Blue passports

[Whorty]

I don't care about who makes my passport as long as the following remain truly British.

British Airways
Cadbury
Mini
Jaguar
HP Sauce
House of Fraser
Sarson's Vinegar
Branston Pickle
Walkers Crisps
Newcastle Brown Ale
London Buses
Tetley Tea
Thames Water
Man U FC
etc etc

Makes yer proud 'innit?

[sirja]

That's because we are still in the EU and under EU rules have to tender the job across EU countries. I expect when we fully leave we will not renew that contract as we will be FREE to do whatever we like, like give it to a US company because someone in the govt is a big shareholder there.

I suggest you read the EU-Canada trade agreement (The preferred option for Brexiters) All public procurement in Canada must now be open to EU firms. Sorry little England mob but this really really is 2018 not 1818

[meridian]

Blue passports

It's nothing to do with EU rules, but all about WTO rules. And we know Brexiters are very pro-WTO rules, so its all OK.

Correct, it’s WTO rules on public procurement. They don’t apply to in-house government manufacturing which is why the French still make their own, but the Tories in their drive to privatise services have only themselves to blame by outsourcing the manufacture to public tender.

Brexiters will still be sucked in by the Daily Mail dog whistle though, facts are not their strong point.

[northernladyuk]

Correct, it’s WTO rules on public procurement. They don’t apply to in-house government manufacturing which is why the French still make their own, but the Tories in their drive to privatise services have only themselves to blame by outsourcing the manufacture to public tender.

Brexiters will still be sucked in by the Daily Mail dog whistle though, facts are not their strong point.

That is a nice little front page to get the gammons into their morning two minutes hate.

[darmstadt]

This passport business is such a load of old bollocks and in particular being stirred up by the right wing patriotic press. For a start the company, Gemalto, who have possibly been awarded the contract actually have 5 locations in the UK where they could easily print the passports, De La Rue, if they had got the contract may well have decided to print them at one of their plants in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Malta. Possibly if De La Rue had won the contract due to jingoism then they should stop printing all the banknotes and passports for the other foreign countries that they do and as for the 'Global Britain' that Brexiteers keep banging on about, then surely this is a sign of an 'Insular Protectionist Britain'?

[darmstadt]

The main reason why this had to go out to tender is in fact due to the Tories. Back before 1996, passports and other like documents were printed by HMSO but in the age of privatisation, that was one of the agencies that they sold off. Interestingly one of the major stakeholders of Williams Lea is in fact Deutsche Post who print Hansard and other government documents

[darmstadt]

Going back in time to the 'Buy British' campaign

[northernladyuk]

Correct, it’s WTO rules on public procurement. They don’t apply to in-house government manufacturing which is why the French still make their own, but the Tories in their drive to privatise services have only themselves to blame by outsourcing the manufacture to public tender.

Brexiters will still be sucked in by the Daily Mail dog whistle though, facts are not their strong point.

Today the Mash has a question for Britain’s babies in hats: Why DO you hate our country, its history, culture and the people’s sense of identity?

[darmstadt]

[sasguru]

FFS is this stupidity still going on?
I have a solution.
Why don't the Daily Fail readers and Wrexiters in general pay a special surcharge to make up the extra 120 million it will cost to have the passports printed in the UK?
Everyone's happy then