State of the Market

[Cookielove]

This country is no longer a rich country and is getting poorer still and will continue to get poorer. Its not that its an uneven playing field and us white British used-to-the-good-life folk are being cheated, so much as that 30 years of underinvestment in our country is now an inescapable reality and a race the bottom.

We were only rich in the first place because we created an "uneven playing field" 200 years ago that saw us extract the wealth of our subjects in the empire. I guess that today we are just experience reversion to the mean for the standard of living to be expected in a small country.

That said, I would prefer if we took the Japanese approach and just let our population shrink instead of filling in with immigrants. The country might be poorer in terms of GBP, but we would be better off individually.

Oh not this tosh again.

200 years ago you say!

Well none of us were around then....we can't undo what was done in previous lifetimes by the British Empire ...bet you think the Chagos was a good idea and it has now turned out it will cost us up 10 times more than expected...bonkers!!

[oliverson]

That's nonsense.

Even Greece, where I spend most of my time, has not had a cost of living crisis like the UK. For example during peak energy prices, the government was heavily subsidizing everybody's bills.

My client (a top 5 Dutch bank) is persistently losing contractors to their competitors. There is definitely a shortage of contractors in the Netherlands. The bank has started recruiting UK remote contractors - 3 in my "tribe" in the last 6 weeks. 2 of those contractors I've wotked with beforew in the UK and they have both been out of work for over a year).

Where would one find these kind of opportunities?

[herman_g]

This provides you with a business opportunity, I would suggest. You could use your apparently-superior knowledge and attitudes to set up the infrastructure and marketing etc to allow us "unemployed for years" posters to be able to work again. Given the large number of out of work contractors in the UK, if you could do this at scale then you could make a lot more money than you are currently making in your present tech roles by taking a commission on each role secured.

I leave the recruiting to the recruiters. The only superior knowledge I have is that when a country / region makes a really stupid decision - eg. holding the 1995 Quebec seperation vote, it's time to move on because the brown stuff will soon be hitting the economic fan. Montreal has not recovered despite the fact that was 30 years ago. The Brexit vote was not just a really stupid decision, it was catastrophic.

I am absolutely not gloating about the fact many of my UK freinds are out of work - I know more than a dozen that were made redundant last July. I feel very bad for them and their families.

Where would one find these kind of opportunities?

I was recruited by a UK recruiter I had known for years who had few other options as the Brexit transition period had finished 7 months prior - I was already an EU resident.

Now that Brexit is long over and a shortage of skilled has developed in the EU banking industry (UK contractors used to satisfy a disproportionate large amount of EU resource requirements), seems a few clients are warming up to hiring UK contractors again and doing this remote. My Dutch client, Fiserv and ING Bank have now begun this practice.

I have pointed out a prominent German site that is full of work right now (and I was pretty much told off for doing so). In the Netherlands, there is even a job site that focuses specifically on English-speaking IT professionals.

[kingmob]

Contract of the week!

Job Details


Network Security Engineer (Contract)

Location: Kidlington Country: UK Rate: Up to £0.00 per day + Excellent Day Rate OUTSIDE IR35


Summer-Browning Associates is currently supporting our public sector client, who is seeking a Network Security Engineer for an initial twelve-month assignment with the option to extend.

Location: Hybrid working - Kidlington or Southampton

About the role: You will be responsible for day-to-day operation and control of all aspects of the client's sites and local area communications network infrastructure including Voice.

The ideal candidate will hold Active SC and have a strong background in delivery Network & Security support, with the following skills and experience:

• Experience with Checkpoint, Fortinet, Cisco & Solarwinds.
• Knowledge of IT and Voice Networks.
• Holds a recognised IT Networking qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of Networking protocols & standards.

Posted Date: 18 Aug 2025 Reference: JS-BBBH1500 Employment Business: Summer-Browning Associates Contact: Joshua Jones
hide


Does upto imply you might have to pay them something?

[willendure]

Oh not this tosh again.

200 years ago you say!

Well none of us were around then....we can't undo what was done in previous lifetimes by the British Empire ...bet you think the Chagos was a good idea and it has now turned out it will cost us up 10 times more than expected...bonkers!!

Not at all - its just that I think people whinging about things being unfair, need to get a sense of perspective. Its living in the past that has us failing to understand the present reality.

Of course we should keep the Chagos islands, its one of the few remaining naval bases the UK has, since we gave them all to the USA as part of lend-lease.

[kingmob]

That pretty much sums up how I feel Protagoras I've never known it to be so bad on so many fronts and I am mid/late 50s....this is the worst government in my lifetime they are abysmal and that doesn't even touch the sides of how out of touch they are....I really hope something happens and they cannot do a full term or we will have nothing left the country is in a sad desperate state....

Well I'm 53 and i can remember when we had regular powercuts in the 1970's, I remember Thatcher snatching our school milk, then sending the Police in after Striking miners. I remember her cabinet, Hurd, Major, Tebbit and Lawson selling off our assets to private companies for shareholders to bleed dry at our expense. I remember Tony Blair and hope only to be dashed by the realisation he was only in it for himself. I remember the coalition government of Conservative and Lib Dems, ther austerity measure whittling away our social services and councils. Then 13 more years of Tories selling us short and offshoring our jobs before Brexit and the years of May, Johnson and Sunak.

Worst government of your lifetime? Grow the f** up. They have been in just over a year, the global economy keeps reeling on all sides, AI is cutting jobs all around. US Tarrifs? Businesses want to increase profits either by off-shoring or whatever Primark/Tesco's Extra/McDonalds/P&O are doing (bringing in workers from abroad on temporary Visas as we are too expensive/want right?) is classed as?

[Protagoras]

Worst government of your lifetime? ...

We've had astonishingly poor government for most of my lifetime. I too recall power cuts in the 70s and the relentless industrial disputes as 'working class' people lost jobs. Then the mass de-industrialisation of the 80s. After a somewhat calmer period in the early 90s, it's been down hill since Blair at an accelerating rate. Common theme has been lack of investment.

I consider that this government is particularly bad for one reason - they appeared to offer some hope of beneficial change, but in fact all we're seeing is more "decline management". There's no new vision, no new hope, only a heavy hand waiting to come down on those who commit the crime of 'wrong think'.

[oliverson]

We've had astonishingly poor government for most of my lifetime. I too recall power cuts in the 70s and the relentless industrial disputes as 'working class' people lost jobs. Then the mass de-industrialisation of the 80s. After a somewhat calmer period in the early 90s, it's been down hill since Blair at an accelerating rate. Common theme has been lack of investment.

I consider that this government is particularly bad for one reason - they appeared to offer some hope of beneficial change, but in fact all we're seeing is more "decline management". There's no new vision, no new hope, only a heavy hand waiting to come down on those who commit the crime of 'wrong think'.

Agree with you here, having also seen the strikes and power cuts of the 70's.

There are a lot of parallels to be drawn today with that decade, including the demise of the tech. industry, much the same as the mining and ship building.

I'd say that the fake tories killed the economy and now labour have nailed the coffin lid shut and are lowering the casket into the ground.

[willendure]

I consider that this government is particularly bad for one reason - they appeared to offer some hope of beneficial change, but in fact all we're seeing is more "decline management". There's no new vision, no new hope, only a heavy hand waiting to come down on those who commit the crime of 'wrong think'.

Totally agree - they seem entirely focussed on the wrong things.

Raising taxes without a convincing plan to grow the economy is only going to further crush the economy. You cannot lift yourself into the air by pulling up on your own boot laces. If anything, cut taxes and unleash a new boom - then raise taxes to reap the rewards.

I would not say worst ever either and not long enough in power to be labeled as such. But what an effing dissapointment for those that believed they were going to make things better - not me, I did not vote for them. Potentially enough of a dissapointment that we go to the other extreme in reaction and get Reform next.

[Protagoras]

Raising taxes without a convincing plan to grow the economy is only going to further crush the economy. You cannot lift yourself into the air by pulling up on your own boot laces. If anything, cut taxes and unleash a new boom - then raise taxes to reap the rewards.

+1 The cycle of tax raises and reduced disposable income will only lead to further decline ...

I'm in Scotland and have become aware recently of IT contractors re-locating from London because rates are better here, although they're no higher than a decade ago!
I'd been saying that online reports were that the 'market' was poor, but this is an eye-opener.

Conversly, there's plenty work for those in building trades. Around here lots of people are extending their houses and there's strong demand for trades. The guys in trades tell me they're much better off since Brexit when the competition left the country! That said, most of them seem to be 'knackered' by their early 40s from the physical work and worried about state pension age.

As for IT workers - the government closed down the sector in the UK and facilitated its offshoring. It's like a re-run of manufacturing decline - close down and import.
In turn we're far too reliant on foreign regimes - many of which are rather 'dodgy'.