Cunard take delivery of Queen Elizabeth (From Daily Echo)

We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

StEmmosfire wrote:
We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:
We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:
We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

hulla baloo there a lot more people out there than you think that knows the truth about people like maggie and the damage she done, but thats capitalism for you. before maggie came along we had the best export market in the world, now look what happens we now have the best import market in the world. and what happen to the export well we need to make things to export, but maggie killed our industry so no export just import so all that money is leaving the country and not coming back and that alone has bankrupt this country.

southy wrote:

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote: We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

hulla baloo there a lot more people out there than you think that knows the truth about people like maggie and the damage she done, but thats capitalism for you. before maggie came along we had the best export market in the world, now look what happens we now have the best import market in the world. and what happen to the export well we need to make things to export, but maggie killed our industry so no export just import so all that money is leaving the country and not coming back and that alone has bankrupt this country.

a lot of the European ship yards get subsidies from the Governments I beleive too, making them very cheap and attractive to potential customers.

StEmmosfire wrote:

southy wrote:

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote: We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

hulla baloo there a lot more people out there than you think that knows the truth about people like maggie and the damage she done, but thats capitalism for you. before maggie came along we had the best export market in the world, now look what happens we now have the best import market in the world. and what happen to the export well we need to make things to export, but maggie killed our industry so no export just import so all that money is leaving the country and not coming back and that alone has bankrupt this country.

a lot of the European ship yards get subsidies from the Governments I beleive too, making them very cheap and attractive to potential customers.

.. but what you believe and what's actually true are invariably two different things. As in this case.

StEmmosfire wrote:

southy wrote:

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote: We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

hulla baloo there a lot more people out there than you think that knows the truth about people like maggie and the damage she done, but thats capitalism for you. before maggie came along we had the best export market in the world, now look what happens we now have the best import market in the world. and what happen to the export well we need to make things to export, but maggie killed our industry so no export just import so all that money is leaving the country and not coming back and that alone has bankrupt this country.

a lot of the European ship yards get subsidies from the Governments I beleive too, making them very cheap and attractive to potential customers.

not all like the finland ship yards dont, and not all of germany ship yards do, the only ones i can be sure about are the french and the italians

Forget the building subsidies, book early to get a great discount at the travel agent! Will give Southy a wave as we depart!

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:
We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

.. and you think we've got problems?
Suggest you ask Slartibartfast about the decline in the manufacturing industry on Magrathea.

freefinker wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:

southy wrote:

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote: We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

hulla baloo there a lot more people out there than you think that knows the truth about people like maggie and the damage she done, but thats capitalism for you. before maggie came along we had the best export market in the world, now look what happens we now have the best import market in the world. and what happen to the export well we need to make things to export, but maggie killed our industry so no export just import so all that money is leaving the country and not coming back and that alone has bankrupt this country.

a lot of the European ship yards get subsidies from the Governments I beleive too, making them very cheap and attractive to potential customers.

.. but what you believe and what's actually true are invariably two different things. As in this case.

i before e and all that! Turns out I was right freefinker. Not all do, but I never said that did I.

StEmmosfire wrote:

freefinker wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:

southy wrote:

arthurdent wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote: We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He probably isn't, but he does have a very valid arguement to make. We as a country were world leaders in the manufacturing industry, be it ships or cutlery. Now we manufacture nothing.

hulla baloo there a lot more people out there than you think that knows the truth about people like maggie and the damage she done, but thats capitalism for you. before maggie came along we had the best export market in the world, now look what happens we now have the best import market in the world. and what happen to the export well we need to make things to export, but maggie killed our industry so no export just import so all that money is leaving the country and not coming back and that alone has bankrupt this country.

a lot of the European ship yards get subsidies from the Governments I beleive too, making them very cheap and attractive to potential customers.

.. but what you believe and what's actually true are invariably two different things. As in this case.

i before e and all that! Turns out I was right freefinker. Not all do, but I never said that did I.

South Korea have a big part in killing it too.

Despite rising labour costs South Korea still builds more ships than any other country although China is likely to topple them soon.
Japan led the world for many years but now only builds around 3-4% of the total tonnage.
Most cruise ship building is concentrated in Italy, France, Germany and Finland although the order book has diminished in recent years and some yards are struggling despite (discreet) national subsidies.
It is a great shame that the UK's proud manufacturing history has been decimated but the country punched above its weight for many years.
The UK lost 25% of its wealth after WW1 and at the end of WW2, exports were down 37% on 1937.
The lend lease arrangement with the USA then saddled the UK with significant economic challenges which further eroded manufacturing opportunities as did the growth of ex Commonwealth colonies.
All that said, most of us are far better off, from a material standpoint, than our forebearers.

So was Maggie responsible for the price purchase of Steel in the Far East against the price that the UK had to pay just to produce it ?

I can remember being at a function some years ago where one the senior figures at a UK shipyard was telling us that they were tendering to build a vessel for a UK owner but the Korean yards could build the entire ship cheaper than the UK could buy just the steel to carry out the work.

The only subsidies given out to the French yards are the few that are partially state owned.

Some years ago was talking to the MD of a UK shipyard who told me that it was cheaper to hire in good quality/skilled Polish workers from an Agency in Gdansk who paid for their fare, lodgings and pay, rather than use local UK workers.
Unfortunately almost all the UK's industries/services are subject to global competition. This is a fact of life.
However the good news here is that a good deal of UK workers are involved in the fit out and refurb of cruise ships in European yards and further afield

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:
We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He can't be.

Not possible.

The Marxist Clown living in a Redbridge council house, purchased courtesy of Mrs T's policies, is rumoured to be a clone of the preserved left testicle of the original TollPuddle Martyr.

This might well account for his propensity to list alarmingly to the Left, both in politics and all matters maritime?

clausentum wrote:

hulla baloo wrote:

StEmmosfire wrote:
We should be building this type of craft in this country. Thanks to Maggie we dont.

Are you a relative of Southy?

He can't be.

Not possible.

The Marxist Clown living in a Redbridge council house, purchased courtesy of Mrs T's policies, is rumoured to be a clone of the preserved left testicle of the original TollPuddle Martyr.

This might well account for his propensity to list alarmingly to the Left, both in politics and all matters maritime?

If the rumour is true,it might also explain why he frequently talks a load of B-llocks?