>> I notice GB is absent now facts have appeared and things have got more complex
>> than a UKIP agenda.
Unnecessary and uncalled for.
In any case, GB is in all probability busy earning, and doesn't work at a desk with a computer on it.
But I do think UK has somehow missed a trick here.
Inevitably the manufacture of low value, easy to make stuff with low/no barriers to entry has migrated to lower cost economies and it is facile to suppose that we could be world leader in the manufacture of cheap consumer goods - it is several years since microwave ovens hit $10 FOB in China, and Europe can't compete with that, or in cheap T-shirts that have a 6p labour content when made in Bangladesh.
Most "Japanese" TVs and VCRs were not in the end made in Japan, and the same has subsequently happened with DVD, cameras, computers etc.
Even Germany doesn't do that stuff. But they have somehow managed to stick on to industrial manufacturing better than we have. There's unlikely to be a simple, single explanation for that but it's probably to do with the structure of companies and labour relations, less pressure for short term results, better investment conditions, financial stability, and the resulting lower unit labour costs which mean they have been more successful at retaining the high added value, proprietary and technical manufacturing areas than other developed European economies.
Historically, takeovers of listed companies in Germany has been much more difficult than in UK. The CEO of a UK plc is always acutely aware of his share price and the attitude of the markets and analysts to the company, which will affect its ability to finance itself and to manage investment for growth and future profits vs. short term benefits for shareholders. The German equivalent CEO has generally been able to take a much longer term view, and successful companies there do not generally think first in terms of takeovers as a way to grow their businesses.
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