back to twee craftsman based skills, as an example I have just bought a Jenny Wheel and circa 1808 Carding Machine and will shortly be learning to yogurt weave.
cardigankid said:
We should forget about upgrading Trident. Who do we want to fire nuclear weapons at anyway?
At the moment, no one (thankfully). However the Vanguard replacement boats are likely to be going into service in around 2024 (because that's how long they take to design & build). Once built, they should be in service for upwards of 25 years. Who is currently clever enough to know what the threat will be in 15+ years time? You can't wait until a threat appears and then decide that you need a nuclear sub tomorrow. I still maintain that it's better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.
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