Britain looking to start the next chapter

[Jak*]

An explanation of freeports, a bit oversimplified.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... nes-brexit
It seems we could have opened more freeports without Brexit although the EU might not have accepted some of the more dubious tax concessions that come with them. I think their main advantage is that they can allow seriously rich investors to avoid paying tax. They can create jobs in the process, but more often result in a shift of employment. A bit worrying if after all this time this is the best that we can come up with.

[dave h]

https://www.mobility.siemens.com/uk/en/ ... goole.html

dave.

[Spike941]

Not really a result of Brexit is it. Surely it’s just something we had and could continue doing anyway. Just like the free ports, and Nissan staying without being bribed. Give us some positive advantages that we couldn’t do before. Saying that, my new Ghic card has just arrived. Identical to my old Ehic card, but has a nice Union Jack on it.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

The Union Jack will impress the foreigners, and you can look at it if you have to wait for an ambulance. It will help you keep a stiff upper lip instead of blubbing like a girl in front of the chaps. Chin up everyone, and think of the empire!

[boboneleg]

The Union Jack will impress the foreigners, and you can look at it if you have to wait for an ambulance. It will help you keep a stiff upper lip instead of blubbing like a girl in front of the chaps. Chin up everyone, and think of the empire!

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

TBF to the Brexiteers, I've just got off the phone to a medium-size British international haulier and he says Brexit has been fantastic for him as all the border complications have sent the E. Europeans packing. As a share of his work, international has gone up from 35 to 65 per cent, and his trucks are now running as far as Estonia. Ten new trucks on order...rock and roll!

[dave h]

TBF to the Brexiteers, I've just got off the phone to a medium-size British international haulier and he says Brexit has been fantastic for him as all the border complications have sent the E. Europeans packing. As a share of his work, international has gone up from 35 to 65 per cent, and his trucks are now running as far as Estonia. Ten new trucks on order...rock and roll!

RS it would have been a lot easier for your side of the debate not to post this,

respect,

dave.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Thanks.

I don't really have a 'side' in this argument. I thought long and hard about my vote, and was still researching it the day before the vote! Above all, I've been interested in the facts (hard to come by) and not nonsense. The flag-wagging arguments on either side don't cut it with me.

What scared me was not the arguments being made against leaving, but the arguments being made for leaving, which seemed to take no thought of the consequences that we would face. Brexiteers seemed to be promising two contradictory benefits. One being unrestrained capitalism and a race to the bottom (as outlined in an alarming book called Britannia Unchained), and the other being a return to some sort of imagined historical utopia where British craftsmen would hand-carve worldbeating silicon chips onto grains of sand for £100k a year while reading the Daily Express.

My haulier friend anticipates much increased turnover and profitability, and more jobs for his drivers (who earn C£36k a year and drive £140,000 (Swedish-built) trucks). Which is great...but UK plc will also face increased costs now the goods are not being carried by poverty-stricken eastern Europeans who never go home and live in knackered old MANs with their worldly goods in a couple of Lidl carrier bags. Those costs will ultimately be born by us all. He's making the money on export loads previously carried for less than cost by Polish companies...making British goods more expensive in Europe. His livery includes crossed Union and European Union flags!

I'm delighted for him, and a more profitable UK freight industry is also good news for me, but we also face increased barriers to trade and travel. Brexit looks like being very bad news for the UK financial sector, for example, because Boris forgot to include 'services' in the exit agreement.

[Flipflop]

https://www.mobility.siemens.com/uk/en/ ... goole.html

dave.

Siemens are a big employer and money spinner in Lincolnshire and Humberside - they had a long hard look after Brexit and very nearly left but thankfully stayed so this is good news.
What really gets my goat is the lack of investment by any of the political parties over the last, well at least 40 years.

I have some friends who live near Nantes in France. In many ways Nantes is a bit like Hull - a history of port, shipbuilding and fishing, an industrial city. When those 3 industries went into decline the French invested heavily in Nantes and it is now a beautiful, thriving city and a tourist destination.
Hull was left to rot - I have worked in all the deprived areas of Hull.

When the Germans and Dutch (wind turbines) came over to the Humber and Lincs area they were astounded at the lack of infrastructure. Here is a city with a major port with easy access to the ports in the Netherlands, Germany and Norway with no high speed rail link and a hopeless road network.
Luckily the Germans and Dutch stayed but it’s a bit embarrassing when the main financial focus of the area was built by, and continues to be grown by, the Germans and Dutch.

[92kk k100lt 193214]

A point being missed here is the fact that those trucks going into the EU to go to eastern Europe are facing a duty to be paid by the receiver. That gain may or may not be as permanent as one might like as UK goods over time suffer a decreased/diminished/eliminated competitive advantage. This had been anticipated by the currency markets, resulting in a diminishing of the sterling/euro exchange rate.

An example of this is glass. You have 2 manufacturers, Pilkington and Saint Gobain. Prior to Brexit these 2 companies had free movement within EU. Brexit has given rise to a loss of competition, Price rises!

Another example, Cadbury, moved some manufacturing to Poland, depending on product and bar sizes. So, expect to see some price rises there or certain products disappearing off the shelves in the longer term.

Even worse, some UK construction components and products can no longer be specified here or in EU.

The effect of some of these things is increase in costs.

I am seeing a huge trend over here, from buying goods from UK and buying instead from EU countries. 35% [plus a clearance fee] added to used parts from Motorworks etc not to mention the already huge UK shipping charges has us buying from Holland, Germany and other countries. Oh, that applies to us buying used UK cars too, so used car prices in UK must take a hit because about 60,000 a year come over here. Motorbikes too. Somebody ships them all. My K bikes.....one originated in France, 3 in UK and 1 in Ireland. Our source has changed to Europe.

Ferries between Ireland and UK have been reduced and ferries by passing UK by changing the routes from Ireland to direct routes to many ports in France, Spain, Holland, European hauliers into Ireland are also clamouring for direct routes.

Even personal purchases from Amazon have been killed, one has to buy from amazon.de and amazon.fr. Not from amazon.co.uk. UK horticultural outlets can no longer sell abroad unless they incur huge costs per shipment so their market has stalled.

One might happily visit UK as a tourist.....roaming charges apply so 200 minutes in a week is going to cost how much? But it also applies to the UK resident going on holiday! So, only the mobile phone companies gain. Not quite, government gets about 20% VAT out of this.

There is a lot more out there but as always everything adapts.