August 11, 201014 yr i couldn't agree more strongly. f*** the United States, they are one country. There are 24 other member states of the European Union and more than 50 members of the Commonwealth iirc. That's at least 74 trade partners we could strengthen our relations with. I'm personally quite keen for us to have stronger links with Europe, we are far stronger together. I would also love to have stronger links with Canada, Australia/New Zealand and Central/Southern America and free movement agreements with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I believe it would be highly advantageous to our economy to have stronger links with countries that aren't the United States of America. One minor correction. There are 26 other EU member states. Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007.
August 11, 201014 yr Australia are aligning themselves more with Asia at the moment because that's where all the growth is. They could very well leave the Commonwealth as it's not really needed anymore. Canada seem to be moving more towards the U.S, so again, the Commonwealth isn't as important as it used to be. The UK need to be more pro-EU, imo. I know the EU isn't perfect (and everybody who knows me knows that I'm very critical of it in its current state), but everybody needs to be on the same page for it to work. You can't have the likes of Ireland and Belgium being extremely pro-EU and then have the UK and Austria being quite anti-EU. The UK already have an extremely strong relationship with Ireland, so that's good (for us :P). The next step is to strengthen ties with the likes of Germany, France and to some extent, Poland, as they are the only EU country not to enter a recession or to not experience a decline in GDP growth.They are heavily aligned with Asia as it's their geographical region. We could do with using those ties :kink: Australia weathered the recent storm and their Banking system is very solid, it's no coincidence that one of the UK strongest banks is Clydesdale/Yorkshire who are owned by the Aussies. I agree with you 100% we need to be singing from the same hymn sheet. I really hate the Euroscepticism in this country, the media here just spread crap and nobody is told that without the European Union they are so fond of our economy would be in ruins One minor correction. There are 26 other EU member states. Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007. So there is. I keep forgetting that :drama: When i was at school and doing the EU in 2004-2006 during my Standard Grade and Higher Business Management there had just been the huge expansion to 25 and it was drilled into us :lol:
August 11, 201014 yr They are heavily aligned with Asia as it's their geographical region. We could do with using those ties :kink: Lol yeah, but they're beginning to move quickly away from the European market and move towards China and India in recent years. Smart move, I have to say. I guess they have the advantage with being so close geographically, like you said. It wouldn't surprise me if Australia left the Commonwealth soon enough, though. Are the UK public anti-EU? I just imagined that it was the government more so than the public... I guess the Tories getting into government doesn't help the situation. :(
August 12, 201014 yr Author They are heavily aligned with Asia as it's their geographical region. We could do with using those ties :kink: Australia weathered the recent storm and their Banking system is very solid, it's no coincidence that one of the UK strongest banks is Clydesdale/Yorkshire who are owned by the Aussies. Australia coped with the financial crisis well because Kevin Rudd had the brains to produce an even bigger economic stimulus than the UK - which would've increased the Dastardly Deficit, which means in the eyes of the Tories, the idea is satan incarnate.
August 12, 201014 yr Lol yeah, but they're beginning to move quickly away from the European market and move towards China and India in recent years. Smart move, I have to say. I guess they have the advantage with being so close geographically, like you said. It wouldn't surprise me if Australia left the Commonwealth soon enough, though. Are the UK public anti-EU? I just imagined that it was the government more so than the public... I guess the Tories getting into government doesn't help the situation. :( It's where the money is after all. I don't think they will leave the commonwealth, while some are quite keen to become a republic it has been defeated at referendum. Some are extremely anti-EU, it's a shame that so many are uneducated on the benefits of being an EU member they just read the stories of curved cucumbers being banned. Australia coped with the financial crisis well because Kevin Rudd had the brains to produce an even bigger economic stimulus than the UK - which would've increased the Dastardly Deficit, which means in the eyes of the Tories, the idea is satan incarnate. Yet Brown/Darling chose to ignore the Australian's and their stimulus idea's despite the evidence that it worked and they only had a single quarter of negative growth.
August 12, 201014 yr It's where the money is after all. I don't think they will leave the commonwealth, while some are quite keen to become a republic it has been defeated at referendum. Some are extremely anti-EU, it's a shame that so many are uneducated on the benefits of being an EU member they just read the stories of curved cucumbers being banned. Yet Brown/Darling chose to ignore the Australian's and their stimulus idea's despite the evidence that it worked and they only had a single quarter of negative growth. If Australia becomes a republic that doesn't mean they have to leave the Commonwealth. South Africa is just one example of a republic within the organisation.
August 12, 201014 yr If Australia becomes a republic that doesn't mean they have to leave the Commonwealth. South Africa is just one example of a republic within the organisation. I know that, but some are keen to cut ties with the empire. I personally would rather us strengthen our ties with the former empire, especially if they are some of the ones that appeared to be recession proof.
August 12, 201014 yr I agree with you 100% we need to be singing from the same hymn sheet. I really hate the Euroscepticism in this country, the media here just spread crap and nobody is told that without the European Union they are so fond of our economy would be in ruins Exactly... The tabloid "meeeedjaaaahhhhh" (and particularly the Murdoch press) was more concerned with bitching about the Queen's face on the currency, the metric system and bendy bananas than it was in warning us about the dangers of sub-prime mortgages, toxic debts, and our ultimately corrosive economic and political/foreign policy ties with the US... Well, put it this way, our economy sure aint fukked-up and our soldiers aren't being killed and grievously wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan because of anything Brussels did, it was ALL to do with what was going on in America and THEIR political dogmas...... Yeah, the US did help us out with the Post-war "Marshall Plan", but, er, that was over 60 years ago, about time we really stopped feeling the gratitude for it.... TBH, I'd rather we had stronger trade and economic links with India (another Commonwealth country whose up-and-coming economy will likely outstrip ours and the US in the coming years)....
August 12, 201014 yr Exactly... The tabloid "meeeedjaaaahhhhh" (and particularly the Murdoch press) was more concerned with bitching about the Queen's face on the currency, the metric system and bendy bananas than it was in warning us about the dangers of sub-prime mortgages, toxic debts, and our ultimately corrosive economic and political/foreign policy ties with the US... Well, put it this way, our economy sure aint fukked-up and our soldiers aren't being killed and grievously wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan because of anything Brussels did, it was ALL to do with what was going on in America and THEIR political dogmas...... Yeah, the US did help us out with the Post-war "Marshall Plan", but, er, that was over 60 years ago, about time we really stopped feeling the gratitude for it.... TBH, I'd rather we had stronger trade and economic links with India (another Commonwealth country whose up-and-coming economy will likely outstrip ours and the US in the coming years).... You are of course right, the EU were strongly against violent action against Iraq and too bloody right as well. They may have some bloody ridiculous directives, but for every no straight Banana's directive there are so many that have improved the life, quality of life and standard of living of not only us but that of our fellow Europeans. Eastern Europe is stronger economically than ever. I doubt that places like Romania who have made improvements, granted there is still quite some distance to go, but there is no doubt that their lives have been improved by being in the European Union. I think we are the only people in the world that haven't realised that the US isn't the be all and end all. There are a billion people in India, which itself is a bloody sub continent! The tiger economies of India, China, Thailand, S.Korea etc etc etc is where the future lies and is really where we should be concentrating our efforts on, there and Brazil who are arguably the most developed and powerful nation in S.America.
August 13, 201014 yr Author David Blanchflower (the only person on the Bank of England's monetary committee to foresee the banking crisis) writes: Something horrible may happen again With a growing number of young people in the UK growing up in families where no one works, increasing income inequality and an “anaemic recovery” in the US, the outlook is bleak. Imagine growing up in a family where no one works. How would you feel living in poverty and watching your parents struggle on benefits? It would inevitably have a huge impact on your perceptions of work. You may fear you will never find a job in the future. You may even feel it is "normal" not to have a job, not to go to work every day and earn a steady wage. This is the reality for too many young people across the UK. There are now 1.93 million children living in households where nobody works, the highest number in the entire European Union. From April to June 2009, there were 4.8 million working-age people in workless households, an increase of half a million from the same period in 2008 and the highest number in more than a decade. And it is likely to rise a lot over the next couple of years. The Prince's Trust report Destined for the Dole?, published on 10 August, investigates the intergenerational culture of worklessness. Worryingly, the trust's research suggests that thousands of young people are trapped in a cycle of deprivation. Those from families where nobody works are significantly more likely to struggle to find a job themselves and far less likely to feel confident about their future. Some are growing up believing their own destiny lies in the dole queue. Who can blame them, when this is all they have seen while growing up? I fear that these young people may be locked out of the labour market for life unless they are freed from this cycle. The government, charities and employers must work together now to support them in finding jobs and providing for their own families in the future. All things being unequal “The 'big society' is an idea, not a plan," said the Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude. That makes it of no use whatsoever to these kids from workless households. Prime Minister David Cameron promises encouragement to charities and volunteer groups, but the sector is taking a big hit from the first round of cuts. The Office for Civil Society, the Tories' replacement for Labour's Office of the Third Sector, has slashed £11m from government funding for existing organisations. The youth volunteering charity V lost almost £7m, and a further £8m through the Department for Education's abolition of the Vschools programme. Compounding these statutory funding cuts, charitable giving falls in a recession. Meanwhile, it is unclear how Cameron's plan to throw families out of their council houses is going to contribute to social cohesion. Where are these families supposed to live? Is the PM going to invite them to stay at his place(s)? Charity begins at home, after all, Dave. New data published in the 2010 edition of Social Trends shows that income inequality in the UK is on the rise again. For example, the ratio between the earnings of those at the 90th percentile of real household disposable income and the earnings of those at the tenth percentile - the so-called 90-10 measure of income inequality - has risen steadily since 2004, from 3.98 to 4.22. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Indeed, income inequality is now higher in the UK than in all the other major European countries. Only Greece, Portugal and a few former communist countries have higher levels.
August 13, 201014 yr Just read a report that Germany's economy has grown in Quarter 2 of 2010 by 2.2%... Mainly due to EXPORTS funnily enough..... :lol: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10962017
August 13, 201014 yr Just read a report that Germany's economy has grown in Quarter 2 of 2010 by 2.2%... Mainly due to EXPORTS funnily enough..... :lol: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10962017 Germany is somewhat different from the rest, consider it's housing buble - or more correctly it's lack of one. http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/predicta/BuzzJack/hbubblechart.png
August 13, 201014 yr Just read a report that Germany's economy has grown in Quarter 2 of 2010 by 2.2%... Mainly due to EXPORTS funnily enough..... :lol: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10962017 Good for them, but exports make up a far larger proportion of their economy than they do for the UK, so us doing well on exports means sod all really :lol: Germany is somewhat different from the rest, consider it's housing buble - or more correctly it's lack of one. http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/predicta/BuzzJack/hbubblechart.png That doesn't really change things given they suffered just as much as the rest of us during the financial crisis - but oh look, what did Germany get? A PROPER stimulus rather than a VAT cut and a 'cash for clunkers' system. A stimulus still in place which isn't going to be damaged all that much by 8% cuts all around (coincidentally the largest optional cuts (Ireland aside) after ours!) - is it any wonder they're doing so well?
August 13, 201014 yr Good for them, but exports make up a far larger proportion of their economy than they do for the UK, so us doing well on exports means sod all really :lol: That doesn't really change things given they suffered just as much as the rest of us during the financial crisis - but oh look, what did Germany get? A PROPER stimulus rather than a VAT cut and a 'cash for clunkers' system. A stimulus still in place which isn't going to be damaged all that much by 8% cuts all around (coincidentally the largest optional cuts (Ireland aside) after ours!) - is it any wonder they're doing so well? While I disliked the cash for cars idea in the UK, the same happened in Germany - although of course, Germany actually own the car manufactures.
August 13, 201014 yr Listen to what the Bank fo England forecasts. http://streamstudio.world-television.com/C...er=ns-1-0-0-0-0
August 13, 201014 yr I notice that the lefties/liberals have kept very quiet about the MASSIVE fall in unemployment with over 50,000 off the dole queue, just about the single biggest fall since records began and a further sign after the 1.2% growth that the private sector is booming. But hey doesn't suit your agendas of talking Britain down ;) Edited August 13, 201014 yr by I ❤ JustinBieber
August 13, 201014 yr Author I notice that the lefties/liberals have kept very quiet about the MASSIVE fall in unemployment with over 50,000 off the dole queue, just about the single biggest fall since records began and a further sign after the 1.2% growth that the private sector is booming. But hey doesn't suit your agendas of talking Britain down ;) Actually we've been mentioning it frequently - because it vindicates the approach Labour were taking to beating the recession - an approach that has completely been reversed by the Coalition. (If you're seriously going to claim the Coalition can rightfully claim credit for employment figures now, which are notorious for "lagging" behind wherever the actual economy is, then God help us.) What's far more relevant are the latest short-term trending figures coming out of the retail and manafacturing industries, which are alarming, and the news from the Bank of England.
August 13, 201014 yr Author Why don't we listen to what Blanchflower predicts? Don't be silly, it's far better we put our faith in the Bank of England and Cameron and Osborne, all of whom were accusing Labour and the Lib Dems of exaggerating the banking crisis until the Lehmans staff were clearing their desks.
August 13, 201014 yr I notice that the lefties/liberals have kept very quiet about the MASSIVE fall in unemployment with over 50,000 off the dole queue, just about the single biggest fall since records began and a further sign after the 1.2% growth that the private sector is booming. But hey doesn't suit your agendas of talking Britain down ;) If you look at the trend in unemployment when conflated with growth rates, you'll actually find that unemployment falls as a delayed reaction - so we'll probably be seeing it rocket again in about twelve months. Again, the latest surveys of July show that business confidence - especially in the service sector - has collapsed.
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