Yesterday’s news on Bombardier losing the contract to make Thameslink trains, made me howl with anger.
For so long now I have listened to how this government’s strategy on economic recovery and core to this was to resurrect and protect manufacturing. It’s failure to support Bombardier’s bid and allow the contract to fall into German company Siemens hands is a great and devastating blow to British manufacturing, economic recovery and British skillsets.
I work in the heart of British manufacturing in one of the industries that lost its trade to Asia overnight. The textile and garment industry. The dreaded impact was the loss to UK’s GDP, loss of skillsets and loss of investment into the country.
An industry such as construction, has some of the same problems with skillsets and finds itself importing them because large construction companies cannot find the skills in the UK.
When will this government and the Oxbridge economic graduates learn that if we make products to sell, we have income, we have skills and we can create jobs. If the government doesn’t want people to sponge of the state, then they need to start helping British companies win contracts in Britain and not keep handing them out across world.
I appreciate we live in a free economic world but I do feel in times of such austerity charity begins at home. We manage to ensure British arms sales abroad but we cannot ensure British manufactured trains in Britain. The 1500 jobs that are going to be lost are going to be hitting the dole queues and benefits office.
Nevermind, they can become an apprentice and have no job to go to in 2 years.
Bunty
The Chatterjis Blog 