FREEDOM of movement covers the whole of the EU, not just a corridor of the Balkans, Poland and UK. The notion of UK citizens being pushed down into the mud of poverty because of cheap European labour is 100% wrong. Very wrong.
The cheap labour squeal comes from the pigs of British capitalism. I’ve heard it shouted out my whole life as the UK slid down and down. The striking example of the 60s and 70s scapegoating of Japanese and Korean cheap slave-labour industry hasn’t changed the dogwhistler’s tune. Those two countries were never out of the British slime newspaper headlines, but now those same countries of “slave” labour drive the world’s major industrial achievements and have done for decades.
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Korean-built ships are the best in the world. High-speed rail? The Japanese invented it and for them it’s now “so what?” Engineering kids’ stuff. How’s our Tory HS2 fiasco going? Another £100 billion next week maybe? Another seven years, maybe…
Wealth is not magical (unless you sell dodgy face masks). Wealth has to be created (added value = manufacturing) or there has to be exploitation of natural resources. Wealth has to have substance. Money is a figment.
The UK used to do well from manufacturing, coal etc and a benign market with material supply from the global colonies. Then came a sustained period of poor performance, social unrest and the demise of the Empire.
Thatcher stepped in and gave us a sea change. It kind of worked for a while but her legacy was her absolute adoption of the notion of a service economy working just as well as an industrial one. We know now that has been a truly massive freaking mistake. Thank you Tories.
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Our service economy gave the north endless window cleaners and call centres while the south got all the trickle-down from London’s Square Mile.
The UK is fundamentally screwed, we don’t have the basics of wealth creation and ALL of the oil wealth has been squandered if not just stolen from us – we, the people.
Back to cheap labour. This labour can and does travel across Europe. How come Germany is not on its knees? (Notwithstanding Germany’s fantastic acceptance of over 1,000,000 refugees.) All EU countries handle freedom of movement but apparently it’s only the UK that’s failing.
I can’t explain why we have such an endless pile of scum in Westminster but I do know Scotland can get back to normality by ourselves. It will require decades. It will require guidance and help from friends in Europe – think Scandinavia and Ireland. It will only start after we start – that means independence.
Nick Durant
Skelmorlie
WITH latest statistics highlighting that Scotland’s trade has plummeted since leaving the European Union, I WAS struck by recent research by economists at University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Using state-of-the-art modelling to look at the impact of Brexit on trade for the UK and the devolved nations, it notes that Scotland could “undo the damage” of Brexit if it joined the EU as an independent nation.
As part of its “Global Britain” strategy, in the wake of Brexit the UK is pursuing a series of free trade agreements with countries around the world, including Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and possibly the United States.
However, the research finds that “Global Britain” yields insufficient trade creation to compensate for Brexit trade losses and any losses due to Scottish independence from the rest of the UK could be entirely removed, conditional on a renewed trade deal with the EU.
The Brexit chickens are indeed coming home to roost and it is increasingly clear that the only way to insulate ourselves from the long-term damage of Tory narrow nationalism is to become an independent nation, regaining the economic and trading benefits of EU membership.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
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