Home made...
Ford was owned by Ford of America. Vauxhall was owned by General Motors. Rootes Group was owned by Chrysler. For many years Ford owned Jaguar and Aston Martin. British Leyland, then Rover, was propped up by making variations of Honda models all designed, and their build lines installed by, Honda technicians. And all this has been going on since the 1970s. At which point did we have a home-made car industry since the 1950s?
Toyota make cars and engines in the UK, Honda and Nissan make cars. They export more cars now than Ford (who make no cars in the UK today) Vauxhall and Rootes combined in the 1970s. Set that against the likes of Bombardier, Messier Dowty, BAe, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN who are all home-grown companies with a global reach leading their fields - made in Britain. Every smart 'phone as a British designed chip in it, and our motor racing companies dominate every race series in the world with their engines, transmissions and chassis.
Yes, looking around you house might be depressing, but that's not what UK plc is about any more. We stopped being the factory of the world in the 1920s. Today we are the cottage industry of the World, with very few people able to do what we do in the sort of markets described above.
Since the Thatcher Government of 1979, this country has been set on a path that allows service and financial industries to power the economy. As a result, all our utilities are owned by foreign companies, most of our financial institutions likewise, and large chunks of our infrastructure too. We have elected Governments that deliberately follow of policy of ensuring it is not-home-made. And that's worked out so well hasn't it??!!!
Losing Bristol is no surprise, and it has happened before. To me it is less sad than inevitable. There's precious little left that is made here compared to 40 years ago, but that's what we voted for and that's what we got. I'm glad we still have what we have, but I am under no illusion that anything will change while people buy with their wallets and vote with the masses. But I'd still rather live here than anywhere else in the World. It's life...
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