Brexit the economy and house prices part 7: Brexit Harder

Arklight

kabayiri wrote: »

It's funny how the EU is being touted as the saviour of manufacturing in the UK by these global companies, by the pro Remainers.

What was the excuse for the last 40 years?...when various facilities left these shores despite us being in the oh-so-protective EU?

Or maybe, just maybe, the EU is a bit toothless, or maybe it just doesn't care. It didn't interject in BMW's decision to build all X-series models in the USA, did it?

The EU isn't the savour of manufacture. It is however, a place that buys 40% of what we make, or it did before we decided to leave with no plan in place for how to continue trading with them.

It's funny you mentioned 40 years. As it's almost 40 years since you presumably were marching into your polling booth to vote for Margaret Thatcher to do to British manufacturing exactly what has happened to British manufacturing.

You must be delighted. She certainly would be.

kabayiri

Arklight wrote: »

The EU isn't the savour of manufacture. It is however, a place that buys 40% of what we make, or it did before we decided to leave with no plan in place for how to continue trading with them.

It's funny you mentioned 40 years. As it's almost 40 years since you presumably were marching into your polling booth to vote for Margaret Thatcher to do to British manufacturing exactly what has happened to British manufacturing.

You must be delighted. She certainly would be.

I've always been a staunch supporter of manufacturing in the UK.

Contrary to popular opinion, it can be both profitable and sustainable to manufacture in high cost countries.

But...you need to redefine the idea of VFM to a viewpoint which looks at Total Cost of Ownership.

What we have now is companies shifting production to wherever in the world is cheapest.

The UK needs a plan; the EU needs a plan. Foreign companies like Honda are not going to stay in the UK or EU as some kind of charitable act.

Post-Brexit we will have to take the matter seriously!

Arklight

kabayiri wrote: »

I've always been a staunch supporter of manufacturing in the UK.

Contrary to popular opinion, it can be both profitable and sustainable to manufacture in high cost countries.

But...you need to redefine the idea of VFM to a viewpoint which looks at Total Cost of Ownership.

What we have now is companies shifting production to wherever in the world is cheapest.

The UK needs a plan; the EU needs a plan. Foreign companies like Honda are not going to stay in the UK or EU as some kind of charitable act.

Post-Brexit we will have to take the matter seriously!

Talk about shutting the stable door after the horse is in a different county.

The least worst thing the government can do now is agree a trade deal with the EU on any terms that guarantees us access to their market. Or it's going to be a very bleak Christmas for a lot of families in 2019.

If we had some amazing independent economy that doesn't rely on European countries to buy our stuff, Brexit may have made sense, but we don't and it doesn't.

We're reliant on the rest of the world in general and the EU in particular, which means we have to deal with the EU as the EU wishes to be dealt with. There is nothing that the UK wants to do out of the EU that it couldn't have done in the EU, apart from sign mythical trade deals with countries that have tiny real opportunities for British companies and are headed by governments that are openly antagonistic to the UK due to their colonial history, like India and China.

J_Nostin

Nearlyold wrote: »

Have Honda confirmed to the MP that the Turkish plant is closing I wonder (though I guess that only matters if you consider Turkey as part of Europe)?

Yes.

"Today we have spoken to the Business Secretary & Honda, and will be speaking with the Prime Minister later today.

"Honda have been very clear – this decision has been made because of global trends and is not related to Brexit. The Turkey factory will also close as all European market production is being consolidated to Japan where the company is based.

Here's the real primary influencing factor - though I won't be surprised when the anti-Brexit brigade start howling their protests:

"This consolidation is made easier by the new EU-Japan trade deal which will allow Honda to produce their cars in Japan and import them into the EU, rather than produce the cars in Europe.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/17441297.honda-reaction-factory-in-turkey-will-also-close-mps-say/

Backbiter

Appropriate quote:

It’s amazing how many things about Brexit are “Project Fear” right up until the millisecond they become “what people voted for”.
- Alex Andreou

Thrugelmir

kabayiri wrote: »

I've always been a staunch supporter of manufacturing in the UK.

Personally Honda cars have never appealed to me. Model range has become somewhat staid and outdated.

Thrugelmir

Rather like the airline collapses. BMI being the latest. Over capacity seems to be a major issue in many sectors. With China going inhouse to boost the domestic economy. Must be impact on the wider global supply chains.

smipsy

not sure how anyone can be shocked Honda is leaving, or surprised that they're not fully blaming brexit on this, they have more tact than that.

they were warning MP's of various consequences all the way in 2017 already and have asked for stability ever since. they didn't get it, so they leave with the very convenient trade deal with EU now running.

so unexpected, and i'm sure it will be so unexpected with companies like Airbus and others. who could have predicted such utterly random events

kabayiri

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Personally Honda cars have never appealed to me. Model range has become somewhat staid and outdated.

I had the souped up Civic when they started the new model production, in the early noughties.

That was built in Swindon as I recall. Didn't stop them having to ship in a part from Frankfurt a few years later.

Pesky JIT They were unprepared for the component failing.

StevieJ

kabayiri wrote: »

What we have now is companies shifting production to wherever in the world is cheapest.

The UK needs a plan; the EU needs a plan. Foreign companies like Honda are not going to stay in the UK or EU as some kind of charitable act.

Post-Brexit we will have to take the matter seriously!

Not sure Japan is the cheapest, especially with their aging workforce.