North South Divide - will we ever recover?

The North South divide is growing ever wider. Now the government is talking about reducing wages and benefits in the north -'to help businesses.'

The last Labour government recruited loads of Public sector workers in the North to mop up some of the unemployed created by Thatcher's shutdown in manufacturing, something this government is trying to reverse. The private sector didn't deliver then, and it's not delivering now.

I personally can't see any way back. Whole towns were created round a particular manufacturing process. Once that is gone, so is the need for the town. The whole thrust of manufacturing these days (what little there is)

is to employ as few people as possible by using technology, thus maximising profits.

Very little of this money trickles down into the economy, it mostly goes into the coffers of the company directors. Meanwhile the deficit grows and more and more people are being forced into poverty.

Cheer me up somebody. Tell me things will get better.

Having moved to the south east in the last 12 months I can tell you that things are just as bad on the job front down here,unless your in the caring proffesions like nursing then you will struggle to find decent well paid jobs.

Still the climate is much nicer on the south east coast,and the sun shines most days.

... The whole thrust of manufacturing these days (what little there is)

is to employ as few people as possible by using technology, thus maximising profits. ...

That's hardly a surprise. Manufacturers are doing what we were told they would be doing 50 years ago.

Whatever happened to the Luddites? - They've been a bit quiet, recently.

Most planned investment in infrastructure will be in the South. Always has been. Dont worry about the Torys cutting wages in the North..........they wont be in office long enough. They and their traitor friends the lib dems will be consigned to history. Labour will sweep back in and the whole blame culture will start again. labour dont hold all the solutions but they are not as malicious and bent as the Torys. Torys are elected by thicko's who are conned into believing that the Conservatives encourage business. Torys are fast buck merchants, bent money launderers via off shore accounts and purveyors of knighthoods etc to anyone who can afford one. Profits vanish into private pockets, the workers get bugger all, perhaps minimum rate plus a crumb or two. No, things will not get better until ordinary people take an interest in whats going on and oppose it.

The North South divide is growing ever wider. Now the government is talking about reducing wages and benefits in the north -'to help businesses.'

 

The last Labour government recruited loads of Public sector workers in the North to mop up some of the unemployed created by Thatcher's shutdown in manufacturing, something this government is trying to reverse. The private sector didn't deliver then, and it's not delivering now.

 

I personally can't see any way back. Whole towns were created round a particular manufacturing process. Once that is gone, so is the need for the town. The whole thrust of manufacturing these days (what little there is)

is to employ as few people as possible by using technology, thus maximising profits.

 

Very little of this money trickles down into the economy, it mostly goes into the coffers of the company directors. Meanwhile the deficit grows and more and more people are being forced into poverty.

 

Cheer me up somebody. Tell me things will get better.

Is this the kind of factory we should set up and if not how would we compete.

Apple manufacturing plant workers complain of long hours, militant culture

At a factory about an hour west of Sichuan's capital Chengdu, Foxconn Technology Group, one of Apple's biggest manufacturing partners. Foxconn employs hundreds of thousands who work day or night shifts, eating and sleeping at company facilities, as they help build electronics products for Apple and many other global brand names, such as Amazon's Kindle and Microsoft's Xbox.

Is this the kind of factory we should set up and if not how would we compete.

 

Apple manufacturing plant workers complain of long hours, militant culture

Sadly this is too true.......

Most planned investment in infrastructure will be in the South. Always has been. Dont worry about the Torys cutting wages in the North..........they wont be in office long enough. They and their traitor friends the lib dems will be consigned to history. Labour will sweep back in and the whole blame culture will start again. labour dont hold all the solutions but they are not as malicious and bent as the Torys. Torys are elected by thicko's who are conned into believing that the Conservatives encourage business. Torys are fast buck merchants, bent money launderers via off shore accounts and purveyors of knighthoods etc to anyone who can afford one. Profits vanish into private pockets, the workers get bugger all, perhaps minimum rate plus a crumb or two. No, things will not get better until ordinary people take an interest in whats going on and oppose it.

It is very refreshing to hear such cynicism. The cynics are right nine times out of ten.

It isn't really a North/South divide, it's more of a South East and everyone else divide.

Most planned investment in infrastructure will be in the South. Always has been. Dont worry about the Torys cutting wages in the North..........they wont be in office long enough. They and their traitor friends the lib dems will be consigned to history. Labour will sweep back in and the whole blame culture will start again. labour dont hold all the solutions but they are not as malicious and bent as the Torys. Torys are elected by thicko's who are conned into believing that the Conservatives encourage business. Torys are fast buck merchants, bent money launderers via off shore accounts and purveyors of knighthoods etc to anyone who can afford one. Profits vanish into private pockets, the workers get bugger all, perhaps minimum rate plus a crumb or two. No, things will not get better until ordinary people take an interest in whats going on and oppose it.

Couldn't agree more with your last sentence, but afraid it's probably too late.

This situation hasn't happened overnight, and I think is the result of a succession of poor and equally bent governments of both parties over a long period of time. -And we let them get away with it! to the point where there is nothing we can do save a revolution, and no sane person would seriously want that.

I despair of people in this country too busy watching Jeremy Kyle to take an interest in things that matter.

Couldn't agree more with your last sentence, but afraid it's probably too late.

 

This situation hasn't happened overnight, and I think is the result of a succession of poor and equally bent governments of both parties over a long period of time. -And we let them get away with it! to the point where there is nothing we can do save a revolution, and no sane person would seriously want that.

 

I despair of people in this country too busy watching Jeremy Kyle to take an interest in things that matter.

The problems stems from employees wanting good working condition, good pay and cheap products, well we achieved some of it but lost jobs in the process, to countries that aren’t bothered about good working conditions and good pay, but at least we get the cheap products they produce.

Is this the kind of factory we should set up and if not how would we compete.

 

Apple manufacturing plant workers complain of long hours, militant culture

These people are going through the kind of exploitation that bedevilled manufacturing here in the Victorian age when we were creating our Empire. It was only through the setting up of unions prepared to fight for better conditions that things changed, with the Mill Owners fighting them every step of the way.

It will probably end the same way in China too eventually. But it will be too late for us.

Still we always have this system of exploitation being played out somewhere in the world, as if that's the only way to progress. Anyone who sugests a better way is overwhelmed by the money boys.

Nimrod I agree with what you say but under Blair, Labour became the Tory left and capitalism ran riot globally. Now I don't consider we have a major party that can face-up honestly to the mess that has been created or survive if it tries to take on the money launderers, bankers and fat cats.