The worst post Brexit trade deal since the previous one

[WTFH]

BTW, I did a quick search and apparently Morgan is the only UK-owned manufacturer left. The rest are wholly or majority-foreign-owned.

What about Ariel?

[woody1]

What about Ariel?

AI missed that one altogether.

However, now it tells me Morgan is actually majority Italian-owned. But Aston is only 20% foreign-owned (Mercedes).

[Protagoras]

Isn't TVR back in British ownership?

[WTFH]

AI missed that one altogether.

However, now it tells me Morgan is actually majority Italian-owned. But Aston is only 20% foreign-owned (Mercedes).

Aston is 33% Canadian (Lawrence Stroll), 20% Mercedes, 17% Saudi Arabi PIF, then there's Toto Wolff and Ernesto Bertarelli who own about 8%.

[edison]

Absolutely; the days of manufacturing being acres of space with humans assembling things is not the UK's future.

We need to concentrate on high value-add activity. And the UK's failure to identify and support 'strategic' industries is storing up trouble. For example, Although the 1980s effort to have the UK making semiconductors came to not much - I think it's something we should be doing to protect against future supply chain issues.

Isn't it curious, we don't see the UK as a major car manufacturer but the government agrees a trade deal based on reduced tariffs for car exports ...

We just seem to miss lots of opportunities.

Take renewable energy, we should be well placed for wind turbine manufacturing. But the 5 biggest manufacturers in the UK by installed capacity are all foreign.

We're also poor at translating university research into products we can make and sell.

[willendure]

What gets me is the lack of enthusiasm for home grown talent and enterprise. We don't have a skills shortage but we do have a shortage of people in power who recognise and champion the local people with skills. The various catapult and other innovation schemes backed by government are generally just hot air intent on championing woke and flash in the pan innovations.

We have a shortage of pride and confidence in our own country I agree.

And last 20+ years its mostly been about big business skimming off profit rather than investing. This country has had lower rates of infrastructure investment that just about all developed western economies. I would say our ruling class is largely captured by those wealthy capitalists that extract our wealth.

Just back from France where the economy might not be great, and lunch time closure is irritating, and air traffic control like to go on strike... yet I cannot help but admire the pride they take in their culture and are prepared to support it.