Previous Story
Our real economy keeps growing despite gloomy news and Westminster chaos
Posted On 15 Apr 2019 at 12:05 am
Driving into Hove Town Hall the other day a stone hit my windscreen, causing me some fleeting distraction and, for the briefest of moments, to avert my gaze from the road ahead. I soon recovered with no damage done.
A similar experience hit me a few weeks ago following the government’s spring statement.
The chaos in Westminster is but a stone on the windscreen of life across the millennia and yet, sometimes, just sometimes, we need to focus back to the real issue: the underlying condition of the real economy – which is actually rather good at the moment.
While the diet we are fed daily means we are all certainly expecting the economy to turn bad, whatever your views on the EU and Corbyn, the two “themes” defining politics at the moment, the UK is actually doing quite well. I know, who’d have thought it?
We have more people in work than ever, households are continuing to spend, inequality is at a 30-year low and salaries are now rising at the fastest rate in 10 years. The budget deficit is also at its lowest level since 2003.
But I don’t hear this on the 10 o’clock news. We just hear about politicians running around as if caught by in a giant Westminster-based pinball machine.
If this chaos, and the very real threat of a Corbyn government, has inhibited the economy, then I wonder why our growth remains in line with other developed countries.
“But the car industry is pulling out of the UK!” I hear you say.
Well, not really. The car industry is going through massive changes and a future that will surely be electric not diesel.
Just look at Germany heading for a slump. Business investment in the UK is subdued but this is hardly surprising with the level of uncertainty everywhere.
Removal of this uncertainly will unleash a torrent of investment and the growth that follows will be awe inspiring.
So what happens when a stone hits your windscreen? My advice is to pull over, chill a bit, calm your nerves and then get on with your journey.
A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first turn of the key.
Councillor Tony Janio is the leader of the opposition Conservatives on Brighton and Hove City Council.
See also:
Like what we do? Help us do more of it by donating here.
And don't forget to sign up to our email newsletter, bringing you the week's biggest stories every Thursday.
DEBT.
What a complete load of tosh by a Conservative.
We were a growing economy UNTIL Brexit, over One Trillion (yes Trillion) Euros of Assets has been pulled from the UK, and business investment is right down.
Anyone capable of using Google is able to find out the real facts, not the political rhetoric from a Conservative councillor.
“British economy hit by ‘steep decline’ in manufacturing
The biggest brake on growth comes from a drop in car production, amid factory shutdowns, weak demand and falling diesel sales.” – Sky News Jan 2019
Last week a board member of BMW said Mini production may have to be moved to the EU (they have a huge production facility at NedCar in the Netherlands) and a new contract signed with Great Wall Cars in China to produce cars there, thats 15% of the UK car industry.
The Honda closure from 2021 is another 10% of the UK car industry.
Nissan are NOT likely to be in the UK in 10 years time, due to the simple fact that Japan (worlds 3rd largest economy) and the EU (the worlds largest trading bloc) now have in place a free trade agreement reducing tariffs on cars to ZERO % in 6 years time, why produce here when you can produce in Japan or the EU and pay nothing?
Jaguar Land Rover due to diesel engines and falling sales in China are also cutting staff (4,500 job losses announced already).
The cost of Brexit PER WEEK, assessed recently by major international investment banks is now runnning at £600 million per week lost to the economy already!
The Conservsatives won’t announce a general election anytime soon when the latest polls put Labour ahead by 7%, annd polling for the EU elections puts them on 19% compared to 36% for Labour, with Conservative voters expected to throw support to the Brexit Party and UKIP according to the Daily Express/Sir John Curtice today.
Don’t believe the nonsense, Brexit is a disaster for the UK, Mays deal says NOTHING about the services sector (80% of our GDP), and only commits to a “customs arrangement” for the rest.
Brexit is and always has been down to an internal war within the Tory party that will have put paid to the last 4 leaders ( Thatcher, Major, Cameron, and May by December at the latest).
STOP BREXIT.
So the car Industry is suffering not because of Brexit but a complete change in technology.Cadbury and Nestle moved to Poland before the referendum because of cheap labour costs and the 100b the Country received from the E.U for restructuring.
And you think it a coincidence that 2 weeks AFTER the EU and Japan signed a free trade deal reducing tariffs on car exports to ZERO PERCENT over 6 years is nothing to do with Honda announcing the end of production in the UK from 2021? Really?
How about Rolls Royce Engines, do you think they will stay here, they sell the engines at a loss and make ALL their profit from the service/maintenance contracts down the line, which AREN’T covered by May’s deal OR the WTO organisation.
How about Airbus, who have said without an agreement there are plenty of countries who would love to build the wings for their aircraft, incidently they support 125,000 UK jobs in the supply chain in addition to the 13,500 in Bristol.
Brexit has cost according to investment banks who you would think would know, not you or I, the UK £600 million pounds a week in lost growth.
Name an official governement report which doesn’t say that ANY Brexit will reduce our future growth, and make us poorer, by between 3.5% and 9%+, and all because the Conservatives and Farage had a little war over the loss of voters to UKIP.
In addition to that, when will (some) older people realise that they have selfishly removed the ability of their children and grandchildren to freely live and work abroad?
The UK is a medium sized country, and the idea that we can get a better trade deal with any larger country than as part of the EU, is just nonsense, we are leaving the biggest trading bloc in the world just because Farage, Banks, and their likely Russian & American backers, along with the Daily Mail/ Telegraph/ Express, not forgetting Cambridge Analytica (and their USA parent), told us so.
Wake up people!
If it is all because we are leaving the E.U then how is it that the price of fuel in France(where I happen to spend 6 months of the year)has now reached €1.60 per litre,which affects the price of just about everything.