Longbridge closure - possible future?

Okay there's been a lot of press recently about the closure of a number of car manufacturing plants in the Midlands and the local economic crisis caused by the lack of scrutiny or intervention from the Labour government in trying to rescue this industry and save jobs.

Of course one of the major reasons its been allowed to slide is the global market economy which on paper says that the UK labour finds it difficult to compete with that on offer overseas.

This may be true but its possible that we have a lot more experience and higher manufacturing standard.

With such a large chunk of skills now sitting in the unemployment queue with very little chance of finding similar roles, maybe a bit of radical thinking is required.

Unlikely, I know, given the current political climate, but if Brown wanted a vote winner this might qualify.

In the prevailing economic winds, with the UK seemingly hit hard by Labours solution to bailing out the banks, maybe its time for them to have a nationalised car manufacturer.

Instead of just turning out the same old cars to compete with the current crop, now would be an opportunity for the government to lead the way in car design in terms of safety and environmental impact.

They could be more daring in the vehicles features and, combined with the transport department, come up with a blueprint in which they could revolutionise car ownership,  road planning and traffic management and make strides ahead which other manufacturers would have to keep up with, and where would they find these specialised skills?  The UK!

If the government owned some patents too it would also be an income revenue for the country to dig itself out of debt!

I'm no economist but this doesn't sound too unreachable an ambition does it?

Eventually the country will have to make steps to address the decline in manufacturing, the national debt and restructuring the transport system to cut down on carbon emissions etc so why not try and jump a few steps ahead.  Even the Conservatives shouldn't have a problem with it as there is no British competition to speak of and eventually when its paid its dues and established itself it can be launched as a private company just like in the Thatcher years.

The thing that excites me about this thought is the possibility that many people would get their jobs back but it would also make us world leaders in the area.  The nationalised company might make higher end versions of the vehicles but then Ford or VW or whoever would then have to make cheaper more competitive versions either using our skills or at least having to pay a licensing fee to use the underlying technology to make it compatible with our unique transport infrastructure.

Surely that would stimulate the economy enough for it to be worth the risk?


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Now playing: The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
via FoxyTunes   

There but for the grace of...THEM

One law for THEM
Another for us

Rather, no enforcement of law on THEM
Because we don't want to rock the boat

THEY get away with it
Because we don't want to be the one pointing the finger

Maybe though, we let THEM off
As we aspire to be like THEM

It's only one law for THEM
Until it becomes OUR law too



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Now playing: Supergrass - Strange Ones
via FoxyTunes

Giving Bush the Boot

If you want a snapshot of everything that George W Bush represents and how the US government have handled the war then the shoes thrown at the outgoing US President is just the kind of moment you'd ask for.

I couldn't believe someone had actually done it. Bush just stood there dumbfounded and later brushed off the incident.

My immediate response was to cheer. The Iraqi people have suffered a lot under Saddam and life hasn't really improved since the invasion. They've been trapped between the occupying forces and those who want to 'Free' Iraq. The symbolism of Bush finally getting a taste of what the people he has crushed with his ignorant regime actually feel might cause some remorse, but I doubt it. Instead, hopefully, it will be something the country can rally around in order to pull itself back together.

Maybe it is the beginning of true independence for Iraq once more.

Certainly the treatment that the reporter who threw his shoes appears to have gotten does not indicate that Iraq is as free as America would like every one to think it is. We all know that modern politics isn't about dealing with real problems, its about putting the right PR spin on things so that it looks like things are being done when they aren't.

I would like to think that the people of Iraq are ready to stand up to the US and that other countries would back them and support them. The US has ruined the world as its ideas of 'Democracy' and Capitalism have been shown to be hollow of meaning.

But what can take it's place? Does Barrack Obama have anything different to offer the world? Can he pick up the pieces of his countries past mistakes. It won't be long till we find out.


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Now playing: DC Talk - Mind's Eye
via FoxyTunes

Gord Save Us All

I have to start by saying that when Tony Blair finally left office I was glad to have seen the back of him, even though at the time of his first election he was a breath of fresh air when compared to the generation of Tory governments that had preceded him.

Unfortunately for him, for whatever reason, he left office under a cloud and had gained a reputation as one of Dubya’s yes men.

Stepping into the void was his long time no.2, Gordon Brown.

Whilst he wasn’t the fresh face some people thought the party needed he did seem as though he would do things differently.

If Brown had called an election within a couple of months then I’m sure he would have been re-elected. He would have got my vote anyway.

At the time David Cameron didn’t seem strong enough to win over the whole country and Brown still had the glow of a decent enough period as Chancellor.

Fast-forward to today and time has given us a taste of what the country would be like with him at the helm. I’m not impressed.

Why had he been so reluctant to put his position in the hands of the people, as it should be? If he had lost an election maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad as he thinks. It would give him time in opposition to put his stamp on the party. He didn’t have any serious leadership contenders so he would have a grace period as people would really have been voting against Tony Blair.

Also the country could have had its chance to see whether the Conservatives really had changed in all their time out of office.

Personally though, I thought he would have survived, although it may have been narrow and the Tories would have made a fight of it, just because some floating voters wanted a change and are disillusioned with the government.

So why did Brown stay on so long? Was he really that insecure about going before the voters? Or had he seen something whilst in his privileged position as Chancellor?

Wild theory time!!

Perhaps Brown knew that the Credit Crunch was coming and rather than leaving it to the fickleness of voters to let him stay in place and dumping the problem in the lap of an inexperienced Tory government, he took the conscientious route to try and solve things and weather any storm about having an election ASAP.

Maybe that was what the 10p tax was really all about. It was an attempt to put more money in people’s pockets in order to keep them spending in a period when other countries might have struggled.

Unfortunately though, he misjudged the reaction to a side effect, which left some people worse off. Had he not foreseen this aspect or was it the lesser of two evils? Pay a little more tax or lose your job?

Had Brown stayed in office with the intention of steering the UK through a global recession, but been hampered in his plans by the petty selfishness of potential voters? Of course, no one really thought things would get as bad as they have so the reaction seemed perfectly justified and the government had to back down. The government also couldn’t come out and express their fears in case it sparked the kind of collapse that we’ve seen since.

No-one likes it when someone says ‘I told you so’ but could it be the government were actually ahead of the game on this?

So, does Brown deserve a little kudos for possibly showing some guts in staying on to tackle a problem like this?

Well, where was his plan B?

Instead of using this period to increase his chances of re-election like I’m sure he was planning on, nothing has actually gone according to plan and he now finds himself caught up in a financial catastrophe with other countries around the world as opposed to being in a position of leadership and guidance to everyone else, which would have guaranteed him the next election.

Ultimately I haven’t got a clue how close to the mark this is or if I’m joining the dots with my limited political knowledge and lots of imagination! I also have no economics degree, so who can tell if the 10p tax would have stalled or quickened the onset of the crunch.

If Brown wants to have any chance of re-election now though, he’s going to have to pull one mightily giant rabbit from a very small hat.

Welcome to the Real World Mr. Obama!

Wow.

I never thought it would happen. I kept expecting the Republicans to steal it away from him somehow.

I'm not American by the way, but I think everyone has a right to comment on the activities of the US as they set themselves up for it.

This election had me really worried that we were going to get four more years of Republican values running roughshod over its own people and the rest of the world.

Let's hope Mr Obama is the kind of leader that encourages international co-operation through mutual respect not bullying or bribes. He seems to have that potential.

But how much of that is just wishful thinking on our part?

Okay so he's not Republican, but that's no guarantee of not putting American interests above all else and with complete disregard for the consequences.

He spoke of "Change" but how can he deliver? Can he clean up the banking system with promises of recapitalisation as its reward? Can he turn around the oil hungry nature of his country's people? Can he speed up the adoption of carbon neutral energy sources?

We know it can be done if there's enough will to do it.

If the same force of will that the US used to push past opposition to its actions in Iraq was turned inwards to solve its own problems then we truly would have a country and leader worthy of respect and that people would want to call upon for advice and follow its lead.

Of course, no-one would reasonably stand for that level of government interference in their life. At least not all at once.

So lets give him some time and see what he can really achieve and lets see if the people of America are willing to do as he asks to make that change a reality.